Eighth Spare-the-Air Day Wednesday

The combination of heat and smog in the Bay Area have prompted the eighth Spare-the-Air alert this year.

"We are forecasting unhealthy air quality this week due to high temperatures and light winds,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. 

“As hot weather returns to the Bay Area, it’s important that residents continue to do their part to reduce pollution, by carpooling, taking public transit, going easy on energy use and making other clean air choices.”

Resist the urge to make use of the hot weather to spray-paint or fuel up the grill for a barbecue, officials add.

Motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, industrial emissions and household chemicals contain volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides that combine with oxygen in the presence of heat and sunlight to form ground-level ozone.

Breathing ozone can cause throat irritation, congestion and chest pain. It can trigger asthma, inflame the lining of the lungs and worsen bronchitis and emphysema.

 Long-term exposure to ozone can reduce lung function. High levels of ozone pollution are particularly harmful for young children, seniors and those with respiratory and heart conditions. Vigorous outdoor exercise should be undertaken only in the early morning hours when ozone concentrations are lower. The Air District issues Spare the Air Alerts whenever air quality is forecast to reach unhealthy concentrations.

Officials urge residents not to wait until poor air quality prompts another alert to take the following steps:

• Bike to work or around town
• Take public transit
• Work at home or telecommute
• Carpool and link your errands to reduce driving
• Avoid using gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers
• Reduce household energy use
• Don’t use lighter fluid on the barbecue
• Avoid using aerosol spray cleaners, paints and hairspray

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (www.baaqmd.gov) is the regional agency responsible for protecting air quality in the Bay Area. For more information about Spare the Air, visit www.sparetheair.org.

-- Staff Report