Here’s what U. researchers are learning about dangers associated with Great Salt Lake dust
Sep 16, 2024, 5:00 AM
New research out of the University of Utah finds sediments in exposed playa of the Great Salt LAke are potentially more harmful than other major dust sources impacting air quality across the Wasatch Front. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — It’s no secret that the Great Salt Lake has been shrinking, dwindling to less than half its historical size, at one point, leaving about 800 square miles of barren lakebed.
As more of its beach becomes exposed, concerns ramp up around the dust emitted by the dry lakebed. But what pollutants are present in these airborne sediments and just how impactful are they to human health?
Related: Historic water agreement for the Great Salt Lake reached
This is the question researchers at the University of Utah endeavored to begin answering through a recent study published in the journal Atmospheric Environment. They found that sediments in the lake’s exposed playa (the bottom of an undrained desert basin that becomes, at times, a shallow lake) are potentially more harmful than other major dust sources impacting air quality across the Wasatch Front.
‘Adverse health effects’
“What we did was we measured something called oxidative potential. That’s a way to kind of get an idea of how irritating and how toxic those (sediment) particles might be,” said Kerry Kelly, associate professor in chemical engineering at the U. and lead author of the study. “We separated particles into a size that you could actually breathe in and then we determined, sort of, how reactive they were. As people start to look into health effects, this is a logical first step.”
Kelly and the research team harnessed exposed lakebed sediments systematically gathered by U. atmospheric scientist Kevin Perry.
