Toxins in the State of Utah

Utah has many hazardous toxins and heavy metals present in various areas of the state, and in varying concentrations. Atmospheric particulates, or particulate matter (PM), are one of three different substances that will be described in depth in this paper. Atmospheric particulates are defined as an aerosolized form of a solid or liquid substance that is widely dispersed in a given region. Atmospheric particulates are created both naturally and artificially; examples of natural atmospheric particulate pollution include: smoke from a forest fire, erupting volcanoes, and airborne sediment in dust storms. Artificially created atmospheric particulates are perhaps the more dangerous and abundant of the two categories. Artificially created atmospheric particulates may range from the burning of oil and other fossil fuels in combustion engines (such as car and jet-plane exhaust), airborne pollution from mining operations (such as copper mining), and industrial pollutants (such as steel mill or refinery pollution) (3 Wikipedia, 2006).

Atmospheric particulates are of great concern for residents of the State of Utah, as noted in an article reviewed while conducting research for this paper. Utah Valley has been studied to have very high concentrations of atmospheric particulates, especially when weather changes cause an inversion of airborne pollutants. Much of the atmospheric particulates in Utah Valley are caused by the presence of steel mills and oil refineries in the region. Other sources of atmospheric particulates include the Kennecott Copper mining operation, vehicle emissions, and jet-plane emissions from the Salt Lake City Airport. The bowl-like mountain formations that form geographical borders for the Utah Valley are ideal for harboring these particulates in certain weather conditions (Molinelli, Madden, McGee, Stonehuerner & Ghio, 2002).