On October 8, 2015 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is providing the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) a $355,000 grant to conduct air toxics (Hazardous Air Pollutants or HAPS) monitoring and evaluate population exposure in West Valley City, a community located on the west side of the Salt Lake valley.

UDEQ will use the EPA grant to leverage and complement ongoing research funded by the Utah State legislature on hazardous air pollutants across the greater Salt Lake urban area. State-of-the-art monitoring equipment will measure a wide suite of organic compounds in the gas and particulate phase such as benzene, toluene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. This will provide real-time data during winter and summer sampling events which will help assess conditions and inform effective control strategies to reduce exposure in the area.

EPA also announced it is providing the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) a $399,000 grant to conduct air toxics (HAPS) measurement in environmental justice communities adjacent to the I-70/I-25 freeway interchange area in the Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea neighborhoods of Denver.

CDPHE will use the EPA grant to work with the City and County of Denver and the Department of Environmental Health to conduct the project, which will develop information about hazardous air pollutants and exposure near the Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 interchange in downtown Denver which is disproportionately impacted by emissions from the freeways, which collectively transport more than 400,000 vehicles each day.

What this means to you
EPA believes certain areas of the Salt Lake Valley and the city Denver are suffering from increased levels of Air Toxics or Hazardous Air Pollutant emissions and require closer monitoring.

MIRATECH can help
Contact MIRATECH to learn about HAPS controls for your engines.