Rios 1

Omar Rios
Ms. E. Parrish
English 1010
May 9, 2014
Utahs Air Quality
Air pollution causes many serious illnesses which can range from asthma and respiratory
problems and can go all the way to causing heart attacks and even death! Many people dont
know how much the air quality can affect your health. In Utah, our air quality is not that great
and sometimes it gets so bad that it forms a layer of fog which makes it difficult to drive.
According to the American Lung Associations State of the Air Report of 2013 some cities in
Utah are rank top 10 in the United States for having bad air quality with Salt Lake City, Ogden
and Clearfield being in 6
th
and Logan in 10
th
. Kids living in Utah with this bad air quality could
be harmful because they are always outside playing. But while they are having fun they do not
notice that they are breathing in bad air and it is bad because their lungs are still developing. If
they are exposed to the air for long periods of time because of their age they are more at risk of
having health problems in the future such as asthma and heart disease. People think that our
environment is fine but after reading this essay they will realize that there are things that can be
done to make our air quality better and better regulations can be set to help protect our
environment. Our legislature can make laws that are stricter on regulating how much pollution
can be emitted.
Bad air leads to health problems. Long term exposure to PM 2.5, which are small
particles that are found in the air that are harmful to breathe in, it can affect your body.
Rios 2

According to the New York Department of Health fine particles affect lung function and
worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. Utah air regulations are not strict
enough especially on factories and industries. According to an article by the Salt Lake Tribune
one-third of the air pollution in Salt Lake City is caused by a company named Kennecott which
is one of the biggest mining company of copper and other minerals in the country. This is one
company now imagine all the other companies that contribute to the pollution of the air. This is
why we should set stricter emission standards so that industries like this one do not pollute the
air as much. On a poll taken by the Salt Lake Tribune more than 59% of Utahns also favor
stricter air quality rules for industries.
Factories and industries are not the only one contributing in the pollution of the air, there
are things that people do every day that pollute the air as well. If people were to drive less and
carpool when they can and even use public transportation our air quality would improve. But bad
air does not only affect humans it also affects the environment. All the bad gasses and particles
that are in the air are bad for the ozone layer because the ozone layer is a very important part of
our planet. It is a layer of ozone in the stratosphere that protects us from the harmful ultraviolet
radiation that the sun gives off. If the pollution of our air continues pretty soon that layer of
protection will fade away and we will be exposed to these harmful rays which can cause deadly
skin cancer, melanoma, and premature aging(National Geographic).
There are people that will argue that our air is not that bad and that it is the cost of living
in this modern age because of cars and other modern day technology that we use that is the price
we have to pay. This is wrong because of us living in this modern society we should have the
technology to keep the level of pollution down and invent more eco-friendly technology.
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Another point that is sometimes made is that we could have better air but at what cost would
people lose their jobs. For example factory workers, if stricter laws were made on the regulation
of air would it put companies out of business and leave their employees without a job?. I say no,
on the contrary I believe that if these changes were made more jobs would be created because
factories would need new people who can help them with the new standards. Some people say
that it is not a problem for them or that it doesnt worry them because the bad air quality is only
for a couple months of the year. This is wrong although it might only be visibly bad for a couple
of months the bad air is still always there and even though people may not notice it is causing
them harm. If it is from them breathing it in or from it causing them to get more exposure to
harmful rays from the sun the danger is still there. Some also say that it is much better than what
is was before and that we should be satisfied with how it is. Although it is much better since the
passage of the Clean Air Act in, 1970 The Clean Air Act is the comprehensive federal law that
regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources there is still a long way to go until
Utah has good air.
Now that I have made some point as of why we need to have better regulations or
standards involving air emission. Just how the Clean Air Act helped tremendously making new
laws would also be an enormous help to our environment and a better place for us to live and
maintain our health. Not only factories and legislature should be the ones to make a change.
There are things that can be done in everyday life to make our environment a much better place
not only now but for the future as well. Every little thing makes difference even if it is just
walking to the store that is right around the corner instead of driving or using product that do not
hurt the ozone layer, all these can be a big help.
Rios 4


Work Cited
Klaus, Marion, and Dan Mayhem. "Kennecott causes one-third of of air pollution in Salt Lake."
The Salt Lake Tribune 29 Feb. 2012: n. pag. Print.
"Fine Particles." . New York Department of Health, n.d. Web. 8 May 2014.
<www.health.ny.gov/.../pmq_antw>.\
Maffly, Brain. "Utahns favor stricter air quality rules for industry." The Salt Lake Tribune 19
Jan. 2014: n. pag. Print.
Markosion, Richard . "Why Its Red and Who Produces the Toxic Air we Breathe." . Utah
Stories, n.d. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://www.utahstories.com/2014/01/air-pollution-in-
Utah/>.
"Red-green air quality alert kicks off in utah with stricter standards." . Salt Lake Tribune, 1
Nov. 2006. Web. 8 May 2014. <>.
Rutledge, Kim , Melissa McDaniel, and Diane Boudrean. "Ozone Layer." . National
Geographic, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
<http://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclopedia/ozone-layer/?ar_a=1>.
"EPA." Summary of the Clean Air Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
<http://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-air-act>.
"American Lung Association State of the Air 2013 - Most Polluted Cities." American Lung
Association State of the Air 2013. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
<http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html>.