SALT LAKE CITY — With Thursday’s air quality rated as moderate, the thin layer of smog hanging above the valley was visible from the state Capitol. Yet state Rep. Suzanne Harrison, D-Sandy, remained optimistic as she unveiled a new website that shows Utahns where to find the new, cleaner burning Tier 3 gas.“It’s a great
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SALT LAKE CITY — First the Diesel Brothers. Now 4 Wheel Parts.The Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment group is pursuing a second Clean Air Act citizens enforcement action, this time against corporate entities that operate 4 Wheel Parts Performance Centers, a nationwide seller of vehicle exhaust systems and other modifications.The doctors’ group also is
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LOGAN, Utah (ABC4 News) – On Tuesday, air quality in the Cache Vally bounced between “unhealthy for sensitive groups” to “unhealthy” as Utahns breathed in high-than-normal particulates in many parts of the state.“You can kind of feel it right here — like this mucus crap that comes up from your lungs,” said Sam Wardle, pointing
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Residents of Utah and Salt Lake valleys who have been outside during the winter months have likely noticed Utah has an air quality problem.In Utah County and elsewhere in the state, air quality in winter months can reach “unhealthy” and “hazardous” levels on the Air Quality Index. This poses a threat particularly to young children,
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“For our family, clean air is a matter of life and death,” said parent advocate Erika Doty, who has two children who suffer from asthma.Full story at kutv.com

DRAPER — The Canyons School District, city officials, Utah lawmakers, parents and clean air advocacy organizations marked the start of Draper’s Idle Free Week on Monday with a special challenge called “Do Your Part.”Tailpipe emissions are the most significant contributor to the Wasatch Front’s air pollution problem, so people — and parents especially — are
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SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for an environmental group have recommended that a maximum $4.4 million in Clean Air Act penalties could be assessed against the Diesel Brothers reality TV stars for rigging diesel pickup trucks to foil pollution controls.Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment urged U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby in court documents last
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SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says Utah regulators have sufficiently crafted a plan to control regional haze by requiring pollution control technologies that will reduce fine particulate pollution from a pair of coal-fired power plants.The proposal means Utah gets credits for existing nitrous oxide emission control systems on PacifiCorp’s Hunter and
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Common causes of air pollution are the burning of emissions from transports, power generation, agriculture and waste, according to World Environment Day.How does air pollution hurt us?The answer, reports The New York Times, may be in our DNA.Full story at deseret.com

Take the train. Be idle free. Burn less wood. Carpool. Turn down your thermostat.You’ve likely heard one or all of these tips during our infamous inversion seasons. Each is a call to action to make a difference in our air quality. Hopefully you accepted such invitations and have become part of the solution. If each of
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Community Curiosities: Guest: Dr. Kerry Kelly explains air monitoring purple air vs airnow 

Utah should strive to slash air pollution by half and carbon dioxide emissions by 80% in coming decades, a goal that would demand commitment from government leaders, industry and each state resident, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute argues.The University of Utah think tank on Monday published a draft road map for cleaning up the air
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SALT LAKE CITY — The highly popular fireplace or wood stove conversion program will begin again early next year, with the Utah Department of Environmental Quality establishing a staggered registration schedule for eligible households along the Wasatch Front and in Cache Valley.Last year, state air quality regulators did a bulk registration and eclipsed the $2.7
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“The toxic cloud from this plant has consumed my home, making both my partner and I sick with headaches and nausea,” Kiley Miller told the Grand County Council.Miller lives about four miles from the Nielson Construction asphalt and aggregate processing plant in northern San Juan County, which she says has made “the air filled with
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SALT LAKE CITY — Federal regulators are proposing to invoke new controls on emissions from oil and gas production on tribal lands in the Uinta Basin to help solve the region’s pressing and unique problem with ozone in the winter months.The proposal, announced Monday, is under public comment for 60 days and would affect industry
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By Joel KarmazynMost of us take for granted the luxury of heating our homes with natural gas. But did you know that some homeowners along the Wasatch Front and in Cache Valley heat their homes solely with wood or coal?Full story at deq.utah.gov

MURRAY, Utah (Intermountain Healthcare) — For people with underlying health conditions like asthma, COPD, heart disease, and stroke, the poor air quality in Utah can worsen these health issues. Even those who don’t suffer from these conditions should limit their exposure when air quality is poor. Air pollution can actually cause childhood asthma, and in combination
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SALT LAKE CITY — There are more than 900,000 oil and gas wells across the country, and operators may not have proper equipment in place to meet federal requirements to control emissions that are harmful to human health.Full story at deseret.com

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday reclassified Colorado as a “serious” violator of federal air quality laws, forcing stricter state efforts to reduce air pollution.Full story at denverpost.com

DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has downgraded the air quality rating of Colorado’s biggest population center.Full story at thedenverchannel.com

The test has changed over the decades, and in the future, you might even be able to run the test at home on your phone.Full story at kutv.com

It’s that time of year again! The tree is trimmed, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care and a dreaded inversion has rolled into the area, trapping pollution and making the air heavy and hard to breathe.Every year we are hit with these inversions, yet every year we seem to be surprised and
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Thursday morning’s rainstorm improved the air quality in some parts of Utah a bit, but the effects won’t last. The National Weather Service warns of “degraded air quality and reduced visibility through at least the remainder of the week.”And, while there’s hope that a weekend snowstorm could break up the inversion, that’s not a sure thing.Full story
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The air pollution control group Choose Clean Air declared Thursday and Friday as “action days” for Provo, Ogden and Salt Lake City, among other Utah cities, recommending that people who are sensitive to air pollution avoid excessive or prolonged outdoor physical activity.According to AirNow.gov, a government site used to track air quality throughout the county, action
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SALT LAKE CITY – Air pollution along most of the Wasatch Front today is in the unhealthy range, especially for people with breathing issues. When we cannot see the mountains from the middle of the Salt Lake Valley, that’s one sign the pollution is getting thick. Extra moisture in the air adds fog to the
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SALT LAKE CITY — A more than five-year effort to bring cleaner burning Tier 3 fuel to Utah gas stations was marked Monday at the Speedway on Beck Street, where a bevy of officials celebrated its official debut at the pumps.“It is extremely important to do everything we can to clean up our air,” said
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MONDAY, Nov. 25, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Air pollution may trigger Alzheimer’s-like brain changes and speed memory decline in older adults, a new study suggests.Previous research has implied that exposure to fine particle air pollution increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, but it wasn’t clear how this type of pollution affects the brain and memory.“This is
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Let’s all take a deep breath. Now, remember what that feels like, because it will change as the air gets gunky as it always does in winter months.Once the Salt Lake Valley inversion sets in that deep breath will taste very different, it will burn your lungs and make ordinary outdoor activities not just unpleasant.
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As the days grow colder, Salt Lake Valley residents are more likely to run their engines as they warm up their cars in the morning or wait for their kids at school pickup in the afternoon.In a number of Salt Lake County municipalities, idling is technically illegal. But it’s also unlikely a driver will be
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Provo is the worst polluting city in the United States, according to a new study, and Ogden is second on the list.That’s according to the website MagnifyMoney.com, which compared the average household carbon footprint in the nation’s 200 largest metro areas and found households in the two Utah cities emitted an average of 10.55 and 10.16 metric tons
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SALT LAKE CITY — The National Weather Service is pointing out the last time it was this dry in Salt Lake City through mid-November, Lyndon B. Johnson was president of the United States and the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” was at the top of the charts.Full story at ksl.com

Salt Lake City, the northern Wasatch Front, and the Uinta Basin all had high concentrations of ground-level ozone this year. When it occurs in the upper atmosphere, ozone is good for organisms because it blocks harmful UV rays. But when it occurs at ground level, ozone harms plants and animals by burning the tissues they
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The Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Air Quality (DAQ) manages several voluntary emissions-reductions programs and this fall’s snow blower exchange in the Uinta Basin was just one of them. These programs are one way state residents can make small changes that collectively make a big difference.This fall, our attention was focused on the wintertime ozone problem in the
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SALT LAKE CITY — Prepare for more smog this week as inversion season hits Utah a few weeks earlier than usual.By the end of October, the Beehive State seemed likely to skip fall entirely and move on to winter as temperatures plunged to a record low. But the weather has since returned to a (relative) normal,
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SALT LAKE CITY — A federal trial over illegally modified trucks ground to a stop in a flurry of disputed subpoenas and a contempt of court citation against a star of the “Diesel Brothers” reality TV show.Trouble ensued after David Sparks, known as “Heavy D” on the long-running Discovery Channel series, decided to attend a
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OREM, Utah — Inspectors with the Utah County Health Department and Utah Department of Environmental Quality are preparing to investigate a foul smell that has been plaguing people in Orem for weeks.People who live in the area have reported the smell being especially bad the last few days, giving some people nausea and headaches. The
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(KUTV) — With winter just around the corner, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality has opened its registration for this year’s snowblower exchange.As part of the Clean Air Retrofit, Replacement and Off-Road Technology (CARROT) Program, the DEQ’s Division of Air Quality is offering 100 electric snowblowers for those who want to exchange their gas-powered machines for more
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A growing economy, looser regulations and uptick in fires are all factors.This article was originally published by Mother Jones and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.California’s Kincade and Getty fires — burning across the state’s northern wine region and Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Mountains — have consumed almost 80,000 acres of land and prompted more than 200,000 evacuations. The Kincade Fire
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Utah’s inversion season officially started Nov. 1, and, almost on cue, Salt Lake County’s first inversion of 2019-2020 began building that afternoon.Over the weekend, state regulators advised Wasatch Front resident to take voluntary actions to reduce the emissions that contribute to the thickening fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, visibly piling up in the haze seen Monday over
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SALT LAKE CITY — Increased fines for wood-burning violations and enhanced monitoring mark the advent of November as Utah air quality regulators ask people to tamp down emissions to help ward off wintertime inversions.The Utah Department of Environmental Quality is urging residents to check conditions online at air.utah.gov or download the phone app, UtahAir, to check for
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Nov. 1 marks the start of the Wasatch Front’s inversion season. This is a repost from November 2018 with some helpful tips on how to limit your emissions and improve air quality.By Donna Kemp SpanglerUtah’s winter chill is creeping upon us, and with that comes the infamous inversions, that for perhaps 10 terrible days of
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A large smoke plume — and even flames, occasionally — visible from Logan Dry Canyon for much of Tuesday is part of a Forest Service habitat improvement project. Workers are burning juniper slash piles in Dry Canyon and are likely to continue for several days. The juniper was cut down last fall and left in slash
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A prescribed burn near Sheep Creek in Spanish Fork Canyon will likely be visible until early November, near several burn scars from fires last year.According to a press release from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, officials with the U.S. Forest Service have implemented the burn, which will “reduce hazardous fuels, restore fire-adaptive ecosystems, regenerate aspen,
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SALT LAKE CITY — Winter is approaching.The season often spurs fond memories of hot chocolate and snowmen; however, many Salt Lake City residents experience feelings of dread as they anticipate dense, smog-filled air.In the heart of Salt Lake City live artists who have something to say about it.Full story at deseret.com

The University of Utah will be hosting a symposium on Thursday about air quality in the state. Dr. Steve Bannister will be a guest panalist. He studies the economic influence of air quality in Utah and around the world.“There’s a very high correlation between proximity to bad air quality, especially in schools that are close
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From Beijing to Berlin, New Delhi to London, improving air quality is a matter of life and death. The World Health Organization estimates that outdoor air pollution kills 4.2 million people each year. It leads to billions of dollars spent on medical care and missed work and causes widespread illness, particularly among the very young and the
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SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing the Utah Department of Environmental Quality $9.7 million for projects to improve air quality in two areas of the state.The projects include $4.7 million to repair and replace passenger vehicles owned by low-income individuals in the Salt Lake City area that fail emissions tests,
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WEBER  COUNTY, Utah — If you’ve ever wondered about how air quality data is collected, the Department of Environmental Quality has your answers.The department posted a behind-the-scenes tour of their new air monitoring station in Harrisville, which was recently moved from the Ogden area.Full story at fox13now.com

JENSEN, Uintah County — Fire crews at Dinosaur National Monument will conduct a controlled burn on the Colorado side of the monument Thursday, weather permitting.The burn will remove piles of woody debris and other vegetation that were removed around the monument’s headquarters in order to reduce hazardous fuels.Smoke will be visible from Dinosaur, Colorado, and
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) $9.7 million for projects to improve air quality in the Salt Lake City area and the Uinta Basin, according to a press release.The EPA grants, part of the agency’s Targeted Airshed Grants program, support state and locally-led efforts to reduce
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Levels of the fine particulates found in northern Utah’s winter inversions have decreased over three years, putting the area in line with federal air quality standards for the first time in over a decade.Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that between 2016 and 2018, an area stretching from Box Elder County to
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Over three years, the Salt Lake Valley reduced the amount of fine particulate matter in its air, the Environmental Protection Agency has determined, and it will allow Utah regulators to move to a new stage in controlling one of the state’s biggest health problems.That next stage is what could be 20 years of continued monitoring of
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The federal government is planning to revoke an Environmental Protection Agency regulation that allows California and 13 other states plus Washington D.C. to enact higher tailpipe emissions standards.Utah officials say air quality in the state, particularly in the Salt Lake Basin, is rated among the worst in the country, and that allowing increased vehicle emissions
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SALT LAKE CITY — A proposal to revamp the permitting fee for industry based on per-ton emissions is fueling strong objections from the oil and gas producers in Utah as well as school trust land administrators who say it will add to the growing exodus of firms fleeing the state, ultimately harming schoolchildren who benefit
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For the past 12 years, officials in Utah have dubbed September the start of idle free season, an annual reminder for residents to turn off their cars. On Monday, the tradition continued as Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, along with other state and local leaders and the non-profit Utah Clean Cities, made this year’s announcement at
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SALT LAKE CITY — It took a group of fifth graders in Utah expressing their concerns to school administrators about the fumes they were breathing from bus fleets to help spark Utah’s idle-free movement.Since then, the movement has grown into an avid advocacy program and a campaign called “Idle Free Utah,” said Tammie Bostick, Utah
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SALT LAKE CITY — Businesses, nonprofits and non-state government entities are eligible to apply for grants through the Utah Department of Environmental Quality that will reimburse up to 50% of the cost of purchasing and installing charging stations for electric vehicles.The application for this grant funding opens Monday, Sept. 16, 2019.“Grants are available on a
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A multi-phase capstone project from Brigham Young University’s school of engineering could be part of a solution to serious air pollution problems in Mongolia.In Mongolia’s capitol city of Ulaanbaatar, particulate levels in the air often spike to extremely unhealthy levels. Ulaanbaatar’s air pollution has only gotten worse as the city has tripled in size since
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SALT LAKE CITY — Three wildfires burning across Northern California coupled with local wildfire activity are swamping much of Utah with haze, driving fine particulate pollution to above normal levels for this time of year.By late Monday morning, monitoring stations in various parts of the state, including Box Elder and Salt Lake counties, as well
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Salt Lake City has put new rules in place requiring owners of large commercial buildings to report their energy use.Passed with little fanfare in 2017, the new reporting requirements are being phased in as part of a larger city effort to lower emissions from buildings, which officials say account for nearly 40% of the air pollution
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TOOELE (ABC4 News) – While homes in Tooele County remain safe from the Green Ravine Fire, some people with respiratory issues said they are struggling with the smoke.Krystal Gordon, a Tooele resident of two years, loves the view of the mountains from her front yard. But Wednesday afternoon, it was a different story.Full story at abc4.com

The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah was pleased that the 2019 Utah State Legislature provided the Kem C. Gardner Institute with $210,000 to perform an air quality and climate research study. However, the Deseret News’ recent editorial about this studycontained several inaccuracies about the current air quality policy activity in Utah that we think needs to
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Associated PressSALT LAKE CITY — A wildfire in northern Utah that destroyed three homes and damaged eight others is 100% contained as of Sunday evening. U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Kim Osborn said Monday the fire caused by an abandoned campfire is estimated to have burned about 321 acres.Officials on Saturday announced the lifting of evacuation orders
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BOUNTIFUL, Utah — The last firefighters left the “Gun Range Fire” in Bountiful Monday morning, but officials say homeowners now face risks of another natural disaster.Firefighters from Lake Tahoe, California were among the last to close up the command center at Tolman Park. The Type One firefighters are considered the best in the country and came to
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Are we ready to blame the chimney instead of the tailpipe?In the next five years or so, the No. 1 source of air pollution along the Wasatch Front is going to switch from vehicles to buildings.That is good news of a sort. It means that cars, trucks and buses — currently producing more than half the
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This year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are expected to finalize their rollback of America’s clean car standards. These successful standards to increase fuel economy and reduce tailpipe pollution are already saving people money at the pump and cleaning up pollution in our communities. As
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It was hardly surprising that two members of the Legislature’s Clean Air Caucus, one a Republican and the other a Democrat, held a news conference Wednesday to urge the president to change his mind about rolling back the fuel economy standards imposed by the Obama administration.In Utah, and especially along the Wasatch Front, clean air
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A bipartisan pair of Utah lawmakers on Wednesday decried a Trump administration proposal to weaken the nation’s car-emissions standards, a change the two said their inversion-plagued state can ill afford.Utah Reps. Stephen Handy, R-Layton, and Suzanne Harrison, D-Draper, called on the state’s congressional leaders — specifically Sen. Mitt Romney and U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams —
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 27, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Department of Environmental Quality is offering homeowners grants to convert wood-burning stoves andfireplaces to cleaner burning natural gas or electric.A DEQ statement released Tuesday says online registration begins on Sept. 3 — which is Tuesday of next week — at stoves.utah.gov.Full story at
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SALT LAKE CITY — Two of the leaders of the Utah Legislature’s bipartisan Clean Air Caucus said the Trump administration’s plan to roll back clean car standards set under the previous administration will be costly for Utah households on three fronts: more unhealthy air pollution, less savings at the pump and job losses.In a press
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Washington • The Trump administration is set to announce Thursday that it intends to sharply curtail the regulation of methane emissions, a major contributor to climate change, according to an industry official with knowledge of the plan.The Environmental Protection Agency, in a proposed rule, will aim to eliminate federal requirements that oil and gas companies install
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Editor’s note • Through a grant from Solutions Journalism Network, The Salt Lake Tribune is examining lesser known contributors to air pollution — our homes and our workplaces — and possible solutions to mitigate the effects they have on the air we breathe. In the third of a three-part series, we focus on how some local companies
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Herriman • The apartment complex rising on the southwestern edge of Salt Lake County looks like any other forming on empty lots, former farmland and razed scrub oak seemingly everywhere in Utah. But the 600-unit complex called Soleil Lofts is unlike anything seen in Utah — or in the United States, according to developer Wasatch Premier
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SALT LAKE CITY — An on-going study at the University of Utah looks into how pollutant particles in the air affects mental health in Utah.Amanda Bakian, an assistant professor of Psychiatry at the U, said she’s looked at multiple forms of data that shows there’s definitely an impact from either air pollutants, hypoxia and other
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Copperview Elementary Principal Jeri Rigby suspected that it might on her drive into Midvale. “There was definitely a haze,” she said. “Early before we even had school started we were making decisions about what was going to be best for our students.”The state’s Department of Environmental Quality provides resources for school principals to be informed about
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The Utah Department of Environmental Quality selected 14 entities to receive funding from the settlement through the $35 million Utah received from the Volkswagen Clean Diesel Settlement.Volkswagen officials participated in a years-long scheme rigging emissions equipment to circumvent federal emissions standards. It is estimated that during the course of that scandal, approximately 7,000 non-compliant vehicles
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(CNN) — Even when air pollution is at levels below air quality guidelines and regulatory limits, it can still pose a hazard to public health, a new study finds.In a 30-year analysis of 652 cities in 24 countries and regions on six continents, researchers found that increases in air pollution were linked to increases in
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SALT LAKE CITY — While ugly winter inversions get all the attention, summertime ozone levels in Utah — particularly in the Salt Lake City, Park City and St. George areas — can be just as harmful to human health, if not more so, according to a new study publishedin the Journal of the American Medical Association.“Daily
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Orem and Pleasant Grove will be among several Utah entities to receive funds from the Volkswagen settlement to replace old diesel vehicles with new, clean diesel vehicles.The Utah Department of Environmental Quality selected 14 entities to receive funding from the settlement through the $35 million Utah received from the Volkswagen Clean Diesel Settlement.Full story at
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SALT LAKE CITY — A technical team of nearly 40 members is probing the best science-based solutions for cutting Utah’s air pollution so those recommendations can be delivered to Utah lawmakers in mid-December.The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah was tasked by the Utah Legislature to look at the problem for
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Air pollution has become a growing public-health concern. Poor air quality creates acute and chronic problems.Finding effective solutions to Utah’s unique air quality concerns relies on gaining a comprehensive understanding of the sources and chemical makeup of the pollution.On Saturday, Aug. 10, researchers from Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ), the U.S.
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SALT LAKE CITY — Prolific wildfire seasons, hot, stagnant summers and population growth are all contributing factors that helped land Salt Lake City on a list of 54 U.S. cities struggling with ozone pollution.A new report by Climate Central analyzed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data and found unhealthy ground level ozone pollution is a challenge for millions
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Premium gasoline for your luxury ride is set to cost even more in the coming months as the U.S. transitions to cleaner fuel. With change it will get harder for refiners to keep the octane high enough to meet the needs of high-performance engines. That’s boosting demand for a key ingredient, known as alkylate, and threatening
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(KUTV) — You’d be right if you woke up this morning and you suspected visual residue was in the air from discharged fireworks.The Department of Environmental Quality released a chart on social media that showed a spike in particulate matter tied to fireworks from Pioneer Day.Full story at kutv.com

As wildfires are becoming larger and more frequent across the nation, scientists are interested in the potential impacts smoke emissions may have on the atmosphere and air quality. An emerging research mission called Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality – or FIREX-AQ – is measuring the chemistry and transformations of gases and
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Residentes del estado de Utah se exponen a la contaminación ambiental que en los últimos días ha incrementado, según el Departamento de Calidad Ambiental.Anabelle Castro quien es vecina de Salt Lake City asegura sentir los estragos de la contaminación ambiental. “En los ojos lo he sentido, muchas veces en la respiración, y más a las
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SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah — The air we breathe along the Wasatch Front is reaching unhealthy levels and it is expected to get worse in the coming weeks.As temperatures soar to the 90s, the Veatupu family finds relief in the water at a park in Bluffdale.Full story at: fox13now.com

Nitrogen oxide makes for hazy days and coughing fits, and Hunter and Huntington Power Plants in southern Utah aren’t blameless. For example, according to the Eviornmental Protection Agency’s 2017 greenhouse gas emission data, they’re responsible for 43% of nitrous oxide emissions from electricity production in the state.Full story at upr.org

By DEQ Communications OfficeThe summer heat is underway, resulting in fun trips across the state and finding new ways to stay cool. However, just because vacation time is here doesn’t mean that harmful pollutants take a break from disrupting Utah’s environment.There’s no shortage of ideas or ways to contribute to the reduction of pollution here
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SALT LAKE CITY — Early data released by Utah Department of Environmental Quality Friday shows the impact Utah’s Fourth of July celebrations had on the state’s air quality.A chart shared by the department Friday via Twitter shows the spikes in PM2.5 particulates across various counties with air quality monitors as of 8 a.m. on July 5, 2019,
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SALT LAKE CITY — The same fireworks that bring joy to the young and young-at-heart on Independence Day can lead to high levels of “particulate matter” (PM) in the air, worsening air quality and irritating people’s lungs.“Anything that’s combustible … it gets mixed up with the ozone, and then it creates worse conditions,” said Donna
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Salt Lake City mayoral candidate David Garbett says if elected, he will try to move an oil refinery and a power plant out of the Salt Lake Valley.“If we want to do something about air quality, we have to stop thinking small,” Garbett said in an interview Wednesday. “We have to start thinking about those
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The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) warns Utahans about poor air quality from fireworks.In a press release, Bryce Bird, air quality director said: Every year we see significant spikes in particulate matter concentrations on July 4th and Pioneer Day. These spikes are mostly related to the smaller, neighborhood fireworks and barbeques. Exceptional events like wildfires
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For many people, the Fourth of July wouldn’t BE the Fourth of July without fireworks. But these pyrotechnic displays also produce high concentrations of smoke and particulates (PM) that can harm our air quality and pose a risk to individuals who are sensitive to particulate pollution. And professional displays aren’t the only source of PM
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The Salt Lake Tribune is interested in business solutions to Utah’s air pollution problem, and we want to hear from you.Do you work for a company that is switching to low-VOC cleaning products, reducing pesticide use or moving to all-electric equipment for landscape care? Does your office pay for UTA passes or incentivize telecommuting? Are
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SALT LAKE CITY — At times exchanging snarky, but good-natured jabs at one another and periodically drawing laughs or applause from the audience, the first major Salt Lake City mayoral debate Wednesday night put candidates through their paces on issues ranging from homelessness and housing to air quality and the inland port.Seven out of eight candidates showed
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The crowded field of candidates vying to lead Salt Lake City squeezed onstage together Wednesday night at the downtown library for the first major debate of the campaign.There, the mayoral hopefuls presented their own visions for the city — and though they seemed largely in step on issues relating to the inland port and homelessness, they
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SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah and the West experience more severe and frequent wildfires, health risks caused by particulate pollution are becoming more serious, environmental experts say.And with temperatures in northern Utah hovering around 90 degrees, concerns of potential wildfires are rising with the thermometer.Full story at desertnews.com

Billings, Mont. • Climate change in the Western U.S. means more intense and frequent wildfires churning out waves of smoke that scientists say will sweep across the continent to affect tens of millions of people and cause a spike in premature deaths.Full story at sltrib.com

The state has made progress in reducing air emissions, despite its growing population and annual temperature inversions.NESTLED IN THE MIDDLE of the Wasatch and Oquirrh mountains, Utah’s Wasatch Front – a string of cities running from Nephi to Brigham City – offers a picturesque view, with the valley’s skyline backed by snow-capped peaks. The area’s natural beauty is one
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