The Bay Area Air Quality Management District expects seven to
10
‘Spare the Air Tonight’ advisories will be issued this winter,
asking that the public voluntarily refrain from burning wood in
fireplaces and woodstoves. The advisories will also include a
request that the public drive less. Spare the Air Tonight
advisories will be triggered when unhealthy level
s of air pollution are predicted and will be issued at 10 AM for
the following 24 hours.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District expects seven to 10 ‘Spare the Air Tonight’ advisories will be issued this winter, asking that the public voluntarily refrain from burning wood in fireplaces and woodstoves. The advisories will also include a request that the public drive less. Spare the Air Tonight advisories will be triggered when unhealthy levels of air pollution are predicted and will be issued at 10 AM for the following 24 hours.
The advisories are expected as a result of new stricter federal standards for small particulate matter, called PM2.5, which are now in effect. High levels of PM2.5 are especially harmful for people with asthma or emphysema and for the young and the elderly. The primary sources of PM2.5 in the Bay Area are wood smoke and driving.
Winter meteorology plays a role in air pollution. Unlike summer smog that peaks in the late afternoon, wintertime pollution is highest at night and in the early morning hours. On winter evening’s, cold air sinks close to the ground beneath a layer of warmer air, forming a shallow inversion. When there is no wind to dissipate pollutants, they become trapped under this inversion layer, building up to unhealthy levels.
The US EPA has set the 24-hour standard for PM 2.5 at 65 micro grams per cubic meter (mg/m3). Readings above this level are considered unhealthy for the general public. The Air District will use this standard – which is 151 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) – as the trigger for Spare the Air Tonight advisories this winter.
Details: www.sparetheair .org or call 1-800-Help-Air for a Woodburning Handbook.
