Utah continues to climb on a national list that ranks U.S. states by the prevalence of environmental hazards, but that rise has more to do with a single company than the state as a whole.
Salt Lake City-based Kennecott Utah Copper’s emissions of potentially harmful materials — toxic heavy metals such as lead and zinc in particular — rose by nearly 20 percent in 2016, according to the national Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A spokesman for mining, smelting, and refining company said the increase was due to its mining of a vein of ore last year that was especially heavy with lead, considered an emission under TRI’s definition.