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Letter: Don’t give your children a toxic port

(Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) The Wasatch Range is illuminated above Bountiful as the air quality continues to deteriorate under inversion conditions on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, obscuring the ground below as pilot Jeff Greenland takes every opportunity to fly above the poor conditions. Over the radio with Salt Lake Approach before landing he can be heard saying "thanks for keeping us all safe during the shutdown," as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history drags on.

Our dreaded smog season is here. The last thing we need is the proposed inland port, which would add thousands of additional diesel trucks to the valley each day, further polluting our dirty air.

As a fourth-year medical student and future pediatrician, I am very concerned about the effects of the proposed inland port on the health of the children of Salt Lake Valley. Decades of studies have demonstrated that pollution ravages human health, particularly for infants and children, whose developing bodies and brains are vulnerable to even the tiniest quantities of toxins.

To Derek Miller and the members of the Inland Port Board: Just as you wouldn’t give your children cigarettes, please don’t give Utah’s children this toxic port.

Hanna Saltzman, Salt Lake City

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