Deseret News | Holy smokes: Kennecott smelter, Utah's tallest man-made structure, to turn 35

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Holy smokes: Kennecott smelter, Utah's tallest man-made structure, to turn 35

dan rush | 10:48 p.m. Nov. 15, 2009

my brother, jim rush was one of the carpenters who worked on this stack; he said that one gets sure footed in a hurry. it's alot to be proud of!

Oh Yea! | 6:22 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Got to get that smoke & pollution way up there so you can continue to destroy whatever is left of the Oquirrah Mountains.

proudamerican | 7:44 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Oh Yea!--Read the article--there IS no pollution from the chimney; it's steam. And the "destruction" of the Oquirrhs that you reference actually results in the production of copper, which is used in the turbines which generate electricity from windmills, and it's also used to provide electricity to the billions on this planet who don't yet enjoy it.

Dan, that's something to be proud of--that's a seriously impressive structure.

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RH | 7:46 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009

to Oh Yea!: Obviously you did not pay much attention to the article or even read the whole thing. It states the the refinery is one of the cleanest in the world, capturing 99.9% of the sulfur, the main poulutant produced at the smelter.
The mountains have recovered nicely from the prior years of destruction from the "old" stacks and system. Kennecott has worked hard to repair the damage from those years and continues to improve the air quality in the valley. Nice try on a slam though.

Don't knock Rio | 7:59 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009

As an avid environmentalist and a lifelong resident of the Wasatch Front, I don't have too many complaints about the new owners of Kennecott. Sure, the pit is ugly and so is the stack and the pond. But I remember growing up in the western side of the valley. In the morning, you could see the smoking starting from the north end of the mountains and by mid-afternoon, you couldn't even see the mountains because of the horrid pollution. Even as a young kid, I wondered how they could get away with that. But Rio Tinto (and some of the previous owners as well) have gone to great lengths to minimize the impacts. They're a pretty good corporate citizen - and this is coming from a guy who hates most corporations and their environmental destruction.

Thor | 9:09 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Lest we forget. Before the smoke stack, when we would walk down the street in Garfield or Magna, the Smelter Smoke would be so bad that it would burn our throat and lungs. Kennecott only did the smoke stake because they were forced to do it. And thank goodness they did. As neat as it looks, the main purpose was to clean up the air.

Mike | 9:31 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Since there is not more pollution going out of the top, maybe they need to put a revolving restaurant at the top of the stack and some elevators on the outside of the stack to get up to it. That would turn it into a money making proposition and give us a nice view of the Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City, the Oquirrhs, and Antelope Island. I for one would pay to go up there and eat.

That's what they should have done with the big stack in Murray. They would have made their $5.00 it would have cost to stabilize that stack back by now, in spades.

Take a breath | 9:51 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009

I had no idea that that it ranked so among other structures. I know when I see it coming east on 1-80 i know I am almost home. I never see anything coming out of the top and I always look. Its impressive that the smelter is such a clean smelter -- honestly, does anyone every realize its out there. Thats the way it should be.

Restaurant? | 10:10 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009

You might find it a little warm, Mike.

While there is very little pollution emitted [and no, I don't consider CO2 a pollutant], there is a fair amount of heat.

The important point to remember is that those of us that have been here for more than than the last couple of real estate boom-bust cycles can attest to the fact that Utah air is much, much, much cleaner today than it was years ago.

Way back when, most of us burned coal for heat. The Garfield stack -- in one or another of its earlier incarnations, emitted copious amounts of fumes, smoke, and ash. And, there were several foundries and a steel mill operating full bore south of here.

The cleaner environment [as well as the available jobs decrement] is properly attributable to a prior generation of tree huggers. But when new generation tree huggers start whining about Utah's unbreatheable air -- someone should remind them of how it used to be.

And the fact that us old codgers survived it all in pretty good shape.

Artimesia Tridentata | 10:13 a.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Does anyone remember when this stack first came on line? Prior to the stack, there was a bad sulfer-dioxide problem in the Magna area. After the stack was put on line, the sulfer didn't hit the valley floor until it reached the Olympic Cove area! It's no wonder they found other ways to clean up the emissions from the plant.

Opa-Z | 1:48 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

It is a mazing view from the top, been up there several time to maintain the lights for the FAA, the elevator ride is always a bit scary.

Jordan T. | 7:29 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Wow! At that height, the Kennecot smokestack is 65 feet taller than the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas!!!

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Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

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Holy smokes: Kennecott smelter, Utah's tallest man-made structure, to turn 35

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Reader comments Holy smokes: Kennecott smelter, Utah's tallest man-made structure, to turn 35

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Holy smokes: Kennecott smelter, Utah's tallest man-made structure, to turn 35