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Utah earns ‘F’ when it comes to the air we breathe

Posted at 5:47 PM, Apr 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-19 19:47:54-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Failing grades are bad enough when they are judgments on the quality of a student's math or English proficiency, but Wednesday the state of Utah got several F's based on the quality of the air the lion's share of residents breathe.

The American Lung Association issued their annual "State of the Air" report card. They judge states and localities by three measures of air pollution: short-term particulates, ozone, and annual particle pollution.

The Wasatch Front and Cache Valley earned failing grades for short-term particulate pollution.

The Wasatch Front and Uintah and Duchesne counties earned failing grades for ozone, while Cache County earned a "C".

The Wasatch Front earned a "Pass" for annual particle pollution, meaning that for most days of the year, Utah's air is safe.