Tag: PM2.5 (Particulate Matter)

  • WestSide AirSense: Empowering communities through enhanced PM monitoring

    We want to learn more about the air pollution in underserved neighborhoods on the west side of Salt Lake Valley. To do this, we’re using affordable air quality sensors in those areas to measure levels of PM2.5 and PM10 particles. We are developing air quality maps and alerts to provide instant, local air quality information.…

  • Uinta Basin

    The Uinta Basin lies in the northeast corner of Utah and is bounded on the north by the Uinta Mountains, on the south by the Tavaputs Plateau, on the west by the Wasatch Range, and on the east by elevated terrain that separates it from Piceance Basin in Colorado. Duchesne and Uintah Counties occupy most…

  • 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…

  • 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.

  • Particulate Matter Overview

    Particulate matter (PM), also known as particle pollution, is a complex mixture of small solid particles and liquid droplets in the air. Some particulate matter, like soot, smoke, dust, or dirt, is large enough to see. Fine particulate matter is so small that it can only be seen through an electron microscope. Particle pollution is…

  • Inversions

    Under normal atmospheric conditions, air is warmer near the ground and colder at higher altitudes. In a temperature inversion, the situation “inverts,” and cold air at the surface gets trapped under a layer of warmer air. During the winter, snow-covered valley floors reflect rather absorb heat, preventing the normal vertical mixing of warm and cold…

  • Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) Overview

    PM2.5 particulates are fine, inhalable particles or droplets with a diameter of 2.5 microns or smaller. These fine particulates, which are about 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair, can travel deeply into the lungs and cause both short-term and long-term health effects. While larger PM10 particulates can compromise respiratory and cardiac…

  • PM2.5 Moderate Area State Implementation Plans (SIPs) (2009-2014)

    In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tightened the 24-hour PM2.5 standard from 65µg/m3 (microgram per cubic meter) to 35µg/m3. While the state was in attainment under the previous 24-hour standard, all or parts of seven Utah counties did not meet the new 24-hour PM2.5 standard. Utah continues to attain the 2006 annual PM2.5 standard…

  • Area Designations:
    PM2.5 State Implementation Plan Development

    Nonattainment designation is determined by the EPA when an area or areas within a state persistently exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The EPA has designated “nonattainment areas” for Particulate Matter having an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 microns (μm) or less (PM2.5). The two EPA designated areas include: Utah Nonattainment Map Including nonattainment area…

  • Public Comment:
    PM2.5 State Implementation Plan Development

    Public comments are a critical part of the decision making process. The Department of Environmental Quality and its divisions and boards are committed to using the public notice and comment process to improve the decisions they make. The most effective comments: Request actions the agency has legal authority to make. Provide new information the agency…

  • Area Source Rules:
    PM2.5Moderate SIP

    The following rules were adopted as part of the overall emissions control strategy for the PM2.5 SIPs. The rules themselves can be accessed online.

  • PM2.5 Air Trend Plots

    PM2.5 data has been collected at most monitoring stations since 2000. Like PM10, maximum values also tend to occur during wintertime inversions. Also like PM10, trends are somewhat difficult to evaluate because weather plays such a large role in the data collected from year-to-year. This is why the standard is evaluated over a three year…

  • Serious Area PM2.5 State Implementation Plan (SIP) Development (2017-2019)

    The Serious PM2.5 SIP Development is very much an iterative process. The technical foundation of any SIP involves numerous emissions inventories, air quality modeling assumptions, potential emission controls, and ever-fluctuating design values recorded throughout the air monitoring network. The PM2.5 Implementation Rule is very prescriptive about how these numbers must fit together to comprise an…

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