Widespread bans on personal fireworks in Utah seemed to achieve the main goal over the July Fourth weekend: limiting new wildfire starts.
But the restrictions may have also contributed to lower-than-usual levels of Independence Day air pollution in Salt Lake and Utah counties.
In each of the past three years, according to monitoring data collected at stations in Midvale and Lindon, July Fourth has been the worst day of the year for air pollution known as fine particulate matter. This type of pollution is made up of tiny airborne particles, like metals, that can penetrate humans’ lungs and bloodstreams. It appears when — yes, you guessed it — fireworks go off.
Usually, air quality readings for fine particulate matter become “very unhealthy” on July Fourth. This year, though, the dangerous particles peaked at “moderate” levels, per the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s website.
“When I was looking across the [Salt Lake] Valley, evening of the Fourth into the fifth, I noted that there was not the level of haze that I normally see,” said HEAL Utah Executive Director Lexi Tuddenham, whose nonprofit works on environmental protection and public health issues in the Beehive State.
Even short-term exposure to fine particulate matter can have serious implications, Tuddenham said. When fireworks wreck air quality, she said, emergency room visits, asthma attacks and other breathing issues spike.
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