Spare the Air Alert Issued for Tuesday

Tuesday is going to be one of those days — when Bay Area residents will be asked to curb their wheels instead of driving and to limit outdoor activity when the daily temperature peaks.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued a Spare the Air Alert for Tuesday. It is the second alert for 2012. With weather forecasts indicating a warming trend, it's possible that another alert is possible for Wednesday.

The district wrote in a statement:

There is no free transit tomorrow and there is no wood burning ban in place. The Air District recommends residents avoid outdoor activities during the hottest part of the day, when air quality is unhealthiest.

“A Spare the Air Alert underscores the need for the public to make clean air choices every day,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District. “If we re-think our commute twice a week, we can reduce the amount of pollution we produce to help avoid unhealthy air on high heat days.”

The Air District encourages the public to re-think their commute by taking transit, carpooling, working from home or biking and leave their car at home twice a week to avoid air pollution that builds up and creates unhealthy smog when the Bay Area experiences high temperatures.

Spare the Air Alerts are issued when ozone pollution is forecast to reach unhealthy levels. Ozone, or smog, can cause throat irritation, congestion, chest pain, trigger asthma, inflame the lining of the lungs and worsen bronchitis and emphysema. Long-term exposure to ozone can reduce lung function. Ozone pollution is particularly harmful for young children, seniors and those with respiratory and heart conditions. When a Spare the Air Alert is issued, outdoor exercise should be done only in the early morning hours when ozone concentrations are lower.

Smog is formed when volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides from motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, industrial emissions and household chemicals combine with oxygen in the presence of heat and sunlight.
Residents can help Spare the Air by carpooling, taking transit, biking or walking instead of driving alone. Visit sparetheair.org or 511.org for more information about commute alternatives.

Residents can check for Spare the Air Alerts by:

• Visiting sparetheair.org
• Calling the toll-free hotline 1-800-HELPAIR (435-7247)
• Signing up for email Air Alerts at sparetheair.org
• Downloading the Spare the Air iPhone or Android app
• Connecting with Spare the Air on Facebook, Twitter or Google+

For more information about Spare the Air visit www.sparetheair.org.