from culpability for air pollution, an approach that might be less tenable if one company is responsible for so much of it.Measurements taken in 2017 showed the plume rising from US Magnesium contained chlorine and bromine, and emissions haven't decreased since then, researchers say.
Those chemicals speed up the reaction that converts other pollutants into ammonium nitrate, the main contributor to particulate matter in Utah, the study found.Researchers didn't expect to find bromine in their samples and it's not considered a common pollutant, lead researcher Caroline Womack told Axios.
But regulatory records show US Magnesium — the only such refinery in the country — is "by far" the nation's biggest chlorine emitter, Womack said.While federal and state regulators require industrial facilities to report chlorine emissions, they do not track bromine, NOAA said. It's unclear whether the Utah Department of Environmental Quality will begin documenting bromine emissions in light of the study; the agency told Axios only that it was reviewing the study to determine "any actions that may be necessary."Because the plant extracts magnesium from the brine of the Great Salt Lake, the emissions findings could point researchers to other industrial processes that use sea salts, Womack said.
Why is Axios employing a liar like Barak Ravid ?
Things are NOT getting much better in America.....