sdb_drus
sdb_drus t1_j8kq8y8 wrote
Reply to comment by vacuum_everyday in TIL The Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah is almost 4000 feet deep (that's 3X as tall as the Empire State Building). It's the largest man-made excavation and the deepest open-pit mine in the world. It's also visible to the naked eye from space. by lqwertyd
Not defending the mine but I don't see how it could possibly produce 30% of pollution in the valley. Where'd you hear that?
Also there are community gardens at Daybreak. Definitely not true that you can't grow food there because of toxic ground. Maybe because of HOA regulations.
sdb_drus t1_j8mgjy3 wrote
Reply to comment by vacuum_everyday in TIL The Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah is almost 4000 feet deep (that's 3X as tall as the Empire State Building). It's the largest man-made excavation and the deepest open-pit mine in the world. It's also visible to the naked eye from space. by lqwertyd
Thanks for sharing. Common sense says that Kennecott's a big polluter and not something you want in your backyard, regardless of exactly where those numbers land.
FWIW, DEQ claims that point sources (eg, industrial operations) of PM2.5 (main pollutant during inversion) are about 13% of the total with about 50% coming from mobile sources (vehicles). This is part of the reason why I think the 30% number seems way overblown.
I've experienced health problems and been misdiagnosed with asthma multiple times because of issues triggered by the bad air over the past few years in particular, so I don't underestimate the effects of it at all.