The Attack on the Skies by the Chlorine Folks

   Now, I must wonder if a company out of Salt Lake has been -- maybe still is -- one of the bigger causes of ozone depletion.

   See, all ozone depletion takes is for chlorine and bromine atoms to make contact with the ozone up there in the stratosphere. The bad-guy atoms then attack the ozone molecules and massacre them -- one chlorine atom can destroy 100,000 ozone molecules.

   We've got a Utah company, US Magnesium, that produces chlorine. It's a byproduct when you take magnesium chloride and electrolyze it into magnesium oxide. And, make no mistake, US Magnesium is -- or, at least has been -- a major player in the release of chlorine into America's skies. Back in 2003, U of U professor Cynthia Burrows revealed that in the Year 2000, US Magnesium released 42 million lbs. into the skies -- 90 percent of the US total!

  That would make US Mag not just one of the major players, but perhaps the most responsible party of all.

   In a few years -- 2008 -- the Environmental Protection Agency came along and slapped US Mag into a Superfund site. I don't know if the atmospheric chlorine was part of the problem, but I know years and years later, all the issues that had US Mag on the Superfund list had not been resolved.

   I don't even know for sure if  the chlorine that was leaking from US Magnesium's plant was even reaching the stratosphere. Chlorine gas is heavier than air. The stratosphere is miles up there. How does it -- being heavier than air -- even get up that high?

   Regardless of the ozone issue, though. That chlorine gas is harmful. It gets in your lungs, causing lung edema. It blurs your vision. It blisters your skin. It burns your eyes. It damages your body tissue. 

  Well, here's a little update on the story. At the end of the past legislative session, State Rep. Andrew Stoddard and State Sen. Kirk Cullimore steered legislation through at the last minute that makes it easier for the state to address US Mag's halogen emissions -- going after the bromine and chlorine emissions. That action came just as a study was released showing US Mag was responsible for 25 percent of the air pollution in northern Utah. Did you catch that? -- 25 percent! And you thought your car was causing all the problems.

  The group o2 Utah was behind that bill. We owe them a big thanks.

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