Utah Moms for Clean Air

Summer is here and with it, ozone season. Today, ozone levels reached levels that are unhealthy and more of the same is expected Tuesday and Wednesday.

While ozone is good up high in the earth’s stratosphere, it is harmful to people, plants and animals at ground-level. In essence ground-level ozone is smog. It is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NOx and VOC.

Breathing ground-level ozone can jump-start a number of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation and congestion. It can also aggravate bronchitis, emphysema and asthma. Simply put, breathing ozone-polluted air gives our lungs a sunburn! Repeated exposure can permanently scar your lung tissue.

So what can you do to help reduce your contribution to ozone and protect you and your family? Start by signing-up for air alerts at the Utah Department of Air Quality (http://www.airquality.utah.gov/). DAQ will alert you at least one day in advance when our air is predicted to be unhealthy. Ozone peaks in mid-afternoon (today, for example it peaked about noon), so on red and yellow air alert days avoid physical exertion during the hottest part of the day, when ozone, which again is sunlight dependant, reaches its greatest levels. Exercise instead in the early morning or after dark. On red air days like today, I also do my best to keep my kids inside during peak ozone hours (ozone breaks down quickly indoors).

As for your reducing your contribution to ozone please consider the following, especially on Red and Yellow alert days:

• Refrain from using a gas-powered lawn mower, blower, trimmer or weed cutter. Your neighbors will thank you just for the reduction in noise pollution!

• Fill your gas tank during cooler evening hours.

• Reduce driving by carpooling, taking public transit, walking, biking or telecommuting.

• Do not idle your car for more than 10 seconds.

• Use low or no VOC paint. (Check-out the Green Building Center in Salt Lake City).

• Set your thermostat a few degrees higher in the summer (saving energy saves you money and saves our air).

• Send letters to Governor Huntsman and other elected officials demanding action on our poor air quality (Salt Lake City gets an “F” grade from the American Lung Association!)

Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can create a future where we can all breathe freely.

*EPA brochure: “Ozone.” June 2003

Breathing in air pollution from traffic fumes can raise the risk of potentially deadly blood clots, a US study says.

Exposure to small particulates - tiny chemicals caused by burning fossil fuels - is known to increase the chances of heart disease and stroke.
But the Harvard School of Public Health found it also affected development of deep vein thrombosis - blood clots in the legs - in a study of 2,000 people.
Researchers said the pollution made the blood more sticky and likely to clot.The team looked at people living in Italy - nearly 900 of whom developed DVT.
Blood clots which form in the legs can travel to the lungs, where they can become lodged, triggering a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism. The risk of DVT is known to be increased by long periods of immobility. In particular, passengers on long-haul flights have been shown to be vulnerable, but so are people who spend long periods of time sitting at their office desk without exercising, or walking around.

Researchers obtained pollution readings from the areas they lived and found those exposed to higher levels of small particulates in the year before diagnosis were more likely to develop blood clots.The Archives of Internal Medicine report said for every 10 microgrammes per square metre increase in small particulates, the risk of developing a DVT went up by 70%. Air quality guidelines generally state that small particulate concentrations should not exceed 50 microgrammes. Lead researcher Dr Andrea Baccarelli said: “Given the magnitude of the effects, our findings introduce a novel and common risk factor into the development of DVT.

“And, at the same time, they give further substance to the call for tighter standards and continued efforts aimed at reducing the impact of urban air pollutants on human health.”
Dr Beverley Hunt, medical director of the DVT charity Lifeblood, said: “We have known for some time that air pollution has been associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke. “This study shows for the very first time that air pollution also increases the risk of clots in the veins and tells us why. “It’s an exciting finding because air quality is something we can improve on through tightening air quality legislation.”

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7396733.stm

Utahns have been well-aware of mercury in our water and air since methylmercury levels in the Great Salt Lake shocked us all in 2004.

Methylmercury is the toxic form of mercury after it has been biologically transformed. It poses a public health risk, especially to children and unborn babies.

A neurotoxin, it builds up in the food chain and attacks the neurological system, causing retardation in the unborn and learning disabilities and behavioral problems in children. Humans are exposed most commonly by eating contaminated flesh, usually fish.

Utah has consumption warnings for several fish statewide and four duck species on the Great Salt Lake. Idaho has similar warnings.

Now, we are seeing action by the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection to shut down Nevada gold-ore plants until they can remove mercury from their emissions.

“This is a bold action they’ve taken,” said Cheryl Heying, director of the Utah Department of Air Quality. “It shows they have teeth, and they can bare them.”

Read more:

• “Utahns praises closure of mercury-spewing Nevada plant,” Judy Fahys, Salt Lake Tribune, March 13, 2008.

Day after Red Air Quality Day, you will see “no burn day” or “wood burning prohibited.” Burning wood contributes to air pollution. When and how you burn solid fuel does make a difference.

If you see that neighbors are burning solid fuel on Red Air Quality Day, you might remind them that such burning is prohibited. When your kind reminders don’t work, remember that you can report violations.

When we have a red Air Quality Alert day, you can report people you see burning in their solid residential fuel devices by calling 801-536-4000 and asking to file a complaint. If it is after hours or you prefer not to call, you can also use the web based complaint form.

The penalty for most residential solid fuel burning violations is $25 for the first violation and doubling each time thereafter until the maximum of $299 is reached. Inspectors from the Division of Air Quality have to actually witness the violation in order for a citation to be issued. You may file your complaints anonymously or using your name. If you have further questions, contact the Utah Division of Air Quality or call their general number 801-536-4000 and ask to speak to a compliance inspector.

In her Dec 16th column in the Salt Lake Tribune, Rebecca Walsh wrote, “Breathe in those diesel fumes, kids: Schools, highways don’t mix.” She provided an interesting overview of the health effects when children live and go to school near highways, an issue Salt Lake and Davis County residents have struggled with recently.

• “Breathe in those diesel fumes, kids: Schools, highways don’t mix,” Rebecca Walsh, Salt Lake Tribune, December 16, 2007.

Our own Michelle Hofmann, a member of the Utah Moms for Clean Air steering committee and our Education Outreach Chair, published “Air Pollution and Health” in the November issue of the Utah Medical Association Bulletin. The article reviews “the most contemporary findings on this subject” and addresses “the relevance of these studies to the Utah medical community.”

At certain times of the year, Utah has some of the worst air quality in the nation. According to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air report for 2007, three of Utah’s major metropolitan areas ranked among the top 25 most polluted by short term particle pollution (PM2.5), including Logan (5th), Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield (7th), and Provo-Orem (19th). Poor air quality not only compromises the aesthetics of our beautiful state, it also significantly endangers the health of Utah’s citizens. An extensive body of scientific evidence now indicates that air pollution is responsible for signifi cant morbidity and mortality; thus, physicians should be aware of these findings in order to optimally protect the health of their patients.

• Read the full article: “Air Pollution and Health,” Michelle Hofmann, MD, MPH and Charles Langelier, MD, PhD cand., UMA Bulletin, November 2007.

Sunday at the Salt Lake City Library, Dr. Brian Moench, of Utah Physicians for a Health Environment, spoke on “Utah’s Air Pollution: Should You Give Up and Move Out of State?” The answer for some might be yes, but most of us see enough hope ahead that we will stay here and make the difficult changes necessary to clean up the air.

What can be done, in addition to ordinary Utahns acknowledging the problem and changing our lifestyles? Dr. Moench say we

need to “change our political leaders” by letting them know what a high priority it is to deal with air pollution.

“That’s the most important part of this whole picture,” he said, adding the issue cuts across political and economic boundaries.

We need to be informed about what the Utah politicians are doing about air pollution.

Two months ago, a legislative committee panned a task force recommendation for raising an additional $3 million a year to step up air monitoring. And, in the 2007 Legislature, lawmakers kept spending on environmental programs flat while infusing most other state programs with some of the $1.6 billion budget surplus.

Governor Jon Huntsman Jr, on the other hand, has made clean air one of his top three priorities.

In an interesting counter to the false dichotomy set up by some Utah business people between caring for our air and keeping our economy healthy, Dr. Moench pointed out that pollution-related health care costs are a drain on Utah’s economy. He said, air pollution causes about 2,000 premature deaths per year in Utah. This number does not, of course, include those whose respiratory and cardiopulmonary problems are caused or worsened by air pollution but who don’t lose their lives. Clean Air that we can all breathe in common is clearly best for Utah’s economy.

• Read the whole story: “Utah’s air: Expert says breathing pollution is like smoking five cigarettes a day,” Judy Fahys, December 10, 2007.

In a survey of more than 120 papers, Cornell researcher David Pimentel has found that “[a]bout 40 percent of deaths worldwide are caused by water, air and soil pollution.” Among the study’s findings on air pollution:

Air pollution from smoke and various chemicals kills 3 million people a year. In the United States alone about 3 million tons of toxic chemicals are released into the environment — contributing to cancer, birth defects, immune system defects and many other serious health problems.

Dr. Pimentel has been active in environmental pollution research for more than 40 years.

Read the full story at:

• Chronicle Online, Cornell University.
• Science Daily.