Show J i If I J i 1 h REP BURTONS BURTON'S REPORT Air Pollution Problem Facing Cities 0 By Rep J. J Burton Since Eve first tempted Adam to cat eat the apple In the Garden of Eden man has been plagued with complying with his wife's commands History reports that one man In the year 1257 came up with a solid answer to keep his wife happy Edward i Queen 17 1 e moved Eleanor dI from aril wife Nottingham 0 of j England's J d to 6 Tutbury Castle because she couldn't stand the smoke from bituminous coal so the King ruled an enforcement procedure pro so strict that by 1307 second second- offenders risked demolition of their furnaces fur fur- naces SEVEN CENTURIES later the United States began to control some of its in industries In in- lest Iest lest we all move to Tutbury Castles Castil'S of some kind The answer today to air p certainly Isn't as easy as In 1257 Air pollution is One Wie of the worst problems facing man today The dirtiest cities according cities according to to the Public Health Services Service's National Center Center Cen Cen- ter for Air Pollution Pollution begin begin with New NewYork NewYork NewYork York City and end with Point High Greensboro North Carolina Sixty-five Sixty metropolitan areas in the US U.S. were involved in the Center Conducted condu ted survey AFTER NEW York comes Chicago Philadelphia and Los Angeles The top three are polluted because of large largo populations in small areas In which the power demands for Improving living are met by local generation which burns fuels and Industry located in mid mid city N New Nv v Chicago and Ph Philadel Philadel- Philadelphia Philadelphia phia have poured millions of dollars into research and materials to slow down the problem but none has come up with anything to halt the air from being a garbage dump In 1966 1900 Los Angeles enacted enacted en en- acted a new law which enforced air pollution controls for autos At that time cars were pouring tons of pollutants pollutants pol pol- daily dally into the atmosphere Today Today To To- day with this law enforcement there is a drop of only a thousand tons Despite all the he J. J p. p cars Jt kep ep spewing tons toris of waste daily dally daily into the air IN IN WASHINGTON D. D C. C where the then n number of cars per square mile is one one- half and-a-half times as great as in metropolitan metropolitan metro metro- politan Los Angeles our autos cause 50 per pcr cent of the bad air There have been bee some suggestions from auto manufacturers manufacturers manufacturers man cars driven by steam electricity elec natural gas etc but etc but so far there hasn't been a sound sol sal ution While many y experts a automobile automobile automo automo- tomo bile is bite problem In om batting air pollution there are others who condemn the nations nation's large Indus indus- tries Certainly many of the cities mentioned men tinned in report are ones that thrive on industry Some industries are trying frying to solve the problem them them- selves The The chimneys are getting taller and taller across the nation for one thing At Johnstown Pennsylvania one chimney chimney chim chim- ney Is a thousand feet tall Another chimney being constructed at Cresap West Virginia will be 1206 1200 feet tall only 50 f feet et smaller than the Empire State Building The reason I pollution abatement Another report which reached me Indicates indicates In in- that Industry will spend from 10 to 20 billion over the next de do cade cads just to hold pollution at the present present pre pre- sent level leve BUT 11 IF we arc are to do more than just hold pollution at the present level then we are going to have to act and that's on all oil levels of government The TheAir TheAir TheAir Air Quality Act of 1967 sets some guidelines guidelines guide guide- lines for the states The states state In turn turn their r- r rv own v n set f of f fr r rules l s.- s. Utah Is progressing In the right direction direction dir dir- I believe Our Legislature appropriated appropriated ap funds to set up the Utah Air Conservation Committee and with the help of federal funds the Committee Isable is isable isable able to research our air pollution problems pro hot Hot only In the major cities but all over the state The Committee then makes recommendations to the State Board of Health Many of Utah's industries are tackling the problem themselves themselves them then selves find and seeking solutions rather than waiting for imposed government-imposed regu lations Utah also has 18 is monitoring devices throughout the the state to detect areas of air pollution Three of f the most sophisticated sophisticated soph soph- devices are located on the roofs of the health facilities In Salt Lake City Ogden and Provo DENNIS R R. R Dalley Dailey of f Utah's Division of Health Informed me that while Utah is acting to control its pollution problem problem pro pro- blem there is still the presence of Mother Nature herself ly speaking Utah has just as bad weather inversions as lis Los Angeles Mr Dalley Dailey reports The help belp Utah gets is that We have our Inversions in the winter winter win ter when we arent aren't harmed by the sun L. L A. A A.'s As come in the heat of the summer While the inhabitants of the City of Angels are forever looking Upward tryIng trying try try- Ing to figure out how to get rid of the name of there are those of us In every section of the country trying to solve the same problem The annual property damage nationally due to air pollution is 12 billion HElfe HERIN HERE HER IN Washington we are also trying to to come up with some of the answers Recently I Introduced a are resolution resolution re re- solution in the to create a Standing Stand Stand- ing Committee oh on on Environment that would be re responsible pon for air quality y among other things I b believe this v would ld be another possible solution We certainly have to go full speed ahead or well we'll all end up wearing gas masks There is one ray of light many sections of Utah arent aren't bothered with air pollution Maybe that's one reason reason rea rea- son we have so many tourists I They go goto goto goto to Utah not only for the beautiful scenery scenery scenery ery but to get one good clean breath of air |