This website's content is fully accessible to all browsers, however it will look much better and your experience will be much more enjoyable if you upgrade your browser to one that is standards-compliant.
NEWS RELEASE
April 21, 2006
Contacts:
Rick Sprott, (801) 536-0072
Director of Utah Division of Air Quality
Donna Kemp Spangler, (801) 536-4484
Public Information Officer, DEQ
(Salt Lake City, Utah) – The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has given the green light to walking, biking and carpooling to help reduce ozone pollution levels this summer. And those repeated trips to the store, filing gas tanks, and mowing lawns in the middle of the day are getting a red light.
If this sounds familiar, the “Choose Clean Air” campaign, which kicks off Saturday, is a color-coded system patterned after the “Red-Light Green-Light” winter program aimed at reducing particulate matter pollution during inversions. The problem in the summer is ozone – an invisible gas formed when vehicle emissions combine with heat and sunlight.
For the second year in a row, DEQ has partnered with the Utah Asthma Task Force and Sandy City Parks and Recreation to kick off the Choose Clean Air summer campaign with a 5k walk or run on Saturday [April 29] at Hidden Valley Park, 11600 S. Wasatch Drive, Sandy. Check-in is at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m. Cost is $15 per person for same-day registration.
“We are happy to once again host this event,’’ said Emma Crandall, program coordinator for Sandy City Parks and Recreation. “Our sponsors have generously provided refreshments and we encourage everyone to come out and enjoy the festivities.”
“Making clean air choices everyday is paramount to protecting our health and environment from the harmful effects of ozone,” said Rick Sprott, director of the Utah Division of Air Quality. “Simple actions help all of us breathe easier during the summer. The Red-Light Green-Light system provides a simple way for people to understand the air quality conditions in order to make clean air choices.”
Air quality conditions are posted daily on the Choose Clean Air Web site: www.cleanair.utah.gov.
“Green” means that air quality conditions are good and residents are encouraged to make clean air choices to help keep air pollution levels low. “Yellow” means that pollution is building and residents are encouraged to take proactive steps by voluntarily carpooling, consolidating vehicle trips, and avoiding fueling the car or mowing the lawn in the middle of the day when the temperatures are highest. A “red” day means that pollution levels are critically high and residents should use mass transit, carpools, or find other means of transportation and avoid using gasoline-powered engines.
Just as during high particulate pollution periods in the winter, people with respiratory problems and asthmatics are particularly vulnerable to high ozone levels. Ozone can irritate the respiratory system, causing coughing, throat irritation and difficulty breathing.
“About 9 percent of Utahns suffer from asthma,” said Libby Chuy, health program specialist for the Utah Department of Health, Asthma Program. “Although those with asthma will benefit from being active during the summer months, it is important to avoid strenuous or prolonged physical activity when ozone levels are high. The Choose Clean Air summer alert system helps all of us make healthy choices.”
You are here: Home >