Saratoga News The Air Quality District says ignore the urge for cozy fire By Jeff Kearns With the beginning of winter just a week away, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is gearing up to help curb the air pollution that normally accompanies cold, dry days. Spare the Air days, during which the district urges residents to cut down on car use and building fires, will be announced on television and radio. "Anytime there's a Spare the Air warning, when it's not raining and there's no wind, there are more pollutants in the air because it's not settling," district spokeswoman Samantha Spellman says. "It causes more air pollution and makes it harder for some people to breathe. Although it may seem like the perfect thing to do on a cold winter night, fireplaces and woodstoves are major sources of air pollution, according to Spellman, because toxic particulate matter--dust, soot, mist, ash and smoke--from fires not only pollutes the outdoors, but also the indoors. Not all smoke makes it out the chimney. "The reason we focus on fireplaces is because this is the time of year they burn the most, and a lot of people don't realize that it really does pollute the air," Spellman said. "This time of year, when people walk outside and smell wood burning, they probably think of it as a good smell because of all the associations with winter coziness, but the fact is that smell is polluting your neighborhood," BAAQMD executive officer Ellen Garvey says. "All it takes is for one fireplace to be in use on one street and you've got polluted air. It's not fair, but that's the way it works with particulate matter. You don't need much to create poor air quality in a given area." To help cut pollution, the district offers the following tips: * Install a natural gas insert into existing fireplaces; * Use manufactured, compressed logs, which burn longer and 50 percent cleaner than wood; * Use dry logs when burning wood; * Replace old woodstoves (built before 1988) with a natural gas model; * Don't burn wood on Spare the Air days; For more information, check the district's Web site, at www.sparetheair.org, or call 800-HELP-AIR to order a free copy of "The Woodburning Handbook." [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, December 16, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.