Show 1 NATIONWORLD he Salt Lake Tribune Inversion Would Be Here Even Without Smog By Tony Semerad ME11nn forming a temperature layer that holds everything beneath it — including fog and air pollution generated by industry cars and wood stoves — near the ground "You've basically got a pot with a lid on it" said Bill Alder meteorologist-in-chargat the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City "The pollution can't get out" Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley have the worst pollution levels But inversions would happen even if there were no pollution Crud in the air just makes inversions more unhealthy — and more visible The Uinta Basin and Cache Valley have foggy inversions but few pollutants Inversions are most likely between November and February when temperatures are coldest They can last for weeks normally clearing when storms blow in from the south According to records some of the worst inversions in Salt Lake City were in the winters of 1919 1941 1943 1950 and 1976 THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Most weather experts and geographers in the Salt Lake Valley agree with pioneer Brigham Young that "this is the place" — for inversions Nowhere in the West except on the Wasatch Front do nearly a million people live in an area so prone to the pollution-trappinphenomena meteorologists say Inversions are as ancient and inevitable as the Oquirrh and Wasatch mountains that make a bowl of the Salt Lake Valley Some of the first pioneers noticed the way their campfires created an unclearing haze Air is usually warmest near the ground and it usually rises and cools as it moves skyward But when windless days and freezing temperatures conspire over the Wasatch Front that changes Cold air chilled by snow and longer winter nights pools at the bottom of the basin Warm air floats about 3000 feet above ground 1tn -: 11000 - 0000 - 9000 - 8000 - 7000 - 6000 - C 1 COZ)L E' COOLEP Continued from A-- 1 still contributing to the problem have done more to correct their sins than have automoe bile and operators Convincing individuals to mend their ways is a delicate problem as demonstrated last week by the relatively meek bills put before the Legislature Included in the package submitted by Gov Norm Bangerter's Clean Air Commission are measures such as requirstudents to comply ing wh!le wood-stov- out-of-ar- with local vehicle-emission- stan- s dards and offering tax incentives to those who purchase clean-burnin- g vehicles or wood stoves activists who have become a vocal lot in Utah during the past five years claim that these legislative initiatives are just weak tea If they're right and the state fails to meet federal pollution standards the EPA could impose draconian measures on the region — placing limits on when or how often motorists can drive their cars and forcing conversion of government fleets to electric supposed to be exceeded Then there are the 189 toxic pollutants listed and policed by the EPA and individual state agencies But it has been impractical to set standards for the numerous toxic pollutants including items such as chlorine for which Magcorp is noted and dichloromethane which Hercules has emitted in great quantity The fact that more attention is paid to the criteria pollutants than to the toxics does not necessarily mean they pose more of a health problem "I don't think we know the answer to that yet" said Steve Pack-hathe toxicologist for the Division of Air Quality 1 t WARMEST LAYER COOLER 5000 - Mountains " 3000 COOLEST certain: Residents along the Wasatch Front cannot drive away from this problem Utalms don't like to believe that their fair valley has a foul problem The irony is the mountains that give the Wasatch Front its character also create much of the air pollution problem "If you could take those mountains off from the east of us you could probably solve our problem" said Burnell Cordner director Of the state's Division of Air Quality "In fact I maintain that when the pioneers came West they should have stopped 500 miles before they did" But the pioneers pushed into the Salt Lake Valley where temperature inversions that trap air pollution "are probably the mo$ severe in the nation maybe Mr Cordner said And one of his colleagues at the division planning manager Dave McNeill says Provo got an even worse deal from Mother Nature than did Salt Lake City "Whoever built that city built it In the wrong place" said Mr McNeill explaining that Provo and Spanish Fork canyons "miss" the city leaving inadequate air drainage "As long as they have people living in Provo they're going to have problems" The inversions in Salt Lake and Utah counties can be misleading there may be some foggy days when there is not a high amount of pollutants in the air But Mr Cordner's rule of thumb may be the most reliable: "I've always said 'If you can see it and it really looks crummy out there it probably is crummy' " By crummy he means tainted with poisonous gases toxins and particulates that promise unkind effects on human lungs If we are what we breathe we've got some carbon monoxide ozone PMIO lead sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in our systems EPA labels those contaminants "criteria pollutants" because federal standards for them are not any-Wher- I and became inextricably linked with it The confluence of those two events prompted a third one: the founding of the Utah County Clean Air Coalition a watershed event in activism in Utah Citizens who noted a correlation between Geneva's reopening and an increase in respiratory ailments in Utah County exerted pressure on the steel company to clean up its emissions and on the state to develop an implementation plan (SIP) on PM10 The latter goal the completion of a SIP to control PM10 levels along the Wasatch Front was realized in November activBeyond that ists buttressed by medical studies are challenging the EPA standards themselves They contend that there is still a health hazard even when the PM10 levels are much lower than the existing 24- hour standard (150 micrograms per cubic meter) If they're right the government standards designed to protect the public health simply are not doing it In the meantime Geneva moved to reduce its PM10 emissions last year by installing a new air-quali- ty air-quali- ty (quick basic oxygen process) fury Division of nace By Air Quality officials were hopeful that the new furnace was making a dent in the particulate problem because there had been no days mid-Januar- Industry 1 VG eeeill sg - r r"- ' Space 21 0- 1 - 0 110 MMWMiMaib 117 g 44 'St Motor Motor Vehicles Vehicles you ore between 18 and 76 with a sitting 4 diastolic blood pressure of mmHg you may research in a study of an qualify to participate call investigational medication Please I I Includes emissions from coke stack (255) open hearth and secondary nitrate (12) salting nitrate (32) (7) (4) and secondary road dust nitrate (18) (10) Space Heating 71 Space Heating (163) Includes wood burning and secondary nitrate (27) Other Fl Includes trains 71 Other Industry Includes BYU Power (2) and secondary Hackett nitrate (3) (5) 4375220 4----' 17-1- - I - 4 L4g11 h ' -- i At ' t i "I The Salt Lake Tribune Graphic down industry and quit worrying exceeding standards reported for PM10 in Utah County while there had been one in Salt Lake The optimism is guarded though since Utah County exceeded almost all last week "The new plant cleans up particulates" acknowledged Mr McNeill "but it's a major source of carbon monoxide But the carbon monoxide when it comes out is extremely hot and it rises significantly So it probably doesn't impact Utah County it probably is dispersed into the atmosphere fairly well" The last thing Utah County needs is any exacerbation of its carbon monoxide problem Provo has one of the worst CO problems in the country (an average of 21 days a year exceeding standards and for that the citfrom 1982-90- ) izens should not look at industry but in their garages about me'" Naturally industry spokesmen are quick to second that "The days whereby significant improvement in air quality can be achieved through industry are gone" said Gregory H Boyce director of governmental and public affairs for Kennecott "Industries already are highly controlled" And even in the cases of the toxic pollutants of which only a few of the 189 on the EPA list are relevant to Utah the severity of their health impacts is difficult to overstate For instance Magcorp's chlorine emissions have been huge — its 110 million pounds in 1989 represented 87 percent of the total toxic pollutants along the Wasatch Front — but chlorine is not a carcinogen and the company's location is far away from a population center Plus Magcorp's chlorine emissions dropped from 110 million to 88 million in 1990 So while industrial culpability still exists it seems to be shrinking Mr Packham the state toxicologist who follows the emissions of toxic polluters like Magcorp and Hercules believes that the industries he deals with are concerned about air quality "My feeling is from talking to these people these companies are not faceless entities" he said "There are individuals involved" "There is still some more stuff they have to clean up" added Mr McNeill "But everyone is ignoring John Q Public That's a political decision that nobody wants to Motor vehicles are the main source of carbon monoxide Not only that the nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbon emissions from motor vehicles combine in the air to form ozone a major criteria pollutant that evidences itself here chiefly in the summer Los Angeles has the nation's only "extreme" classification in ozone a major component of smog Salt Lake though a area is ranked "moderate" City-Ogde- n Carbon nt which monoxide hinders the oxygen uptake of the lungs and ozone which irritates the lungs may not be considered as serious as PM10 from a health standpoint But they are serious nonetheless "The message that I try to get across to a lot of people is that it's not just an industrial problem" We've got said Mr Cordner " to get off the syndrome of 'Close - ptrtiLLI-d91- d - - ii la : L 1 WANT-AD- S 237 I E'S 50 ---- -- '1 ta ii- i- 0 L----- Li ' nOCO i-- 1 :T air-quali- ' k ) - Iv et IT tukk 411-- LI A -- 111111billolpaol Arleillikmigi 1 4-- 11-- q i A -- - - - - 'adihsavaikAa146-a- - r 1 k I :4 : ! :e I 4931160 a - I 1 !f r 41-1- t-- i t '' - tr'1DiLt---112'111-1-'-F ' TrftDE - - ' 1 i YI 'tzt 11 V t r '4 e) t c ili el t f: i ''''' " 1 1 r'' t I- t t it - --- — i - It - 1 - '' ' 7 t 435-169- 7 ( 1 i - g t t : LA 11 7- ki lk r -- 2 1 — - ':'7- - '''''''A ) - is ji 441111111111bh (A1-- 24-ho- Salt Lake City I- N 1 t ' 1625 Soutti State ( tI A - --- ---- i- 1 LITROWCUZLD M) ---- r 24-ho- g i1111't ilk r11111 I CLASSIFIED wood-burnin- I one-hou- r LI - I state implementation plan (SIP) to bring the pollutant in the offending region within standards Ozone — A colorless toxic gas and the major component of smog It is formed in the summer when nitrogen oxides react in sunlight with hydrocarbons (both are emitted by motor vehicles) Ozone can irritate the nose and throat and inflame the lung lining It is one of the six criteria pollutants (primary standard: 012 parts per million r in a period) PM10 — Tiny ash and dust particles — measuring 10 microns (a micron is one millionth of a meter) that float in or less in diameter the air and can become lodged in the alveolar regions of the lung PM10 can irritate the lungs and can aggravate asthma and other diseases It is one of the six criteria pollutants (primary standard: 150 micrograms per cubic meter in a period) Sulfur Dioxide — A pungent colorless gas resulting from the burning of fossil fuels that can irritate the bronchioles and decrease lung capacity Sulfur dioxide is also a major contributor to acid rain It is one of the six criteria pollutants (primary standard: 014 parts per million in a period) Toxic Pollutants — Also known as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) There are 189 toxic air pollutants listed by the EPA for standards which no have been set Following the 1990 Clean Air Act toxic pollutant emitters will now be required to employ maximum available control technology (MACT) to control their emissions d gasoline-powere- rz—ft!7:4 1 un- g Here are some basic terms in the lexicon of air quality: Ambient Air — The outdoor air monitored through the use of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards Carbon Monoxide — A colorless odorless and poisonous gas produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and emitted veprimarily by hicles It interferes with the blood's ability to transport oxygen and it can be lethal in high concentrations It is one of the six criteria pollutants (primary standard: 9 parts per million in an eight-houperiod) Criteria Pollutants — The six common pollutants for which the EPA through the Clean Air Act sets standards that are supposed to be met on the local level The six are: carbon monoxide ozone PM10 sulfur dioxide nitrogen dioxide and lead A listing Emissions Inventory by source of the air pollutants discharged into a community's atmosphere Utah's inventory used to establish air quality standards includes emissions from industries vehicles and area sources stoves and gaslike oline stations Inversion — The atmospheric condition caused by a layer of warm air trapping a layer of cool air beneath it that exacerbates air pollution problems because pollutants cannot be dispersed areas — Regions that violate the EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in one of the six criteria pollutants When a region is designated a area the state must develop a John Q Public is the one who makes multiple trips in his beloved automobile each day If Mr Public doesn't change that behavior in the next few years he may literally choke on his own exhaust Akiliolt which comes Here Is a List of Terms on Air Quality make" A FOUND THE CAT WANTED DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE HOME" RESULTS WITH nitrate Dates: Information from most polluted days 1988-8- 9 and 1989-9- 0 Source: Utah Division of Air Quality PM10 State Implementation Plan : riG 0- 1 - ÷ It didn't really need the additional work The division's current chores include monitoring emissions of pollutants through its 16- 20 air monitors developing state implementation plans to adhere to federal guidelines (its SIP on PM10 filled 18 boxes and weighed more than 2500 pounds) and responding to public complaints "During an emergency episode (07o) planes Sites: North Provo and Salt Lake monitoring stations : 'el (14) (6$'0) The division - der the umbrella of the state's Department of Environmental Quality operates on a budget of about $3 million according to Mr Cordner He said the $3 million now comes jointly from the EPA and the state's general fund but there could be a change soon in the division's revenue sources The Legislature is currently studying an operating permit bill one of the measures in the new Clean Air Act which would charge pollution-emittinsources a certain dollar amount per ton of emissions Mr Cordner says that perhaps a third of the division's budget will eventually be funded by this program which may not be a blessing if the federal and state governments view it as an excuse to reduce their appropriations mission (06) and secondary (22) US:I:ARCH COrPC:ZATIC611 N:12!-1W2110--S- Industry Motor Vehicles LI Includes mobile sources (56) road and secondary Includes wood burning and secondary nitrate II 9) Motor Vehicles El Includes road dust MD rerz-iuso- n Burnell Cordner director of the recalls there were only about 30 employees in the division then just a bureau when he began working for it 14 years ago Now he has 75 employees and he foresees adding 37 more in the next three years "Our division has got to grow a third more in order to accomplish the things that we've been tagged with by the Clean Air Commission and the Clean Air Act" said Mr Cordner referring to the new requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act and the 123 recommendations of the governor's Clean Air Com- Includes copper smelter (57) oil refineries (32°0) secondary sulfate (115) and secondary nitrate (1 1 (6) 95-11- Jame regulatory air-quali- ty agency? division kti If state's 31 22 et : Industry 45 20tY0 air-quali- Temple barely more than a year and it already foresees moving again What better evidence of the concern over Utah's air pollution problem than the steady growth in staff and equipment of the Space 4 ittt-- e period when it's bad we probably get maybe five or 10 calls a day" said Mr Cordner To alert the public to current conditions the division issues an air pollution index twice daily The index which records the levels of pollution for the six criteria pollutants ranges from 1 to 500 with 100 set at the EPA health standard for each pollutant So if the index for carbon monoxide in Provo is 110 then it's a bad day and said Mr Cordner "we attach little health statements to that that the people with respiratory problems the older people the younger people should take these precautions based on what level we're at" Hemphill Like a growing Utah family the Division of Air Quality keeps moving to a larger residence It has been in its current home on North Heating Geneva Steel - Salt Lake Other Geneva Steel That steel plant of course is Geneva which reopened the same year that PM10 was introduced Rules and Regulations Keep The Division of Air Quality Growing 4 Heating City Clean-Ai- r By Lex Other Among the criteria pollutants plant" Salt Lake Airport The Salt Lake Tribune Graphic North Provo Clean-ai- r vehicles Lifestyle changes will have to come one way or the other Either Utahns will cut back on driving — through using car pools taking the bus or voting for a light-rai- l system — or they'll create a mess that the federal government will be forced to correct One thing is Wasatch Range THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE m the Wasatch Front doesn't have much concern over: lead nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide Lead emissions have decreased almost 90 percent nationally in the last decade thanks to the increased use of unleaded fuels Nitrogen dioxide also isn't a major problem by itself only Los Angeles exceeds EPA standards And although Salt Lake is considered a area in sulfur dioxide it hasn't exceeded daily standards in years largely due to plant changes at Kennecott But Utah is familiar with the big three — carbon monoxide ozone PM10 During the past four years PM10 has become a household term in air quality circles The EPA used to measure total suspended particulates (TSP) but in 1937 it created a new indicator for particulates called PM10 to measure smaller particles that can get lodged deeper in human respiratory tracts "When they promulgated the new standard for PM10 in '87 we found we've got really big problems in Utah Salt Lake and Davis counties" said Mr Cordner "And as we did the analysis in Utah County we found the largest contributor by far was the steel 6500 - 7000 FT VALLEY INVERSION s7 COOLER Oquirrh y Ot Ski Areas COOLER Finding the Pollution Solution for Northern Utah 111 k ti $1 Altitude 12000 - e g ' fht ' All Sunday January 26 1992 ' ' — t t ' -- 1 : I - - g ' ' ' ' ' -- - - -- - 1- - A f - - 0 -- - - --- - - - ro rr r -- 4 ' - - -- f -- ' -r Z -7 ' - — - |