S PA R E U TA H S A I R , P R O P O S A L

Proposal
September 3, 2016
Danika LaSpina

Objective
Winter is quickly approaching Utah and as exciting as the snow-covered valley
is, I'm here to inform you about the poor air quality we face each year. Utahs valley
has several red air days throughout the winter due to inversion, and the number of
red days are only increasing each year. Inversion is caused by the cold air in our
bowl shaped valley being trapped under the warm air which acts like a lid. Because
the cold air gets trapped, so does the pollution created by refineries, Utahans
vehicles, small businesses and homes. This pollution that Utahans are breathing in is
cutting down their lives by 2 years, causing SIDS among infants, increased asthma,
increased lung cancer and many more cardiovascular and respiratory issues. As you
can see this is a major problem for Utahans and their health.

Solutions
How I plan on increasing Utahans awareness of their hand in air pollution is by
creating pamphlets and writing a letter to Governor Gary Herbert informing him
that enough is enough and Utah needs clean air to breath each winter. My
pamphlets will be aimed towards the specific air pollutants the average Utahan
creates each winter and how little acts like changing your gas appliances to electric
and avoiding idling your cars will decrease your air pollution footprint. While my
letter to Governor Gary Herbert will be informing him of the top 3 refineries causing
the majority of air pollution in Utah and the damage its causing to our health. I
believe that by increasing Utahans awareness of what actions cause the most air
pollution they can help prevent those actions and help reduce the health risks that
come along with red air days each winter.

Deadlines
My next action is to start my research for the leading causes of air pollution
among average Utahans as well as the leading refineries. I will also be researching

what specific harmful pollutants are found in Utahs air and how much damage that
causes to our health. I will then be creating my pamphlets and print 80 copies to
hand out in Salt Lake City. I also will be writing my letter to Governor Gary Herbert
by September 24, 2016. My only cost for informing Utahans of the air pollution is
printing the pamphlets which would cost me a total of $7.20 for 80 pamphlets. If
you have any further questions or input about my proposal you can contact me
through email at ddlaspina@gmail.com.

Resources
http://blog.utahmomsforcleanair.org/air-pollution-facts/
http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/sltrib/opinion/53600999-82/rtk-pollutionutah-mining.html.csp
http://www.utahstories.com/2014/01/air-pollution-in-utah/
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-airpollution.php

C A M PA I G N

Air pollution in the United States dates back to the eighteenth century during
the Industrial Revolution. Cities across the globe are dealing with air pollution which
causes a variety of diseases including cancer and respiratory disease. Salt Lake,
Provo and Logan consistently rank in the top ten U.S. cities for the worst air
pollution. Utahs valley has been struggling with air pollution due to the valleys
bowl shape. In the winter the valley traps a dense layer of cold air underneath the
warm air acting as a lid, this traps in all of the pollutants creating by Utahans and
refineries. According to the United Nations about 4.6 million deaths are caused by
air pollution, this is more than the amount of people who have died from AIDS and
Malaria combined. The purpose of my campaign is to bring attention to Utahs
winter air pollution to Utahans and to Governor Gary Hebert. I will be discussing
who causes the most air pollution, what actions are causing air pollution and how
together we can lower Utahs air pollution creating less red air days this winter.

Air pollution is defined by Oxford Dictionary as the presence in or

introduction into the air of substances which have harmful or poisonous effects.
The substances found in air pollution is Particulate Matter soot, Carbon Monoxide,
Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulfur Dioxide and Chlorine Gas. Air pollution is
caused by the burning of fossil fuels and exhaust from vehicles. The people who are
the most in danger due to air pollution are children, the elderly and the ill. The Air
Quality Index (AQI) was developed by the Environmental Protection Agency and it
reports how clean or polluted the air is on a scale from 0 to 500, 0 being clean air
and 500 being hazardous. For the past 35 years Utahs average AQI score has been
80 which means the air quality is acceptable; however, the pollutants present may
bring a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are
unusually sensitive to air pollution. The number of red air days 151- 200 AQI are
only increasing, just this last winter we had 30 red air days which is 7 more than the
year before. And in this past year Utah experienced 18 purple air days which is
when everyone will experience health effects and no one should be going outside.
This is why air pollution is such a serious problem, because it leads to aggravated to
sever respiratory diseases, fatigue, reduced resistance to infection, cancer, heart
attacks, premature death and chronic lung disease.

Here are two pictures

showing the difference
between red air days and
green air days in Utahs, Salt
Lake City valley. The first
picture shows Utahs air
during a green air day, as you
can see the air is clear and
there are no health concerns for the population. The second picture is showing
Utahs air during a red/purple air day, as you can see the air is thick and gray caused
by the trapped
pollutants in the
valley. Red and
purple air days are
dangerous because
everyone may or
will begin to
experience health
effects.

In Utah the leading air polluters are refineries/ small businesses and vehicles.
This past year the top 5 refiners creating 40% of Utahs air pollution are US
Magnesium, LLC producing 7,472,197 pounds of chlorine, Military Incinerator
producing 2,300,487 pounds of Hydrochloric Acid, US Department of Defense
producing 436,386 pounds of Ammonia, Hexcel Corp producing 222,323 pounds
of Sulfuric Acid and lastly Kennecott producing 94,190 pounds of Methylene
Chloride. Vehicles cause 60% of Utahs air pollution, because vehicles exhaust
produces on average about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide per gallon. While some
cars are better than others, the four vehicles that stood out to be the worst this past
year were Ram 2500, Ford F-150 Raptor, Ford E-350 and the Cadillac Escalade. But
while vehicles do produce a lot of air pollution refineries pollution is far more
hazardous than vehicle pollution. This is because when Carbon dioxide is inhaled it

causes slight of breath while when Sulfuric Acid, Methylene Chloride and Ammonia
are inhaled it causes accumulation of fluid in the lungs, cancer, nausea, asthma,
memory loss and effects on the liver, kidney and damage to the central nervous
system and the cardiovascular system.

Now I know what you are thinking, how can you help reduce your air pollution
footprint? While a majority of the harmful pollutants released is due to refiners you
still are able to help by monitoring how much air pollution you create. You can trade
in your old gas powered tools and appliances to electric and energy star products
which regulate the amount of pollution released and conserve more energy. Be
sure to car pool or take public transportation such as TRAX and buses as often as
possible, especially on red air days to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide you
release. Lastly you can help by increasing everyones awareness of how harmful air
pollution is to Utahans, if everyone makes a few small changes it will have a large
impact at decreasing the amount of pollution released this winter. In Utah there is a
non profit organization called Utahs Moms for Clean Air that does a rally each year
at the state capital that you can take apart of to help bring the states awareness to
the growing air pollution problem. Another way to help decrease Utahs air
pollution is writing our Governor and informing him that the refineries based in
Utah are producing harmful toxins that should not be inhaled. By helping to get
these refineries stronger regulations and guidelines to follow the less amount of
toxics they are able to release.

Air pollution is
hazardous to everyone
especially children, the
elderly and the ill. Air
pollution has led to 1,400
to 2,000 premature deaths
each year and the air
pollution is only increasing
each year. Air pollution
causes several health
concerns like
cardiovascular disease,
kidney and liver disease,
cancer and asthma. Utahs refineries cause 40% of Utahs air pollution while Vehicles
cause 60%. But while vehicles create more carbon dioxide pollution refineries are
producing toxins that
are extremely
hazardous to humans
health. Remember you
can help by increasing
the awareness of the
hazards of air pollution
and inform friends and
family of the little
changes we can all
make to decrease the
amount of red air days
this winter.

F O L L O W- U P R E P O R T

My campaign was focused around increasing the awareness about air

pollution, the health risks and what causes the most air pollution. During my
campaign I made brochures informing individuals about the leading causes of air
pollution which are refineries and vehicles and the damage they causes. I passed
my brochures out in Salt Lake City to people walking by me. The people I was able
to stop and have talk to me were shocked that more people die due to air pollution
than AIDS and Malaria combined. I was able to inform these individuals that Utahs
air pollution was caused by our inversion locking in the pollution created by
vehicles and refineries. I was then able to inform them about little changes they
could make in their day to day lives which would help decrease they amount of
pollution released into our air especially during red air days.

I also wrote a letter to Governor Gary Hebert informing him about the health
issue caused by the pollution released by refineries. I then explained to him that US
Magnesium, LLC, Military Incinerator, US Department of Defense, Hexcel Corp and
Kennecott are the leading refineries causing the most air pollution. I also explained
what each harmful chemical released did to the humans body when inhaled. Which
is a variety of respiratory problems, cancer, memory loss and lung disease. I
explained to Governor Hebert that the regulation on these refineries are not as strict
as they should be, and due to the exposure of these toxic chemicals released
Utahans life spans are reducing and there is an increase in serious health concerns
like cancer and premature death. I have yet to get a response from our Governor
but I hope to hear from him soon.

I believe that through my efforts more Utahans are informed about what our
air pollution is and the effects it has on our bodies. And I am hoping that through
my efforts people will be more cautious about their actions leading to pollution. The
individuals I was able to speak to while passing out my brochures were very
passionate about the concerns with air pollution and told me they are going to look
into the pollution they are creating and they are going to decrease their pollution
footprint in any way the are able to.

RESOURCES

Bright Skies Contest - Cleaner Air, Brighter Skies. (n.d.). Retrieved October 02, 2016,
from http://www.ucair.org/
Cars, Trucks, and Air Pollution. (2014, December 05). Retrieved September 07,
2016, from http://www.ucsusa.org/
Davis, M. E. (2012, September 12). Respiratory disease associated with community
air pollution and a steel mill, Utah Valley. Retrieved September 07, 2016,
from http://ajph.aphapublications.org/
Schwartz, J. (2004). Air Pollution and Children's Health. Retrieved September 07,
2016, from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/
Title, B. C. (n.d.). Environmental Laws and Rules. Retrieved September 07, 2016,
from http://www.deq.utah.gov/Laws_Rules/index.htm#utlaw
UPHE. (n.d.). Priority Issues. Retrieved September 07, 2016, from http://uphe.org/
Winter Inversions: What Are They and What We Can All Do To Help. (n.d.).
Retrieved September 07, 2016, from http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/