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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2001
Contacts:
Bob Dalley, Manager, Air Monitoring Center, (801) 887-0762
Rick Sprott, Director, Division of Air Quality, (801) 536-4022
Wasatch Front residents can reduce summertime smog. Summer smog is a major health and environmental problem in Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Utah counties. Continued exposure to smog can reduce lung function and lessen the body's ability to resist respiratory disease and other infections.
The Utah Division of Air Quality's "Spare the Air" campaign begins its eighth season Friday. The campaign runs through the end of September. During these four months, the Air Monitoring Center (AMC) may call voluntary no-drive days and issue health advisories when pollution levels increase.
"During these voluntary no-drive days, we are asking residents to leave their cars at home and stay indoors as much as possible," said Bob Dalley, AMC manager. "Actually, with fewer cars on the road on any given day during the summer, we can all breathe a little easier while improving air quality."
Since cars cause about 50 percent of our summer smog, residents can help keep pollution levels down by driving less. Leaving the car home one day a week, car pooling, riding a bike, walking, taking the bus or TRAX or telecommuting are ways to reduce smog.
In addition to driving less or not at all on polluted days, residents can do the following:
If you must fill your car's gas tank or mow the lawn, do it in the evening when temperatures are cooler.
Ozone is the primary ingredient in smog. It is a gas which forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds are emitted into the atmosphere on a hot, sunny day. Major sources of nitrogen oxide emissions are motor vehicles, utility companies and industries burning fuel. Major sources of volatile organic compound emissions are motor vehicles, industrial and commercial processes and consumer solvents such as oil-based paints, lighter fluid, aerosol sprays and evaporation of gasoline from refueling and spillage.
When people breathe ozone, the lining of their lungs can become irritated and inflamed, much like a sunburn on the skin. Those most at risk are children who are active outdoors, adults who work or exercise vigorously outdoors and people with respiratory diseases such as asthma or emphysema.
There is such a thing as "good ozone." While harmful ozone is near the ground and can cause a number of health problems, "good ozone" is located nine to 50 miles above the ground and protects us from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.
During the 2000 "Spare the Air" season, the AMC called nine voluntary no-drive days and issued health advisories for four days. Pollution from wildfires in the West was partly the cause for higher-than-normal pollution levels.
For the latest pollution update, call the Air Pollution Hotline at 975-4009 in Salt Lake and Davis counties or (800) 228-5434 in Utah and Weber counties, or visit the Air Pollution Index Report web site at http://www.deq.state.ut.us/eqamc/api.htm.
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