Wood Smoke Issue In The News !

[Spare the Air]

This problem is gathering media and government attention across the Bay Area.

There was an article in a local newspaper, (Examiner on 1/27/07).

Here's a link tothe atrticle: http://www.examiner.com/a-532209~Wood_smoke_warnings_heat_up.html

The article explains that if local government does nothing to reduce the number of days that exceed EPA particulate pollution - air quality standards, we jeapordize our Federal transportation funding. That would mean less money to maintain our roads!

As a result, the BAAQMD may be forced to move from an advisory role to an enforcement role.

Tonite will be th 27th "Spare the Air" night this winter. That's one night out of every four that exceed EPA pollution standards.

Here's "proof" that it's time for San Mateo to adopt a wood smoke ordinance!

If you live in San Mateo, e-mail or call the Mayor & city council.
jmatthews@cityofsanmateo.org
bgrotte@cityofsanmateo.org
cgroom@cityofsanmateo.org
jepstein@cityofsanmateo.org
jlee@cityofsanmateo.org

[Spare the Air]

The link is not reliable, so here's the text of the article from the Examiner on 1/27/07.

Wood smoke warnings heat up
Edward Carpenter, The Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO - Cozying up to a wood-fired hearth on a cold winter night can be irresistible for anyone, including small children. But it can be as bad for the lungs as secondhand cigarette smoke, according to lung experts with Breathe California of the Bay Area.

Wood smoke particles, some of the smallest pollutants around, can seep into the lungs so deep they can’t be coughed up, according to Terry Lee, a spokeswoman for Breathe California, formerly associated with the American Lung Association. The result is frequently permanent lung damage — a particular risk for those with asthma, the young or senior citizens, Lee said.

“Repeated studies have shown that [wood smoke] is super-damaging to lungs and lung health,” Lee said.

The problem is caused by cold air that, because it is heavy, traps wood smoke pollutants close to the ground where people live and breathe, according to Karen Schkolnick, spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which monitors local air quality in the nine-county Bay Area.

Recognizing something had to be done after issuing more than two dozen Spare the Air Tonight warnings since Nov. 20, 2006 — far surpassing the 1991 high of 11 — the air district on Wednesday made reducing wood smoke a priority in 2007. The district issued its 25th Spare the Air advisory of the season Friday night.

The high number of warnings is primarily a result of more stringent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations adopted in December that cut in half the amount of miniscule particles — known as particulate matter — allowed in the air in a 24-hour period before an advisory must be issued, experts said. Wood-burning fireplaces and vehicle emissions are the primary dangers.

The stricter regulations have resulted in the highest number of warnings ever issued in the Bay Area. Such frequent violations of the EPA standards have forced the district to begin drawing up enforceable regulations for residential wood smoke for the first time, Schkolnick said.

Although citations aren’t likely to be handed out for more than a year, bans on burning certain fuels on days when air quality is bad and providing cash incentives for those who upgrade to cleaner burning fireplaces and pellet stoves are being considered, Schkolnick said.

Such regulations could give the district the ability to investigate and issue citations to residential violators, officials said.

San Mateo County supervisor and air district board member Jerry Hill said there was little choice but to move ahead with regulations. “We’re between a rock and a hard place. If we don’t do something then we remain out of compliance with the federal standard,” Hill said.

Being out of compliance and failing to do something about it could jeopardize federal transportation funding, Hill said.

ecarpenter@examiner.com

[Spare the Air]

Polluted Air Raises Heart Risks - Especially in Women

This is exactly the same type of particulate pollution generated by wood smoke from fireplaces and wood stoves...

By JEFF DONN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
01-31) 19:25 PST BOSTON (AP) --

The fine grit in polluted air boosts the risk of heart disease in older women much more powerfully than scientists realized, a big federally funded study has found, raising questions of whether U.S. environmental standards are strict enough.

The Environmental Protection Agency tightened its daily limit for these tiny specks, known as fine particulates, in September. But it left the average annual limit untouched, allowing a concentration of 15 millionths of a gram for every cubic meter of air.

In this study of 65,893 women, the average exposure was 13 units, with two-thirds of the subjects falling under the national standard. But every increase of 10 units, starting at 0, lifted the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease by about 75 percent. That is several times higher than in a study by the American Cancer Society.

"There was a lot of evidence previously suggesting that the long-term standard should be lower, and this is adding one more study to that evidence," said Douglas Dockery, a pollution specialist at the Harvard School of Public Health.

He wrote an accompanying editorial for the study, which was published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. The University of Washington-based researchers worked from data collected for the Women's Health Initiative, a well-respected research project that previously showed the heart dangers of hormone supplements.

It has long been known that particulates can contribute to lung and heart disease, with women perhaps more susceptible than men to heart problems, perhaps because of their smaller blood vessels and other biological differences.

But the degree of risk for older women was less clear. This study started with women who had gone through menopause and were 50 to 79 years old.

Unlike earlier studies, it looked not just at deaths, but also at heart attacks, coronary disease, strokes and clogged arteries. These problems were 24 percent more likely with every 10-unit rise in particles. Almost 3 percent of the women suffered some kind of cardiovascular problem.

The risk varied along with the varying levels of these particles in different neighborhoods within the same city.

In their calculations, the researchers tried to adjust for lower income and other health problems that have been blamed for the higher rates of disease in past studies.

"I think the major contribution is answering the critics of the prior studies," said the paper's senior researcher, Dr. Joel Kaufman of the University of Washington. "The effect seems large and important and should be taken seriously."

States and other groups demanding a lower annual standard sued the EPA last year, accusing it of disregarding the advice of its own scientists. Some agency scientists are also pushing for tighter rules on ozone, the chemical that creates smog and contributes to asthma and lung disease.

The EPA is scheduled to take another look at its standard for particulate matter and complete it by 2011.

"It's too soon to say how much weight any single study will have, but this study will be considered as part of this continuous process," said EPA spokesman John Millett.

Dr. Len Horovitz of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, who was familiar with the findings, said they could create "a bit of a firestorm" for the future review.

The tiny bits of grit are believed to reach deep into the lungs to spur inflammation that promotes heart attack and stroke. They are so small than it would take about 30 to equal the thickness of a human hair.

These particles — made of dust, soot and various chemicals — come from burning fuel in cars, factories, and power plants. While individual particles are too small to see, they can be observed collectively as urban haze.

On the Net
New England Journal of Medicine:

EPA air quality statistics:

media.nejm.org
www.epa.gov/airtrends/factbook.html