Category: Air Quality

  • Voluntary Seasonal Ozone Controls:
    Uinta Basin

    These voluntary practices include a menu of measures oil and gas operators can use to reduce emissions. These voluntary practices enhance but do not replace existing rules and regulations. Recommended Controls Enhanced Inspection and Maintenance Program Infrared (IR) Camera Conduct a representative survey of facilities and equipment with the potential for fugitive VOC emissions using…

  • Uinta Basin Ozone Studies (UBOS)

    High wintertime ozone concentrations are relatively new phenomena in rural areas of the West. First observed in 2005 in the oil and gas production areas in the Upper Green River Basin (UGRB) of Wyoming, preliminary studies showed that wintertime ozone levels would spike when snow cover, sunny skies, and strong temperature inversions trapped ozone and…

  • 2012 Uinta Basin Ozone Studies (UBOS) Study

    Starting in the winter of 2012, the Uinta Basin Ozone Study (UBOS) (2 MB) launched a wide-ranging research effort into the ways atmospheric chemistry and precursor gases interact to create high levels of wintertime ozone. The study was by far the largest and most complex air quality study ever conducted in Utah. This effort was…

  • 2013 Uinta Basin Ozone Studies (UBOS) Study

    Teams of scientists continued their work in the Uinta Basin in 2013 to identify the sources and conditions that create ozone during winter inversions. The Division of Air Quality (DAQ) and its partners collected additional data to improve their understanding of the atmospheric chemistry that leads to the formation of wintertime ozone in the Basin.…

  • 2014 Uinta Basin Ozone Studies (UBOS) Study

    The 2014 Study focused on the ways snow chemistry and aerosol chemistry contribute to the formation of ozone. The study looked at quantifying the contribution of nitrous acid (HONO) and formaldehyde (HCHO) to the chemical reactions responsible for ozone formation. Prior studies in the Basin showed that the radical chemistry that drives ozone production is…

  • 2013 Uinta Basin Winter Ozone Study: Final Report

    Table of Contents Executive Summary Preface, Contributors and Acknowledgment Synthesis of Results Distributed Measurements of Air Quality and Meteorology Analysis of Aircraft Observations Intensive Chemical Measurements at Horse Pool Balloon-Borne Vertical Profiles of Ozone, Methane, Non-Methane Hydrocarbons, Nitrogen Oxides and Meteorological Parameters Ozone Deposition Velocity During Snow-Covered and Non-Snow-Covered Periods by Eddy Covariance Tethered Ozonesonde…

  • 2011 Uinta Basin Ozone Studies (UBOS) Study

    During the winter of 2010-2011, the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) partnered with Utah State University Energy Dynamics Lab to study elevated winter ozone levels in the Uinta Basin. The study was done to understand the extent and behavior of winter ozone development in the Basin. Ten portable air monitors were placed throughout the Basin…

  • Ozone Standards and Development of a State Implementation Plan (SIP): Uinta Basin

    Jump to: Levels Standards SIP Reductions Proposed changes to the existing ozone standard combined with increasing incidences of high ozone values in the Uinta Basin could require further reductions in emissions from oil and gas operations. If ozone levels exceed federal air quality standards, the Basin could be designated as a nonattainment area, requiring preparation…

  • Uinta Basin Particulate Matter

    PM2.5 UDAQ began monitoring PM2.5 in Vernal in December 2006. During the 2006-07 winter season, PM2.5 levels exceeded the new PM2.5 health standard that became effective in December 2006. The PM2.5 levels in Vernal were similar to other areas in northern Utah that experience wintertime inversions. The State of Utah is in the process of…

  • Visibility and Air Quality

    Very small particles cause haze because they are about the same size as the wave length of light in the visible spectrum and can either scatter or absorb light.

  • Top Five Ways to Reduce Pollution and Protect Your Health

    Know your air quality. Know how it will affect your health. Get some ideas to clean it up. Put them into a plan. Tools and Information Health symptom tracker for pollution episodes. Details on Utah’s Recess Guidance program. Short and medium-range weather forecast. Track Air Action days and see an Animated forecast of Utah pollution…

  • Consumer Products and PM2.5

    While it might not seem like hair spray, carpet cleaner, or air fresheners contribute to Utah’s PM2.5 problem, they do.

  • 2017:
    Statewide Emissions Inventories

    The annual emissions inventory is one means used by the state to assess the level of pollutants released into the air from various sources. Inventory Data The data posted on this site will include only the latest version of the 2017 Emissions Inventory. This webpage should not be used as a reference for past versions…

  • Management of Air Quality in Utah

    The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Division of Air Quality currently operates 11 carbon monoxide monitors, 16 fine particulate monitoring sites, and 19 meteorological stations along the Wasatch Front.

  • Unavoidable Breakdown Rule

    The Utah Division of Air Quality (DAQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are currently in negotiations to address concerns about Utah’s rule for unavoidable breakdowns.

  • Smog Rating Information

    The Division of Air Quality (DAQ) is encouraging consumers to consider cleaner cars when they purchase their next vehicle. Along the Wasatch Front, vehicles contribute over half of the emissions that form PM2.5.

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