It turns out that one magnesium refinery next to the Great Salt Lake is one of the major culprits of smog in Salt Lake City. NOAA Research recently discovered that the refinery may be responsible for a significant fraction of the fine particles that form the dense winter brown clouds that hang over Salt Lake City.” According to an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, the refinery accounts for 10-25% of the winter inversion pollution that occurs during the winter.

The worst of the smog in Salt Lake City primarily occurs in the winter due to fossil fuels and its mountainous topography. During drought cycles in the winter, cold temperatures and mountains hold in the pollutants around the metropolitan area. The smog typically clears out when winter storms come thru.

The smog hasn’t been much of an issue this year, with snowfall being frequent in the Beehive State. Still, it’s hard to ignore how much this one refinery has damaged public health so much.

The Utah Legislature should limit its operations during the winter, or better yet, pay them to shut it down entirely. Based on their record of failing to battle Utah’s various environmental issues, I doubt something so bold could be accomplished.

Image Credits: Saul Flores of Unsplash, Brent Pace of Unsplash, NOAA, Ian Wood of Unofficial Networks

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Have any post ideas or corrections? Reach out to me: ian@unofficialnetworks.com.