Utah Choking on Pollution

The Rocky Mountain News today reports on the "unusual smog" plaguing the Salt Lake City metro region, but this pollution is, unfortunately, nothing new.

Utah has had eight straight "code red" days because of excessive fine particle pollution. What are fine particles? They consist of soot, dust, and condensed gases, and are about 1/28 the size of a human hair. These particles are responsible for thousands of premature deaths across the country. Code red means that fine particle pollution is so bad that it's unhealthy for everyone.

Photo of Utah's Unhealthy Pollution (courtesy Rush Spedden of Sandy, UT)

Utah suffers some of the worst particulate pollution in the region, most of it concentrated along the Wasatch Front and even up to Cache County and Logan. In the last several years, fine particle pollution has exceeded federal health standards on several occasions.

Part of the problem is tied to the extended inversions that keep stagnant air buttressed against the Wasatch Front and over Salt Lake City. But the weather isn't to blame. Smokestacks, tailpipes, and even woodstoves are the real culprits here.

Fine particle pollution needs to be kept in check in Utah. Eight days straight of unhealthy air is not only dangerous, but near criminal. The state of Utah is clearly failing to protect its citizens, hopefully things will change in this regard.