Bay Area will again battle pollution with winter ‘Spare the Air’ rules

Wood Burning Rule makes it illegal to burn when air quality is unhealthy

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to protect public health,
the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will open the Winter Spare the
Air season on Sunday, November 1, and begin enforcing a regulation that
restricts wood burning in the Bay Area through February 28, 2010.

Wood smoke is the largest source of wintertime air pollution in the Bay Area.
Certain weather conditions in the wintertime cause the air to remain still.
When these conditions occur, the Bay Area Air District calls a Winter Spare
the Air Alert.

"This winter, Bay Area residents must check before they burn," said Jack
Broadbent, executive officer of the Bay Area Air District. "It is illegal to
burn wood or firelogs when a Winter Spare the Air Alert is in effect. Wood
smoke pollution is associated with a number of serious health risks and is
particularly harmful to children, the elderly and those with respiratory
problems."

This winter is the second winter season the Wood Burning Rule is in effect.
The rule passed in July 2008.

Between November 1, 2009, and February 28, 2010, the Air District will declare
a Winter Spare the Air Alert when air pollution is forecast to reach unhealthy
levels. During a Winter Spare the Air Alert, the use of wood-burning devices,
including fireplaces, pellet stoves, wood stoves and outdoor fire pits, is
forbidden. There are expected to be, on average, approximately 15-20 Winter
Spare the Air Alerts during the season.

This season, Winter Spare the Air Alerts will be declared the day prior to the
alert going into effect. Each day by 2 p.m., the Air District will issue an
air quality forecast. If air quality is forecast to be unhealthy, a Winter
Spare the Air Alert will be called for the next day. The Alert will be in
place for 24 hours - one calendar day - active from midnight-to-midnight.

Those who burn during a Winter Spare the Air Alert will receive a warning for
the first violation and a second violation is subject to a $400 ticket. The
ticket amount will increase with any subsequent violations, depending on the
severity of the infraction. Residents and businesses that burn wood as their
only source of heat are exempt from the regulation.

Bay Area residents can check before they burn by:

    --  Visiting www.baaqmd.gov or www.sparetheair.org
    --  Calling 1-877-4-NO-BURN

    --  Signing up for e-mail Air Alerts at www.sparetheair.org or phone
alerts
        by calling 800-430-1515.



Under the new rule, only EPA-certified wood stoves or fireplace inserts,
pellet stoves, or natural gas devices can be sold or installed in new
construction or remodels. The new rule also places year-round prohibitions on
excessive smoke, and on the burning of garbage and other harmful materials in
fireplaces and woodstoves.

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

Kristine Roselius of Bay Area Air Quality Management, +1-415-519-5419,
kroselius@baaqmd.gov