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NEWS RELEASE
Oct. 31, 2005
Contacts:
Rick Sprott, (801) 536-0072
Director, Division of Air Quality
Cheryl Heying, (801) 536-4015
Planning Manager, Division of Air Quality
Donna Kemp Spangler, (801)536-4484
Public Information Officer, DEQ
(Salt Lake City, Utah) – With colder months just ahead – and higher energy prices hitting families much harder than in years past – many Wasatch Front residents will be firing up wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. And that means more attention is needed to managing air pollution. Tuesday, Nov. 1, marks the beginning of “Red Light-Green Light” Choose Clean Air, the highly successful Utah Division of Air Quality program now in its 13th season of curtailing air pollution caused by wood-burning and coal-burning stoves and fireplaces.
“The wood smoke program has been absolutely crucial for Utah to meet air quality standards in the winter,” said Rick Sprott, director of the Utah Division of Air Quality. “Citizens are well aware of the pollution smoke creates and nearly everyone heeds the ‘no-burn’ warnings.”
The program, which runs through March 1, 2006, provides daily notification to the public regarding when burning is allowed. Green means burning is allowed, yellow means voluntary no-burning, and red means no burning is allowed. Burn conditions are announced daily in newspapers, and on television and radio. Updates are available from the Air Pollution Index Hotline at 801-975-4009 (Salt Lake and Davis counties) and 800-228-5434 (all other counties), and from the Choose Clean Air website at www.cleanair.utah.gov.
Winter air pollution can pose serious health problems when fine particles become lodged in lung tissue, decreasing lung function, increasing susceptibility to respiratory infections and aggravating breathing problems like asthma and chronic bronchitis. Children, the elderly and those with existing heart and lung conditions are most sensitive to particulate air pollution.
“The latest medical research shows more and more serious health effects from particulate pollution,” Sprott said. “We now know that these small particles can cause cardio-pulmonary disease and other serious problems, not just respiratory illnesses. This is a serious public health problem and pollution levels in Utah can cause these health problems.”
“Red Light-Green Light” is targeted at fine particulates (PM10 and PM2.5) and carbon monoxide emissions in Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties. The Bear River Health Department has its own wood-burning program for Cache County and residents can call 435-792-6612 for a recorded message. The Utah Division of Air Quality designated “yellow” or “red days’ as pollution levels begin to approach unhealthy levels, as established by federal health-based standards for PM10, PM2.5 and carbon monoxide.
Air quality officials recommend replacing an old wood- or coal-burning stove or fireplace with a newer, Environmental Protection Agency-certified model that greatly reduces airborne pollutants. Stoves and fireplaces manufactured after July 1, 1990, meet the EPA’s stringent emissions standards, and they can cut wood smoke emissions by up to 85 percent. And switching to a clean-burning natural-gas fireplace inserts also reduces pollution.
Other emissions-reducing tips recommended by the Hearth Products Association include:
Everyone can contribute to better winter air quality:
Air quality officials routinely patrol the neighborhoods and will work with homeowners who are burning on “red” days to educate them on the implications of their actions. Fines, ranging from $25 to $299, may be imposed on offenders.
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