A plea to help clear air: Ride bus

A quarter-pound of pollutants doesn't seem like much. But when each vehicle along the Wasatch Front releases that much harmful material into the air, the burden to the atmosphere adds up to 125 tons daily.

That's why the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and Utah Transit Authority officials are calling for residents of the area to leave their cars at home one day a week during the summer and take public transportation.

DEQ executive director Dianne Nielson, UTA general manager John Inglish and other officials held a news conference Sunday near the rails of the TRAX Ballpark Station, 180 W. 1300 South, so they could ask residents for help in curbing air pollution.

Ironically, the call came less than two weeks after UTA had closed down for the Independence Day holiday for the first time. Officials explained the reason was financial and said UTA was reconsidering that policy.

Ozone can pose a danger to residents along the Wasatch Front during the summer. Nielson said that when heat combines with high pressure over Salt Lake Valley, ozone levels go up.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, ozone is formed by linking three oxygen molecules, instead of the normal two in oxygen. While ozone high in the atmosphere blocks harmful ultraviolet rays, at ground level it is a noxious pollutant.

According to the EPA, ozone is a "severe irritant . . . responsible for the choking, coughing and stinging eyes associated with smog."

The material is not emitted directly from vehicles. It is formed by a reaction between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight.

Even though the entire state of Utah is classified as in attainment with EPA regulations, ozone pollution still increases in the summer.

"Ozone damages lung tissue, aggravates respiratory disease, and makes people more susceptible to respiratory infections," the EPA says in a fact sheet.

It can be especially harmful to the elderly, children and people with lung problems or immune system disorders, Nielson said. "But it really impacts everybody," she added.

She cited the figure of a quarter-pound of air pollution released per vehicle per day, on average. The aggregate for Wasatch Front cars, 125 tons daily, "makes a great difference" to the atmosphere's cleanliness.