Ina Shlez: Cut Pollution and 'Spare the Air'

Summertime. Time for basking in the sun, hitting your favorite beach, or taking a long drive up to the wine country.

Many of us associate summer with road trips, deep tans ­ and in San Francisco ­ overcoats.

But summertime is also smog season. It's the time when we look at the horizon and see a dark brown haze covering the east and south bay. Smog is ground-level ozone, which is formed when potent air pollutants mix together, triggered by hot temperatures and stagnant winds. It can cause severe health symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest pains and asthma.

The people at greatest risk are children, the elderly and those with existing medical conditions. But even a healthy person who engages in strenuous outdoor activities during bad smog days can become affected.

It's been widely documented that emergency room visits for cardiovascular and respiratory ailments increase significantly on smoggy days.

The good news is that there are simple ways that we can help prevent the formation of smog. And we are usually warned in advance by "Spare the Air" warnings on TV, in the newspaper, on highway signs and on the Internet.

On "Spare the Air" days, we should leave our car at home and take public transportation, carpool, bike or even walk to work. In the Bay Area alone, cars and trucks emit more than 550 tons of smog-forming nitrogen each day.

If you have to drive, plan your day so you can run all your errands in one trip. Instead of making a series of small trips, link your trips together so you can make all your stops in a logical order and leave your car parked as much as possible. Starting your car multiple times, especially once the engine has already cooled back down, is one of the worst things you can do on a smoggy day.

Also, it's best not to top off fuel tanks during hot daytime hours. A significant amount of fuel escapes as vapor every time we open our gas tank or from overflow we may splash on the ground. On a similar note, emissions from gasoline-powered equipment, such as mowers, edgers, leaf blowers and stationary power generators, contribute to smog-formation.

Ultimately, it's best to set those tools down for a few days until the air gets better. It's a great excuse for putting off those lawn chores!

Alas, you should also avoid barbequing on "Spare the Air" days. Whether your grill is charcoal or propane, barbequing is a no-no when it comes to air quality. If you really must flip a burger, wait until the evening when the weather has cooled down.

Finally, volatile compounds are another major source of smog. Avoid paints, insecticides, hairspray, furniture polish, cooking sprays and other aerosol sprays on "Spare the Air" days.

For more information about "Spare the Air" days and how you can get notified when one is forecasted, call 1-800-HELP-AIR or visit www.sparetheair.org. Also, keep your eyes and ears open for the "Spare the Air" announcements, usually broadcast on television and radio stations and announced in newspapers.

Ina Shlez coordinates clean air activities for the city's Department of the Environment. For more information about clean air, call (415) 355-3700, visit the website at www.sfenvironment.com or drop by SF Environment's EcoCenter at 11 Grove St.