Jeremy Anderson

Geography 1000
Eportfolio Fall 2015
Pollution in the valley: Cause and Effect
Finding an Eportfolio idea was fairly difficult due to my indecisiveness, but
I thought: What better topic to choose than Air pollution/inversion in
Utah? After all, winter is the time of year when the air is at its worst in
the valley. Air pollution is an issue for the majority of the world, but when
it sinks to the surface and stagnates it becomes more problematic than
typical dispersed pollution. To better understand the severity of the air,
we must first look at how its quality is measured.

The AQI or Air Quality Index is how the United States measures air quality
in relation to public health. The scale is measured from 0-500 with 0 being
the least polluted and 500 being the most.

Based on the graph above, Salt Lake Citys average reaches higher than
the entire average of the United States, or even the state as a whole in
some years. While Salt Lake Citys average is generally in the moderate
range with the highest being 72 in 2003, we still occasionally see even
unhealthier conditions. At the end of this paragraph Ive provided a link to
an example: on January 11, 2010 Salt Lake City had the worst air in the
country with an index value of 142. (https://www.ksl.com/?sid=9300491).

What causes the air to get so bad?

High pressure air currents essentially push dispersed pollution down
and holds its there. High pressure isnt generally associated with storms,
but with sunny weather. When these currents pass through the valley, and
there isnt any wind, the pollution remains. As soon as the high pressure
passes and low pressure comes in with a storm whether its just wind, or
precipitation. This is mostly seen in the Winter in between storms.
What are the effects on the public?
Because of the high amount of small particulates in the air, an air
inversion causes the particulates to stagnate on the valley floor. As
citizens breathe the air, the particulates travel through the respiratory
system, causing multiple health issues such as bronchitis, coronary artery
disease, and congestive heart failure (heart attacks).
Its hard to imagine why so many people would want to live where there
are so many health risks just for breathing, but I personally enjoy the
environment when the air quality isnt at a warning level low. Its
especially interesting as well to be able to witness first hand what the
inversion looks like and how bad it actually is (based on how hazy it gets).
What are the environmental effects of inversion?
With inversions, temperature is a leading factor. One of the environmental
impacts of inversions are frozen rain, which occurs during precipitation
when a cold patch passes through where it was once warmer, causing
the rain to get cold enough on its descent to freeze as it falls onto car
windshields, trees, and streets, creating dangerous road conditions. Both
physical issues can develop such as lung problems or heart attacks, and
crash rates are effected by the inversion as well. Understanding its effects
is important so that the general public, or health officials can detect the
origin of common health problems related to the bad air. Its also

important so that those who regularly, or not-so-regularly drive can

prepare themselves for the conditions, and the proper measures
necessary to ensure not only their own safety, but that of other drivers
and pedestrians.
Taken by

Jeremy Anderson; The valley seen from Little Cottonwood with bad air
quality, compared to:

Taken by Jeremy Anderson; Good air quality in the valley seen from Little
Cottonwood canyon
http://www.usa.com/salt-lake-city-ut-air-quality.htm
http://www.airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&cityid=186
http://health.utah.gov/asthma/airquality/winter.html
http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/winter-inversions-what-are-they-and-what-we-can-alldo-help
http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/f?p=100:pg:0:::1:T,V:580,