KPCW Park City
HEAL Utah Community Engagement Director Kenna Patiño talks about some of the issues the state organization is following during this legislative session.
HEAL Utah Community Engagement Director Kenna Patiño talks about some of the issues the state organization is following during this legislative session.
Williams, a former physician who has been working on fighting exposure to radioactivity for the past 20 years, said radiation finds its way into communities through insidious ways.
“I went to medical school with someone who developed thyroid cancer, and all of his siblings developed thyroid cancer,” he said. “They lived in Salt Lake City but got their milk delivered from a dairy that was in Washington County. And that’s where the radiation found its way into the population.”
The most common way radiation spreads is through the air, said Williams
“We should be listening to the EPA,” said Vielleux. “The EPA has the best available science. All that ozone is crossing state borders, and it’s polluting other places. If those plants need to be shut down by the EPA, we’re going to take their word for it. Instead of spending $2 million on a lawsuit, maybe they should be spending $2 million thinking about where those jobs are going to be when the coal plants start shutting down. We’re just lighting money on fire for what purpose?”
Legislative Priorities with HEAL Utah’s Lexi Tuddenham and Dr. Brian Moench of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.
HEAL Utah Bill Tracker, newsletter, action alerts and more
HEAL Utah Community Lobbying Training, every Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30a-12:30p, during the Legislative Session
Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment newsletter
Before embarking on projects like an auto mall, Gonzalez said, cities should answer: Would auto malls stay afloat in the next decades? How much parking would it require in the future? Is there enough room for green spaces in the city? And is this kind of development the best for the community?
“We want to know when dust is coming in, where it’s hitting communities, how to install monitors in the best places,” said Alex Veilleux, a policy associate with HEAL Utah.
HEAL plans to lobby lawmakers to do a comprehensive study of dust pollution, including sources beyond the lake. And it’s a concept that might receive support — Cox has requested $160,000 to study the lakebed dust issue.