Exercise in dirty air equal to smoking, doctor says

SALT LAKE CITY — With northern Utah's air quality at unhealthy levels, especially in Salt Lake and Davis counties, one doctor strongly advises against exercising outdoors in the murky air.

"It's a bad idea to go out and exercise in it. It's kind of like you were exercising smoking a pack of cigarettes. You're better off not exercising in it," said Dr. Brian Moench, an anesthesiologist who works at LDS Hospital and is president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.

The Utah Division of Air Quality called Monday a red alert day in Salt Lake and Davis counties and a yellow alert day in Utah and Weber counties. The Bear River District Health Department called Monday a red alert for Cache County.

And the extended area forecast is for unhealthy conditions through at least Wednesday.

Moench said it is simply a misconception that bad air is only detrimental to those with respiratory problems.

"It's unhealthy for everybody," he said. "The bottom line is you're better off remaining indoors. It is really hard to overstate the impact."

Some studies show that effects of air pollution can linger up to 30 days in a person's body, Moench said. Skipping exercise for a day or two is better than going out in the foul air.

The purity of indoor air also is often overstated, he said, and indoor air can have unique pollutants that outdoor air doesn't. Eventually, outdoor pollution infiltrates indoors to some degree, too.

"The difference between outdoor and indoor air is not as great as people think," Moench said.

Young children and human embryos are the most susceptible to air pollution, he said.

"We'd like to see the country take it more seriously," Moench said.

Even in non-inversion, non-hazy air, it is wise not to exercise on or near a busy road, he said. Even two blocks away, the air will be cleaner.

Additional information on air quality health advisories is available at www.airquality.utah.gov.

Northern Utah residents can expect the fog and haze to continue for at least one more day before a new snowstorm arrives to clear the air somewhat Wednesday.

In the meantime, the coldest air is gone for at least the next week.

According to the Salt Lake Office of the National Weather Service, the daytime high Tuesday is expected to reach almost freezing — 31 degrees — and Wednesday could actually rise above the freezing mark at 33 degrees.

There's a 30 percent chance of snow during the day Tuesday, a 40 percent chance Tuesday night and 50 percent chance Wednesday.

The normal daytime temperature for this time of year is about 36 degrees. However, for 21 of the 28 days in December, temperatures both day and night have been below normal and are running almost 7 degrees below the average daily value.

The Bryce Canyon Airport set an all-time overnight low temperature record for the date Monday morning at 17 degrees below zero. That broke the 1966 record of 14 degrees below zero.

Also, Wendover on Sunday shivered at a record daytime high of just 12 degrees, one degree under the previous 1990 record for a Dec. 27.

e-mail: lynn@desnews.com