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Texas Sharon's Bluedaze

Fracking News

Oil & Gas industry causing ozone in rural Utah

October 23, 2010 By TXsharon


Oh, what a surprise!

Not!

…the oil and gas industry is pumping alarmingly high pollution into the skies — as high as anywhere in the country.

Ozone raises its ugly head in rural Utah
By JUDY FAHYS
The Salt Lake Tribune

The problem was on par with the worst summertime ozone tracked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the nation’s most polluted place, San Bernardino County, Calif. In addition, Uintah County’s ozone topped the worst high-ozone days in Salt Lake City and even industrial hubs such as Houston and Los Angeles.

Now where have we heard this before?

Wyoming is the least populated state. Why would they be having air pollution issues?

Air pollution in Wyo. community rivals that of big cities

BOULDER, Wyo. – There isn’t anything metropolitan about this tiny unincorporated town in southwest Wyoming, where a few single-family homes and a volunteer fire station stand against a skyline of snowcapped mountains.
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But Boulder, with a population of just 75 people, has one thing in common with major metropolitan areas: air pollution thick enough to pose health risks.

“Used to be you could see horizon to horizon, crystal clear. Now you got this,” said Craig Jensen as he gestured to a pale blue sky that he says is not as deeply colored as it used to be. “Makes you wonder what it’s going to do to the grass, the trees and the birds.”

The pollution, largely from the region’s booming natural gas industry, came in the form of ground-level ozone, which has exceeded healthy levels 11 times since January and caused Wyoming to issue its first ozone alerts.

Oh gosh! Here too.

Ozone reductions not seen in Barnett Shale region
Brett Shipp

The jig is up! Drill for gas, pollute the air.

About Sharon Wilson

Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.

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Filed Under: Air pollution

Comments

  1. MYtoeSPACEpillow says

    October 23, 2010 at 5:00 am

    And so I once again asked for a moratorium on drilling in Arlington until the Ft Worth air study is complete-that me and Ben Zene find it hard to stand near the Cowboy Stadium because of smog from cars plus the wells to the south of us. Tonight Ben and I would have waved to thousands of people going to the Ranger game, but my lungs can't take it. Ben is wearing my $40 mask and so we stayed home.

  2. Brown Bess says

    October 23, 2010 at 6:28 pm

    OK, but this is "wintertime" ozone that depends on the reflection of sunlight on the snow to be created. Got any examples of summertime smog problems caused elsewhere by gas operations?

  3. TXsharon says

    October 23, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    We have winter ozone.

Stalk TXsharon

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