This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
With Memorial Day behind us, get ready for three months of sun, fun ... and ozone.
Three oxygen atoms in a single molecule, ozone is a powerful oxidant that attacks lung tissue when inhaled. Higher levels of atmospheric ozone are associated with more asthma, bronchitis and premature deaths from lung and heart disease. Repeated exposure in children produces lifelong reductions in lung function.
Ozone is always present in small quantities, and it increases on hot, sunny days when there are sufficient precursor chemicals present from cars and industrial sources. Those conditions happen every summer along the Wasatch Front, subjecting the majority of Utahns to ozone's lung-searing effects. (There is also a winter ozone problem in Uintah and Duchesne counties related to oil and gas production and winter inversions.)
For several decades, air pollution in Utah has been a moving target. As with wintertime particulates, the state has seen some reductions in ozone concentrations, only to be hit with new research showing that even lower amounts are still harmful.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last fall lowered the standards for atmospheric ozone from 75 parts per billion to 70 ppb. For the Wasatch Front, that likely means most days over 95 degrees have the potential of violating those standards. Had the standards been in place last summer, we would have had 15 more "orange" and "red" air-quality days.
Utah's top air quality official admits the new standards mean that the Wasatch Front and the Uintah Basin likely will be ozone "nonattainment areas" in the eyes of EPA. And that means, in addition to painful breathing, we can add years of painful political wrangling over a "state implementation plan" for ozone. That plan could affect everything from highway construction to lawnmowers.
Plan we should, but there is much we can't control, starting with how hot the summers are. Plus, as much as 20 percent of our ozone drifts across the Pacific from Asia. There is also ozone produced by wildfires, and even some that "leaks" down from the "good" ozone layer in the stratosphere.
If outside factors are part of the problem, they're also at the heart of the solution. Specifically, the biggest contributors to solving this over the coming years will be vehicle manufacturers. Driven in part by the massive southern California market (also a huge ozone generator), automakers are turning fast to cleaner alternatives, particularly electric vehicles.
And that, ultimately, may be the most important thing Utahns can do. Yes, use mass transit, reduce needless trips and avoid gas-powered tools during the hot days ahead. But if you want to do even more for our collective lung capacity, buy a cleaner car.