Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment

Nuclear remains the most expensive way to produce electricity, uses enormous amounts of water, and poses public health risks across the entire fuel cycle.

UPHE’s president lays it out in a recent Deseret News op-ed ⬇️
www.uphe.org/2026/02/03/g...

Governor Cox is wrong about nuclear power.

Utah is moving fast toward nuclear — from generation to mining to waste — without reckoning with the real costs.

No more destruction. No more dust. No mine in Parley’s.

We need all hands on deck. Bring a sign. Bring a neighbor. Show decision-makers that our community does not want a new mine in Parley’s Canyon.

🔗 More information about the proposal and how to submit comments to the Department of Air Quality: www.uphe.org/priority-iss...

Granite Construction is seeking approval for a mine proposal that would increase dust in the valley — especially in Millcreek and Sugarhouse — worsen water scarcity, and permanently alter the eastern gateway to Salt Lake City.

Show up for Parley’s Canyon.
After months of advocacy, our chance to oppose the proposed mine is finally here — and it matters that the room is full.

📅 Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026 | 5 PM
📍 Millcreek City Hall
1330 E. Chambers Ave., Millcreek, UT
Grandview Room, 6th floor

These examples show the dangers nuclear projects pose near Brigham City and the Wasatch Front fault line. Communities deserve clear answers before nuclear power comes to Utah.

#StopNuclear #UtahSafety #CleanEnergyNow #NuclearRisk

Recent events show how fragile nuclear operations are:

Fukushima, Japan (2011): 9.0 quake + tsunami caused catastrophic reactor meltdowns.

Monticello, MN (2022): 400,000+ gallons of tritium water leaked.

Hamaoka, Japan (2025): Reactor safety reviews paused after falsified seismic data.

The Nuclear Debate

UPHE’s president Dr. Brian Moench warns of serious public health, safety, and environmental risks tied to nuclear development. Every phase—from mining to waste storage—poses major risks.

Protect yourself: HEPA purifiers indoors, N95 masks outside, limit outdoor activity, and reduce burning or vehicle use.

Inversions happen. Pollution doesn’t have to.

#AirQuality #Utah #PublicHealth

Inversions are inevitable. Pollution is not.

Winter inversions are back along the Wasatch Front, trapping harmful air that affects everyone’s health. Every UPHE fight—clean energy, protecting the Great Salt Lake, opposing harmful development—comes back to the air we breathe.

Northern Utah already struggles with winter air quality. Adding fireworks during inversions makes it worse — for everyone.

Cleaner air is the real way to ring in the New Year.
#CleanAir #PM25 #Utah #FireworksImpact

When fireworks are set off during inversions:
• Pollution gets trapped at breathing level
• PM2.5 penetrates deep into the lungs and bloodstream
• Risks increase for kids, seniors, pets, and people with asthma or heart disease

—peaking around 159 AQI within hours of New Year’s fireworks with nearby sensors showing similar and, in some cases, even higher spikes.

Fireworks don’t disappear — they linger in our lungs.

This graph shows PM2.5 levels from a University of Utah sensor during New Year’s celebrations. During stagnant winter inversion conditions, fireworks helped push pollution into the unhealthy range —

We at UPHE can’t thank you enough for your continued support.

Happy New Year!

This is the last day that your donation will have double the impact!

When you donate before the end of the year, your donation will be doubled through a generous matching grant of up to $25,000 from our all-volunteer board of directors.
Please give today on our website at www.uphe.org/donate/

Some tough battles are still ahead, but our recent programs and victories give us reason to celebrate. We end the year stronger as an organization, energized and more determined to continue the fight for clean air, clean energy and a clean future for all of Utah.

Together we can make Utah a safer, cleaner, healthier place for everyone, and preserve a more livable climate for future generations. Thank you for your generosity and willingness to help in this important effort.

Your financial support makes all the difference in our ability to safeguard Utah’s environment, your family’s health, and the legacy and quality of life we leave for future generations.

So much of our focus in 2025 seems to have been on the day-to-day challenges facing our community. But when I take a step back, I realize just how much—thanks to supporters like you—UPHE has grown and grown stronger.

We have accomplished so much in the past 18 years, but we have much more to do.

Thanks to your support and your voice, UPHE is ending the year stronger, more effective, and more determined than ever to protect Utah’s air, water, and public health.

2025 has been a year of real wins and hard fights — from protecting the Great Salt Lake and pushing back on PFAS and data centers, to stopping illegal diesel pollution and fighting a new aggregate mine in Parleys Canyon.

We already struggle with air quality here. Let’s not make it worse for our neighbors, pets, or ourselves.

Cleaner air is the real way to ring in the New Year.

— especially for kids, seniors, and people with existing respiratory conditions.

• Studies show particulate pollution peaks when fireworks and winter inversions overlap.

When fireworks are set off during stagnant air conditions:

• Those tiny particles don’t disperse — they get trapped right where we breathe.
• PM2.5 penetrates deep into the lungs and bloodstream, increasing the risk of asthma attacks, heart problems, and other serious health impacts

Fireworks don’t just sparkle — they release large amounts of fine and ultrafine particulate matter (PM2.5) and toxic metals like barium and copper, the same pollutants that spike during our worst winter inversion periods.

That gray layer you see isn’t fog. It’s polluted air that can linger for days.

Now add fireworks to the mix.

New Year’s fireworks might feel like a tradition — but during an inversion, they’re a problem.

In northern Utah, winter air often gets trapped under temperature inversions. Cold air settles in, warmer air sits on top, and everything we emit — exhaust, smoke, pollution — has nowhere to go.

#AirQuality #UtahEnvironment #StopTheMine