Bad air over Wasatch Front to continue through Wednesday

SALT LAKE CITY — Bad air continues to cling to the Wasatch Front.

State air quality control regulators have had their thumb persistently on the "red alert" button as the area's notorious wintertime inversions continue to make outdoor activity unhealthy for sensitive Utahns.

"Red" days are forecast in Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Utah and Cache counties through Wednesday. Wood burning is prohibited, and residents are asked to limit driving.

A national pollution map national pollution map put out by the Environmental Protection Agency showed the Wasatch Front's air quality as the worst in the nation Monday, with Salt Lake City, for example, at an air pollution index of 113, contrasted to Bakersfield, Calif., at 64. Denver, with air quality described as "good," came in at a mere 34.

The index predicts air quality conditions based on the presence of particulate matter in the air — fine dust particles, soot and pollutants emitted by industry and automobiles. Cold temperatures and lack of wind combine to trap the pollution along valley floors under the warmer air, leading to inversions that aren't dismantled until a strong storm system moves through.

People with heart and lung disease are particularly susceptible to the pollutants, as well as people with respiratory conditions such as asthma and the very young or elderly.

State air quality regulators are in the process of coming up with ways to bring "non-attainment" areas into compliance with new EPA guidelines on PM2.5, or fine particulate pollution. The state is also in dispute with the federal agency for its efforts to meet regulatory guidelines on PM10 pollution.

Cheryl Heying, state air quality director, said Utah is fighting the EPA's "disapproval" of its 2004 plan, which shows it comes in under the 24-hour "rolling" average for that type of pollution during winter months. The state has argued that springtime dust events should not be counted in pollution levels because they are unforeseen and uncontrollable, a point that federal regulators dispute and insist on including. When those spring events are counted, it bumps the Wasatch Front's PM10 levels to a measurement that exceeds federal allowances.

"There is nothing we feel is possible to overcome those events," Heying said. "They are natural events that occur that can't be overcome by any rule or regulation."

Comment on the state's PM10 plan is being accepted through March 1. That same month, state regulators are hopeful a meeting can be arranged with regional EPA officials.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com