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SALT LAKE CITY — Wildfires in and around Utah are affecting the state's air quality, and as the mountains emerge from the smoke and smog, scientists are looking into how poor the air quality actually is.
Scientists say Thursday's air is better than Wednesday's, and they've changed their system's filters to assess the damage.
"It's pulling in air from the atmosphere," said Seth Arens, an environmental scientist, adding that it's the little things that make a big difference. "We're talking about micrograms of matter."
It takes precise instruments to measure tiny micrograms. When measuring air quality and pollution, scientists look for changes in particulate matter (PM) measuring 2.5 micrometers or less. PMs are extremely small dust and soot particles in the air.
"Particulate matter was a bit higher the last couple of days," Arens said.
The small air filter, filthy in a single day in comparison to the day before, reflects an uptick in pollutants. The dirty filter scientifically confirmed what many Utahns saw of Wednesday's air quality — it wasn't very good.
"We've had some smoke from fires, especially in Nevada, but also elsewhere surrounding the state," said Donna Spangler with the Division of Air quality.
Related:
Utah continues to have some of the worst air in the nation
Utah's most populous cities flunked a national air quality exam but fare better today than a decade ago, according to the American Lung Association, which released its report on 2012 air quality this week.She said as bad as it was Wednesday, though, it's getting better.
"We have a cloud cover and it's helping improve the air quality tremendously," Spangler said.
She also said air quality depends on how close a person is to burning wildfires. At about 1 p.m. Thursday, the PM in Washington County was measured at 38.7 micrograms, which translates to an unhealthy level for people with sensitive respiratory systems.
In Salt Lake and Davis counties at the same time, the PM was measured at a moderate 13.7 micrograms, and in Box Elder County PM was it measured at 11.3 micrograms.
"We generally do this because we're required by the EPA," Arens said. "That's where (it) comes from, the Clean Air Act."
