FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2004
Contacts:
Rick Sprott, Division of Air Quality Director, (801) 536-4000
Laura Vernon, UDEQ Public Information Officer, (801) 536-4484
(Salt Lake City, Utah) - Beginning June 1 through Sept. 30, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber and Utah county residents are asked to “Choose Clean Air” in an effort to reduce ozone, an invisible gas formed when emissions from automobiles, industry and other sources react to bright sunshine and high temperatures. Ozone is a major health and environmental concern in Utah’s most urban counties during the summer.
As such, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is asking residents to participate in voluntary “no-drive days” when high ozone concentrations are forecast. To help residents know what other actions they can take, especially if they can’t get out of their vehicles, DEQ has a “Clean Air Utah” Web site at www.cleanair.utah.gov. By visiting the Web site, people can develop a daily plan of action, personalized to their needs, that includes steps they can take at home and at work, as well as ways to drive less and drive smarter.
For example, residents can help keep pollution levels down by carpooling or taking the bus or TRAX, walking to lunch, filling the gas tank or mowing the lawn in the evening, avoiding use of gasoline-powered engines on polluted days, keeping your car well-tuned and tires properly inflated, driving the speed limit, avoiding idling in drive-through lanes, delaying errands and consolidating trips.
Plus, the good habits that help to reduce air pollution and improve the quality of the air we breathe can also save money at the gas pump.
“There are plenty of simple things drivers can do to help reduce air pollution and save money at the pump at the same time,” said Rick Sprott, director of the Division of Air Quality. “By taking daily action, people can make a difference all summer long, and they may be surprised at just how much money they can actually save without having to make a lot of big adjustments.”
Residents are also encouraged to watch out for signs that pollution levels are increasing and to be extra vigilant at doing their part to keep pollution levels at a minimum.
“The brown haze you see hovering over the valley is a mix of ozone-forming pollutants,” Sprott said. “That haze coupled with temperatures at or above 95 degrees and calm winds create the perfect recipe for ozone - and the perfect time to leave the car parked.”
According to Sprott, any exposure to ozone can be harmful. Continued exposure to ozone can cause breathing problems, reduce lung function, irritate eyes and nasal passages and reduce resistance to colds and other infections.
“Every little bit that residents can do helps the air we breathe in big ways. High ozone levels threaten our children’s health, especially those with asthma, and we must do a better job at protecting our most precious resource,” Sprott said.
Some people are more at risk of health impacts than others. 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.
At-risk people can reduce their exposure to ozone, especially between 2 and 8 p.m. when ozone concentrations are at their highest, by spending less time participating in vigorous outdoor activities, taking it a little easier when outside and exercising in the morning or later in the evening.
For the latest air pollution information, residents are encouraged to visit the “Clean Air Utah” Web site at www.cleanair.utah.gov, or call the Air Pollution Hotline at 975-4009 in Salt Lake and Davis counties or (800) 228-5434 in Utah and Weber counties. Information on air quality is updated at least twice a day - once in the morning and again in the afternoon.