Seventh Spare the Air Alert

Weather conditions forecast for Monday are expected to create poor enough air quality to merit a seventh spare the air alert in the Bay Area.

Last year, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District declared a total of four spare the air days for the entire season, which begins on Nov. 21. Each of the last several years saw only a handful of air alerts, although in 2006 there were 30.

"It depends a lot on whether we get storm fronts moving through, cleaning out the atmosphere," said air quality district spokesman Aaron Richardson. "It's been extra still this year."

Cold, still weather patterns, such as those returning to the Bay Area, trap pollution close to the ground under a layer of warmer air.

The primary cause of wintertime air polution is wood smoke. While wood burning is forbidden, exemptions are available in cases where a wood burning stove is the only source of heat, Richardson said.

Wood smoke contains harmful pollutants, such as soot and carbon monoxide, and toxins such as dioxin, which has been linked to increased cancer rates in adults.

About one-third of the harmful soot in the winter air can be attributed to wood smoke from the roughly 1.4 million fireplaces and wood stoves in the Bay Area, according to the district. Industry only accounts for 10 to 15 percent, Richardson said.

More information about the ban can be found at www.sparetheair.org or by calling (877) 4NO-BURN (466-2876).

Those wishing to receive automatic phone calls when a Winter Spare the Air alert is issued can register for the alerts by calling (800) 430-1515.

--Bay City News Service contributed to this report.