Burning eyes, stinging nostrils and strained breathing have been telling us for days: The air in much of northern Utah is unhealthy and remained that way today with red alerts issued for air quality in Utah, Salt Lake and Davis counties.
State regulators confirmed that prognosis, and, on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency map, Utah stood out as having the worst air-quality in the nation.
The air has become so polluted officials have issued a general health warning for people in Utah, Salt Lake and Davis counties. Not only are "sensitive" people at risk of health impacts, but so are healthy individuals, said Bryce Bird of the state Division of Air Quality.
"Everyone should be concerned."
On the EPA's national pollution map, which offers a snapshot of key pollutants at any given time, no other U.S. communities had the red "unhealthy" dots that characterized the northern Utah areas.
At least through today, air-quality experts and weather forecasters expect the foggy blanket of pollution to smother northern Utah valleys. A weak storm that is expected to head into the state this afternoon might help a bit, said National Weather Service forecaster Pete Wilensky.
"It's going to rain tomorrow," he said Tuesday. "But it doesn't look like things are going to clear out until the weekend."
While it's not uncommon for northern Utah to have high pollution spikes during winter inversions, levels of fine particulates -- microscopic particles of soot generated mostly by cars, trucks and industry -- have been worrisome in recent days.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set a health-based standard of 35 micrograms of PM 2.5 per cubic meter of air averaged over a 24-hour period. PM 2.5 is short for particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or smaller, or about 1/25 the width of a human hair.
In other words, when PM 2.5 is higher than 35 micrograms over time, the air is considered somewhat unhealthy.
Preliminary measurements of Utah's PM 2.5 this week suggest that threshold was exceeded for the past five days in Utah County and the past four days in Salt Lake and Davis counties. Both state and federal estimates predict the same will be true Wednesday.
The Air Now Web page said Logan had an "air quality index" rating of 131 at 4 p.m. Ogden's was 109, Provo's was 147 and Salt Lake City's, 145.
Especially high spikes in two of these counties this week have alarmed some Utahns. At the real-time air monitor in downtown Provo on Tuesday, PM 2.5 reached 133.5 micrograms per cubic meter of air at 8 a.m. In Salt Lake City, the monitor registered 98.9 at 2 p.m. Monday.
With pollution as bad as it is, many critics of a planned power plant in West Bountiful are criticizing state officials for allowing yet another facility that adds to the problem.
The Davis County city's mayor has said, though, that even if the plant gets a permit from the state, local officials are unlikely to allow the rezoning and the building permit the facility would need.
Not only are people in sensitive groups urged to take caution -- the very young, the very old and people with heart and lung problems -- but even healthy people are advised to limit their exertion outdoors.
Wood burning is prohibited in Utah, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Cache counties during these "red" air-quality periods. Bird noted that environmental compliance officers are out in force and fielding complaints about those who appear to be violating the restriction.
For more information, go to www.airquality.utah.gov and airnow.gov
