I read the research paper “Winter Temperature Inversions and Emergency Department Visits for Asthma in Salt Lake County, Utah, 2003-2008” to get an understanding of some of the issues that result from having poor air quality. (https://nowcomment.com/documents/263116) Winter inversions are layers of air that can trap pollutants in higher concentrations in Salt Lake Valley and are often associated with our air pollution problem in the valley.
The paper found that days of heavy inversion were indeed associated with increased rates of emergency department visits for asthma. This illustrates the importance of the issue for Salt Lake Valley; poor air quality doesn’t just make the sky unappealing, it can hospitalize people. This paper provides evidence of a clear problem in the valley. Inversions are a key component of the air quality issue in the valley and hopefully by solving our air pollution problem, we will see less people hospitalized on days of inversion.
