Utah ranks No. 6 on toxic chemicals list

Utah's 2.76 million residents are living in a state that is making improvements to its air quality, while it is still struggling to control the total amount of toxic chemicals being released into the environment, according to a report this week from the state Department of Environmental Quality.

The 2008 "Utah Report on the Environment" shows that Utah hasn't been able to shake its No. 6 ranking as one of the worst states in the nation for releases of toxic chemicals into the air, land and water.

Even so, workers made "significant" progress during 2008 in cleaning up the old Geneva Steel mill property on the eastern shore of Utah Lake, the report said. The Great Salt Lake also now has its first-ever standard for selenium pollution, and an increase in fish testing last year was able to pinpoint additional areas of mercury contamination around the state.

The state also has made some progress in cleaning up its air. Highlights in the report include efforts to retrofit school buses and reduce their idling times to make air cleaner for children who use the buses. And the department touted its three-day air-quality forecasts that warn people when pollution is at its worst.

The full 23-page report can be found at www.deq.utah.gov/envrpt.