Toxic fog UT: Pregnant women and children urged to stay indoors as pollution goes 'off the charts'
Source: By Suzannah Hills - dailymail.co.uk
Two million people are at risk from a toxic fog that has descended over Utah as pollution levels in Salt Lake City reach an all-time high.
The icy fog has smothered the Salt Lake Valley for several weeks and trapped lung-busting soot emitted in the city underneath.
The level of pollution in the city is now the highest in America according to the Environmental Protection Agency and medical experts are now urging residents to stay indoors.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2267488/Toxic-fog-hits-Utah-Pregnant-women-children-urged-stay-indoors-pollution-goes-charts.html
Lots of graphics with article.
First: Stay indoors? I would recommend, leave town! Indoor air is not much better than what is outdoors. And the Colorado Plateau, just over the Wasatch, is warmer ans sunny, with clean air. The Great Salt Lake basin is like a bathtub, except no drain. Lake Bonneville's ancient shoreline is plainly etched into the mountains. In winter, the basin becomes a land of fog until further notice. Add in humans, and it becomes the Land of Smog until Further Notice, until a storm sweeps out the inversion.
Second: We must realize that this is happening to the globe before it is too late. The Earth is like a bathtub too, layers of atmosphere. And, we are making the one we live in unsuitable for life! It is just a matter of degrees and the march of time as more and more toxins accumulate. We can't leave this town, we have to live with all our waste for all time forward.
psychmommy
(1,739 posts)logosoco
(3,208 posts)I am afraid we will see more of this. Hopefully politicians will begin to realize that we only have one planet and allowing it to be trashed by careless corporations and greedy energy companies is the worse thing we can do for future generations.
Ian David
(69,059 posts)Conservatives, get out there and see what's really going on!
alp227
(31,943 posts)kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)yellowcanine
(35,690 posts)The prevailing winds in Utah in Jan and Feb are from the south and southeast.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)power plants right in Utah, some of which power MY city. We're working on ending our need for that, BTW, but Rome wasn't built in a day and mass suicide of Angelenos is not an option just to sooth the brow of radical environmentalists. And I say this as a fairly radical environmentalist myself.
yellowcanine
(35,690 posts)travel thousands of miles. http://deq.ne.gov/AirDivis.nsf/pages/A-3
Texas is a big producer of mercury from burning coal and much of the mercury is insoluble and therefore travels in particles which means it will show up as smog.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)not down where smog is. And there are far too many high mountains between TX and UT. Seriously. Geography, dude.
yellowcanine
(35,690 posts)Last edited Fri Jan 25, 2013, 04:26 PM - Edit history (1)
And the Troposphere (where the weather is), extends above 20,000 feet over Utah, higher than the Rocky Mountains at 14,400 feet max. And what goes up comes down again. Seriously. Atmospheric science, dude.
Should add that it is about 1300 miles from Austin TX to Salt Lake City. Not that far in terms of particulates traveling in the troposphere.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)talking about. The jet stream is constantly coming through from the north and west. The WEATHER blows in from the west. It doesn't blow in from the southeast.
And if it does, there is that gigantic coal-fired power plant down at Four Corners that spews out the pollution. Texas has nothing to do with it.
Smog from Los Angeles fills up the Great Basin. You can track it as you fly over in a jet.
yellowcanine
(35,690 posts)Your experience notwithstanding, the prevailing wind data says that winter prevailing winds in Utah are from South-Southeast. Check it out.
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/htmlfiles/westwinddir.html
The jetstream is not the same as the prevailing winds. It affects weather, yes but it is generally at a higher altitude than prevailing winds. Note - in no way did I say that the main source of smog is Texas. Just that it is reasonable to suggest that some is coming from there, based on the amount of coal fired plants and the distance emissions can travel. Actually emissions from coal plants travel all over the globe, so a thousand miles or so is really nothing.
CreekDog
(46,192 posts)during these pollution episodes, there is NO WIND, that's why the pollution and colder air settle low in the valleys.
in fact, that's what characterizes this weather pattern --there is effectively little to no ventilation of air from anywhere is, it is stagnating in the valley.
yellowcanine
(35,690 posts)But that doesn't mean there aren't contributions from elsewhere. And Texas is a very large source of coal emissions only about 1300 miles from Utah, which is nothing when it comes to moving mercury particles around in the upper atmosphere.
CreekDog
(46,192 posts)if there is no wind getting down to the valley (do you know how an inversion works?), then pollution from Texas is not the issue.
yellowcanine
(35,690 posts)Particulates already in the upper atmosphere don't magically disappear just because the wind stops.
CreekDog
(46,192 posts)why you are saying they are all wrong?
2naSalit
(85,638 posts)SLC has numerous refineries, a lot of traffic passes through as well as the local traffic. Also there is a military airfield, a big mf'ing copper mine... and a bunch of other ambient pollution. your explanations make no sense and prove you have no clue about atmospheric mechanics to say the least. Get some information, digest it and then review your not so intelligent comments, please. You could also look at the graphic included n the article at the link in the OP and get some info about this, Texas air doesn't get to UT for the most part and your summation is silly at best.
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)unless you shut off the pollution sources. The airport and highways could be shut down, for example, and streets closed to traffic for two days.
This is why it is NOT in the news. The solution is simple and obvious, quit polluting. And we all know that can't be done on the scale needed to change the situation. Instead, children will get asthma, the planes will continue to land and take off so people in Seattle can go to Denver, Chicago, Dallas, or Miami, and commerce will not be impeded by health concerns.
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)Stuart G
(38,328 posts)Last edited Fri Jan 25, 2013, 01:03 PM - Edit history (1)
Notice..this source from the UK..
Why wouldn't our sources want to report this?? I wonder???
one national source:
CBS web site...but I couldn't get the story to come up...here it is....but note: the headline on the story suggests, "Utah Doctors warn on Unhealthy Air..." But the story does not mention any doctors warning..instead goes after a company for polluting" So it is a hit piece on that company. (at least most of it)..doesn't mention much else..only national story I could find Friday morning..
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50139659n
Huffington Post reported it two days ago..in its "enviornmental section" or "green page"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/23/salt-lake-city-air-pollution_n_2534949.html
Stuart G
(38,328 posts)note: this report does not say for people to stay inside..at least in the first few paragraphs..It takes a softer tone to this situation..oh..it comes and goes..just hold your breath..it will go away soon.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55695303-78/pollution-utah-cubic-micrograms.html.csp
Deep in the story..we get this :
"Meanwhile, the Utah Division of Air Quality has been puzzling over the remarkably high readings in Utah County. Monitor readings for one hour there hit 147 micrograms of pollution per cubic meter of air more than four times the EPAs health-based standard of 35.
Plus, daily average levels remained at well above three times acceptable levels, making them the highest levels the states ever recorded for the area."
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
The story goes on to say that one Utah county..has refused to allow vehicle testing for pollution in the past..but it will oppose this in the future..
geomon666
(7,512 posts)Well yeah I guess that makes sense.
ROBROX
(392 posts)tHERE ARE SOME GOOD PEOPLE IN THIS STATE, BUT THEY ALL HAVE TO SUFFER FOR BEING A RED STATE.
It is to bad that California had to set the record straight concerning air pollution. Maybe this area wants to have BETTER pollution than CHINA!!!!
If it doesn't kill you it on makes you stronger..............
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)On Our Radar: Salt Lake Smog
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/on-our-radar-salt-lake-smog/
Stuart G
(38,328 posts)Few days ago...the world knew that Chinese cities were choaking from pollution.
Here in the good old U.S.A. it gets a mention in the enviornmental section..of one national news source.of a city that is also choaking..with record levels of polution
This story gets no mention on the front page or on stories about the "United States" no links on either page..so it is buried..
also the length of the story is just one paragraph...
.Perhaps as it gets worse over the weekend, this will get more coverage..We will see.
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)Maybe the poor folks caught in this will see relief before long. The "fog until further notice" forecasts there are a deep chill of wintertime event.
Meanwhile, the fact that this story is buried is the real news, I think!
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Perhaps they pissed her off.....
Stuart G
(38,328 posts)TM99
(8,352 posts)Here in Phoenix in the winter months, we have a growing brown cloud again as well. Like Salt Lake City, we are in a valley. We get inversions that trap whatever particulates are emitted. When it is cold, Phoenicians burn their fireplaces. Add high dust particles because we are in severe drought conditions, and thus far in the last two months, we have had several HPA days according to EPA standards. We also had quite a few HPA days due to dust storms the last two summers the likes of which I rarely saw here over the 20+ years of residence.
My girlfriend and I both have asthma as well as I have other medical conditions. I follow the daily conditions on www.airnow.gov. You can locate the current air quality conditions by state and zip code for the entire US.
Phoenix has not gotten this bad, and I have cringed every time I log in and see that big red spot over Salt Lake City. I know that if current climate change conditions prevail that Phoenix will end up like this.
It is truly atrocious and frightening.
yellowcanine
(35,690 posts)Wait - maybe not.
We even have a resort for the 1% to prove it!
http://www.thephoenician.com/
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)Phoenix is just a very large demographic concentration, like #7 nationally, so there is a tremendous amount of pollution daily. Wind helps a lot in Arizona, but the Salt Lake Basin has been still for a long spell by comparison. Phoenix is on the Salt River, with water flowing to the Gulf of California. Salt Lake was rising and threatening SLC in the 1980s.
TM99
(8,352 posts)I don't know if you live here or not, but the Salt River is pretty much dry year round in the Phoenix area. Well except for the damned up artificial Lake Tempe that was 'created' a few years back.
I agree that SLC is bad, but please realize that Phoenix is actually a bit worse. We have broken records for the number of days of high pollution. Both Salt Lake City and Phoenix received F's from the ALA last year. SLC has us beat only in that they are in the top 25 for short-term particle pollution usually in the worst of the winter months. Phoenix is in the top 25 for year round particle pollution and summer ozone. Sadly, I predict that we will make the top 25 for short term particle pollution in the coming years.
Here's a few articles on the subject:
http://www.phoenixmag.com/lifestyle/valley-news/201203/cloud-city/
http://www.examiner.com/article/how-now-brown-cloud
Phoenix and Salt Lake are both in 'basins' or 'valleys' which is what causes their inversion weather patterns in colder weather though they are different in size, style, and type. The inversions and the resulting pollution are disturbingly equal.
Sadly, both cities (and states) are suffering due to run away deregulation by Republican governors who refuse to do any thing substantive above the very real health problem in their states that this air pollution causes.
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)and taught at local colleges in the East Valley. The metro grew enormously out there in that time, from desert to suburbia, and the air followed suit, from cleaner than Phoenix to polluted too. I had to move because of the air, so I know all too well. I'm living in a recovery zone, away from pollutants now.
I did some research involving site lines from West side mountains to East side peaks, and the daily smog cycle obscured the sight lines before midday back then. Today, it is likely not possible except under unusually clear conditions instead of almost any morning.
And yes, these unregulated development environments are the problem. Capitalistic growth/profit is a mindless automaton of ever-increasing poison levels that must be controlled at some future point.
TM99
(8,352 posts)And yes, it is getting worse year after year. With my health, I have had to seriously consider doing what you and moving away from all the pollutants.
Sadly, I don't see it changing for the better.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)hampering good old Amurican' prosperity there.
Squinch
(50,672 posts)Like a wierd Conservative lottery!
stultusporcos
(327 posts)those and other pesky laws, now they have to live with the consequences of their choice now.
Clearly the people of UT want this; it is what they have been voting for, their duly elected representatives put the laws and regulations in place to achieve this goal.
Why complain UT, you are getting what you voted for?????
This is what happens when people vote for Republicans.
former9thward
(31,684 posts)The EPA governs air pollution in the U.S. not the states or cities.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)doesn't contribute to the decline of environmental protection? News to me.
former9thward
(31,684 posts)The poster I was replying to said governors or local officials could change air pollution regulations. They can not. States are only allowed to make regulations stronger than the federal regulations -- example CA which has stronger air pollution laws than federal.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)and done nothing to increase them at the state level. There, you just answered your own question.
Oh and, I'm a Californian. I've known a few people from Utah, they like to call my state the People's Republic of California. Well, maybe yes, maybe no, but at least I don't have to worry about pollution clouds, so I'll take my People's Republic over their free market heaven any day of the week.
former9thward
(31,684 posts)That is your statement not mine. And it is false.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)former9thward
(31,684 posts)If there was a problem with that rule the EPA has been in Obama's hands for 4 years now. Plenty of time to change anything -- EPA regulations do not need congressional approval. And it makes my point that these are federal regulations -- not state or local. Thank you.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)government regulation and interference in the marketplace, go ahead. The pollution clouds will likely continue to tell a different story for some time to come.
Enjoy!
Oh and, Utah continues to vote Republican, so they haven't changed one bit since 2003.
former9thward
(31,684 posts)How has Utah changed air pollution regulations? Which regulation did they change? Why has Obama not changed it back? Who cares how they vote. It does not matter to the EPA. Governors do not have the power to change EPA regulations despite your insistence.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)Decades of voting Republican have weakened clean air standards. I don't know why Obama hasn't done more to change it back, but if Utah really gave a shit about its own people, they could do it at the state level like we in California have done. They haven't. It's their own fault. This bullshit, keep the government out of the marketplace and anti-environmentalism espoused by by conservatives who rule over states like Utah is what is to blame for why they can't go outside now.
Deal with it. Take some responsibility, admit there's a problem, educate others, and work to change it at the state level instead of waiting for the feds to do it. And stop voting Republican. Almost immediately after we kicked the Repukes to the curb in CA we got ourselves a balanced budget. If they did the same in Utah, they could have clean air.
former9thward
(31,684 posts)No regulation can stop that. It happens in LA from time to time. You may think LA is heaven but it does have air pollution. I would not live there for all the money in the world. I do agree that UT or any other state can work to get better laws than federal regulations if they so desire.
BTW your budget is balanced because of help from the federal government (taxpayers in the other 49 states). CA gets 40% of its budget ($79 billion) from the federal government. http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Debt-deal-could-devastate-California-budget-2352680.php#ixzz2HiG0HoKO
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)Had we not, we'd still be billions of dollars in the hole.
Even on the worst days in LA, you can still go outside. But hey, it's okay, don't do anything about the situation in Utah. Just blame it all on something else (feds, temperate inversion) whatever.
Who needs them pesky libruls telling God fearing Mormons how to run their state anyways? Utah is doing just great!
Oh, and a word of advice, SFgate is a completely worthless, craptacular publication. Nobody in this state takes it seriously. It's one step above tabloids.
former9thward
(31,684 posts)After all you don't need it according to you. Since you want to attack the messenger here is another source:
From Sacramento It's a seldom discussed fact how heavily dependent Sacramento is on Washington's borrowed money.
The same goes for California schools and local governments.
They're all huge targets as Congress takes aim at federal debt.
It's unlikely the Obama administration would have defaulted on U.S. Treasury bonds even if Congress had remained gridlocked on debt ceiling legislation. Stiffing bondholders would have irreparably tarnished the nation's image abroad. Instead, Washington would have slammed it to the states and federal contractors.
The real state budget includes an additional $79.2 billion in federal largesse, representing 38% of total state spending. This brings the grand total to $208.7 billion.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/04/local/la-me-cap-money-20110804
I suppose they are making it up too.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)What does California federal aid have to do with the pollution in Utah being so bad you can't go outside? If you want federal aid to fight it, then ask for it. At least that would be a sign that Utah actually gives a shit about the problem.
I never said California couldn't use federal aid. I said that even with it, we still would have had a budget shortfall, and we would have had we not passed prop 30.
The difference between CA and Utah is we're not afraid to ask for help if we need it because we don't have that bullshit, "get the guvn'ment out of my business" mentality that Utah and other conservative states have. We're also not too cheap to pay a little more taxes if it means having a clean environment.
former9thward
(31,684 posts)As I said before if the people there want changes it is up to them. I just like seeing a little accuracy in these discussions. You should really educate yourself about temperature inversions and air pollution. You will find no law or regulation can prevent them.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)aren't even in compliance with federal regulations.
"On Tuesday, the Cache County Council signaled that it will stop fighting state and federal regulators and adopt an emissions testing program for vehicles this year.
Certain they had a better solution for their community with a proposed sticker program, they balked when the EPA and state air-quality officials insisted on the sort of emissions program already used on the Wasatch Front to bring winter smog episodes into compliance with federal law by the end of next year.
"We really thought our program would be better than theirs," said County Executive M. Lynn Lemon, noting that a threatened $50,000-a-day fine was a factor. "Were going to move forward."
State air-quality scientists have been working on broader plans to reduce winter smog, but they are searching for even more pollution-cutting ideas because plans for Salt Lake and Utah counties still cannot meet federal standards."
I particularly like the first line about how the Cache County Council said IT WOULD STOP FIGHTING STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND ADOPT AND EMISSIONS TESTING PROGRAM FOR VEHICLES THIS YEAR.
Once again, it takes a disaster to finally get some action. You say no regulation can stop this. I say bullshit. How about we try it and find out?
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55695303-78/pollution-utah-lake-state.html.csp
benld74
(9,881 posts)bamacrat
(3,867 posts)Beijing is experiencing Orange Fog right now, you can see it from space and breathing it without a respirator for an hour or so will subject your lungs to the equivalent of a year of cigarettes. It collects on cars. There was a structure fire that burned for 3 hours before anyone noticed because the smog is so thick.
General Zod
(680 posts)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Donora_smog
I'm too young to remember this, but I remember reading about it when I was a kid. It's telling that U. S. Steel acted like a reprehensible corporate entity and denied responsibility.
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)As the macrocosm unrelentingly approached these micro events if we don't change.
My Good Babushka
(2,710 posts)Well, I wasn't there, but I remember hearing about it. I grew up very near there, in Belle Vernon.
hatrack
(59,387 posts)USA! USA! USA!
Stuart G
(38,328 posts)Great Smog...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smog
The Great Smog of '52 or Big Smoke[1] was a severe air pollution event that affected London during December 1952. A period of cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants mostly from the use of coal to form a thick layer of smog over the city. It lasted from Friday 5 to Tuesday 9 December 1952, and then dispersed quickly after a change of weather.
Although it caused major disruption due to the effect on visibility, and even penetrated indoor areas, it was not thought to be a significant event at the time, with London having experienced many smog events in the past, so called "pea soupers". However, government medical reports in the following weeks estimated that up until 20th December 4,000 people had died prematurely and 100,000 more were made ill because of the smog's effects on the human respiratory tract. More recent research suggests that the total number of fatalities was considerably greater at about 12,000.[2]
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You know..it would take an event like the one above to really get everyone thinking about "pollution" and the "enviornment"..Here is what happened in Illinois a few years after this event. So I am living in a two flat apartment with my family...Dad and my uncle upsairs announce they got to change the furnace..All furnances in Chicago had to change to "oil" or "gas" burners by a certain date..all..Now Illinois used to be the largest soft coal producer in America...I was never told why...but sometime in the 80s, I read about the above event...and that is why...yes, every apartment had to be converted..cause of the above event..60 years ago...maybe a movie about it..to wake people up...butI am afraid only another event...sad but true....
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)Imagine the northern hemisphere circumpolar air movement failing because the Arctic sea ice is gone, or some such scenario altering the pollution dispersal potential each winter!
Stuart G
(38,328 posts)then very little will be done. If many thousands die at once..maybe we will take action. ...maybe..But one thing I think is very important..action needs to be taken soon, or we will be past the tipping point..let us hope there is time left...
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)This is what happened with the famous "London Fogs" of the 1800s. It happened in California in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and we put through strict regulations that made it better. It is what is happening now in Beijing.
primavera
(5,191 posts)If we weren't such energy gluttons, this wouldn't be a problem.