Use of wood-burning devices is prohibited

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is issuing the 2nd Winter Spare the Air Alert of the season for Wednesday, December 9, 2009, which bans burning wood, manufactured firelogs or any other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors.

"Cold temperatures and light winds will create a blanket of unhealthy air pollution over the Bay Area," said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District. "Children, the elderly and those with heart and lung problems are especially susceptible to the effects of pollution from wood smoke."

Air quality in the Bay Area is forecast to be unhealthy due to weather conditions that will trap the smoke in the air. During this Winter Spare the Air Alert, it is illegal for Bay Area residents and businesses to use their fireplaces, woodstoves and inserts, pellet stoves, outdoor fire pits, or any other wood-burning devices.

The public must check before they burn during the Winter Spare the Air season which runs from November 1 through February 28. The daily burn status can be found:

• On the Air District Web sites: www.baaqmd.gov or www.sparetheair.org
• Via the toll-free hotline 1-877-4-NO-BURN (complaints can also be filed via the hotline)
• By signing up for AirAlerts at www.sparetheair.org or by signing up for phone alerts at 1-800-430-1515.

Wood smoke is a major source of wintertime air pollution in the Bay Area and contains harmful pollutants such as particulate matter and carbon monoxide, as well as toxins such as dioxin, which is linked to increased cancer rates in adults. In the winter, wood smoke from the 1.4 million fireplaces and wood stoves in the Bay Area contributes about one-third of the harmful particulate pollution in the air.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (www.baaqmd.gov) is the regional agency chartered with protecting air quality in the Bay Area.

SOURCE Bay Area Air Quality Management District

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RELATED LINKS
http://www.baaqmd.gov
http://www.sparetheair.org