This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A storm front advancing on the state Thursday prompted a windblown dust warning from state air quality officials advising people with heart or respiratory ailments to stay indoors.
The Division of Air Quality issued the advisory for the Wasatch Front, Tooele, Delta, Fillmore, Cedar City, Milford, Wendover and Snowville.
The state is required to let the public know when high winds batter Utah and whip up particulates known as PM10 to levels above federal health standards.
"It's a bad thing when you have to stay indoors on a warm day," said Bob Dalley, state air monitoring chief.
Of particular concern are the dust plumes floating upward from the dry shoreline of the Great Salt Lake. Dalley said during four windy days in March the tops of the dust clouds rose as high as the peaks on Antelope Island and obscured views of the Wasatch Range from the west.
"Typically we have this kind of very energetic wind event in the spring," Dalley said. That's because winter's thaw-and-freeze cycle loosens dirt that easily becomes airborne ahead of storm fronts.
Last fall, the state launched a Natural Events Action Plan to protect public health when high winds kick up particulate pollution after exceeding federal Environmental Protection Agency wind-borne dust standards too often.
Concerned about the sulfates and selenium that have historically flowed to the Great Salt Lake from mine erosion, Department of Environmental Quality Director Dianne Nielson directed the air quality division to begin monitoring what the wind blew off the 60,000 to 70,000 acres of beach exposed during six years of drought, the largest high-and-dry expanse since 1963.
Dalley noted that as the Great Salt Lake shoreline dries out, an easily disturbed thin, light dust forms on the surface. Officials have been testing the dust for selenium and mercury, but samples taken last fall didn't show elevated levels of either heavy metal. The testing continues, he said.
Wind-borne dust advisories are part of the state's Choose Clean Air program that also alerts residents to winter pollution. The service is available on the Internet at http://www. airquality.utah.gov.
Particulate matter is made up of solids and liquids found in the air. Particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter - PM10 - tend to pose the greatest health concern. Fine particle pollution known as PM2.5 is only one-fortieth the width of a human hair, but also has significant effects on human health.
EPA studies show even short-term exposure to particulates is associated with illness and premature death independent of other atmospheric pollution. The EPA studies found that extended PM2.5 exposure can lead to chronic disease and a shortened life span, and that presence of gaseous and chemical components such as metals appear to contribute to its toxicity.
Businesses whose operations contribute to particulate pollution are required to suppress dust.
Dalley said that Kennecott Copper, whose tailings used to be a significant problem during dust storms, now employs its own weather forecasters and uses water cannons to tamp down the tailings in advance of storms.