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.

DEQ.utah.gov -Utah Department of Environmental Quality

The Official Web site of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality

NEWS RELEASE
March 1, 2006

Contact:
Donna Kemp Spangler, (801) 536-4480
Public Information Officer

Winter Air Program Ends with Record Reds

(Salt Lake City, Utah) – The 2006-07 Winter Air Quality Alert program drew to an end today with a record-breaking 28 “red” days where the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) asked Salt Lake and Davis county residents to limit their driving and not use wood-burning stoves or fireplaces.

Utah and Weber counties also experienced a record number of “red” air quality days.

Tougher new federal air pollution health standards for microscopic particles prompted more “red” days this winter than in years past. (See accompanying chart). On Dec. 18, 2006, the daily average standard for small particulate pollutant known as PM 2.5 was nearly cut in half from 65 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) to 35 ug/m3. This new standards means people were alerted to the unhealthy air much sooner and helped people avoid it.

Beginning Nov. 1, 2006, DAQ called nine “yellow” days in Salt Lake and Davis Counties; 25 “red” days and 12 “yellow” days in Utah County; 17 “red” days and 17 “yellow” days in Weber County; and 10 “red” days and 13 “yellow” days in Cache County.

“The Choose Clean Air program has a high success rate where people pay attention to the alerts,” said Rick Sprott, director of DAQ. “This year we reformatted our Web page to forecast air quality conditions for three days to help the public make better decisions on days when they should limit their driving or stay indoors.” The Choose Clean Air Program lists many options for reducing vehicle pollution at www.cleanair.utah.gov.

The Web site www.airquality.utah.gov uses the same “red, yellow and green” color-coded information that emphasizes air pollution warnings. Instead of focusing on wood-burning, a yellow means it is an air “ACTION” day, asking people to reduce pollution by minimizing driving. A red “ALERT” notifies the public on days when pollution is high and especially harmful for sensitive people.

“The new system will be used year round to emphasize vehicle pollution,” Sprott said.

See Also: Winter Air Alert Program Summary PDF file

You are here: Home >