Contacts:
Jenny Bard, 707.527.5864, 707.322.9583 cell
Kay Carney, 510.893.5474, 510.813.4670 cell
(July 22, San Francisco) The American Lung Association of California applauds today’s historic vote by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to reduce harmful exposures of wood smoke pollution in the Bay Area. The air district voted unanimously to support a wood burning regulation that will curtail wood burning on nights when the air is unhealthy and will limit visible emissions from chimneys year round.
“Today’s vote is a giant step forward for healthier air in the Bay Area,” said Karen Fulton Holine, regional vice president of the American Lung Association of California. “Wood smoke pollution is a serious problem that, until now, has not been regulated. The air district recognizes the harmful effects of wood smoke pollution and this measure will provide public health protection for the seven million residents of the Bay Area, including an estimated one million who suffer from lung disease.”
Wood smoke consists of tiny toxic particles that pose a serious public health threat when inhaled. Children and the elderly are most vulnerable. Research has shown that wood smoke pollution can worsen breathing, exacerbate asthma and emphysema, and cause premature death. Due to their small size, the soot particles can bypass the body’s airway defenses, and enter into the bloodstream, leading to plaque build up and heart attacks.
“We have made major improvements in public health by limiting exposures to secondhand tobacco smoke. It is time do the same for wood smoke,” said John Balmes, MD, a pulmonary and critical care physician representing the American Lung Association of California at today’s public hearing.
The American Lung Association of California has worked for nearly two decades to advance protections against harmful wood smoke pollution. By banning all wood burning on nights when the air is unhealthy, and restricting visible wood smoke emissions year round, this is the most health protective regulation in California, and possibly the nation.
“The regulation will help protect residents from the serious health consequences of toxic wood smoke pollution. These include heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks, and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” said Anthony Gerber, MD, a UCSF researcher and a volunteer with the California Thoracic Society, an association of health care professionals and researchers dedicated to advances in pulmonary medicine.
The air district vote came as a breath of fresh air for the scores of residents who attended today’s public hearing to speak in favor of the regulation. “Many people with lung disease, like myself, have been waiting for this regulation for years,” said Miriam Spross, of Novato, who has asthma. “It will enable our children to play outdoors without having an asthma attack, and finally, we can open the windows of our home to welcome in truly fresh air.”
