New filter, left, is white, less than 24 hours old filter, right, ashy grey.
SALT
LAKE CITY — Utah is stuck with that nasty air pollution shrouding much of
Northern Utah for a couple more days. The state has issued another health
advisory for Friday for most northern counties.
The
inversion season in 2012 was one of the worst in about a decade, and this
winter pollution is also off to a bad start. However over the years, the air is
not as bad as it used to be.
Already
this winter season, Utah has had 13 mandatory action days and 14 voluntary
action days. Now Utah is on track to match last year's level of bad air
quality.
Bo
Call, air quality manager for the Department of Environmental Quality, said
early snow, cold temperatures and few storms contribute to the bad air quality.
In
addition, the Environmental Protection Agency tightened their standards in
2006, and got more proactive about giving warnings as pollution builds. The
days that used to be classified as a yellow, moderate day are now often ranked
as a red, unhealthy day.
"The
year that the standard changes, 2006, the (air quality) number jumped up
because all of a sudden we are over that standard," Call said. "It's
a much more preventative measure than it has been in the past."
Each
day the pollution levels are monitored by the DEQ. On Thursday at about 5 p.m.,
the DEQ website listed the level of particulate matter 2.5 — the tiny particulates
that easily get into our lungs that measure less than 2.5 microns in diameter —
as 60.3 parts per million in Salt Lake and Davis Counties. The EPA maximum
level is 35.
All
this data comes from a lot of equipment located at 24 monitoring stations spread
throughout the state. If there's something in our air, the hundreds of
thousands of dollars of apparatus and gadgets they use will sense it, analyze
it and record it.
Each
station tracks particulates, ozone, nitrogen, CO, SO2 and anything in the air.
The stations operate 24-7, both inside and out.
"We
have them in Hurricane, up in Cache Valley; we've got 3 out in the Uintah Basin
and in Price," said Bo Call, air quality manager at DEQ of Utah.
The
majority of the equipment is located along the Wasatch Front, and, it's
recently been utilized a large amount.
Call
showed two filters — a used one from Wednesday and a new one. In the
side-by-side comparison, the new filter is white, and the used one — which is
just 24-hours old — is ashy gray.
These
monitoring stations actually have a dual purpose: to collection raw data of
what's in the air, and to look for ways to solve pollution problems that are
the precursors that exist that result in air quality violations.
"If
we can identify what specific things that are the most responsible, or the key
ingredients, then we can work on limiting those and see if that slows down the
formation all together," Call said.
However,
as bad as the air quality currently is in Salt Lake County, overall it was
actually worse 20 to 30 years ago. Our cars and industry pollute less today,
and public education has also made a big difference.
"We've
been monitoring air pollution since the 70s, and we can see a steady decline
across the board in every aspect of air pollution. So it is getting
better," Call said.
Collectively,
Utahns drive 30 million miles on an average day on the Wasatch Front, so the
biggest difference many can make is to drive less. Call also believes that
greater awareness has also lowered Utahn's tolerance for the pollution.
"Are
we more aware of it, are we willing to accept less? Yes, that's the way it
is," he said.
Contributing: Martha Ostergar
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