Utah's 'bad air' days

Some may quibble about the science — perhaps even the agenda — behind a new American Lung Association report that states communities along the Wasatch Front experience some of the worst short-term exposure to particle pollution in the country.

According to the American Lung Association's "State of the Air: 2006" report, the Salt Lake City-Clearfield-Ogden corridor ranked the fifth most polluted area over the short term based on particle pollution, while Logan ranked sixth and Provo-Orem ranked ninth.

These findings are alarming, but some perspective is needed. All of Utah presently meets federal clean air standards, but state environmental officials have in the past expressed concern over some communities where air quality, on some days, exceeds federal standards.

Air quality should be a concern of anyone who breathes. But more so for people who have asthma or heart disease. Particle pollution can trigger heart attacks and irregular heart beats. Smaller particles can be inhaled directly into the lungs.

Most people can intellectualize that they should help improve air quality, but too few Utahns take ownership of the problem. Too few use public transportation, although rising gasoline prices may bump up ridership. Utahns like to burn wood in their fireplaces. Most of Utah's electricity is generated by coal-burning power plants. Add that to industrial sources of pollution and a topography that tends to trap air pollution during temperature inversions.

Utah is hardly alone in this plight. The report says 150 million Americans live in counties where they are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution.

Utah officials carefully monitor air quality and issue alerts and advise homeowners to suspend burning wood or coal in their homes during inversions, or to carpool or ride mass transportation during the worst conditions. It's impossible to know how many Utahns heed those recommendations. For many people, air quality doesn't become an issue until a family member is affected by asthma, heart disease or diabetes. Then it's a significant quality of life issue.

It shouldn't take a family member's illness to bring this issue into focus. We all breath the same air, which means we should take personal inventory over our actions that impact air quality.