The Bay Area Air District voted Tuesday to lower the threshold for particulate pollution that triggers Spare the Air alerts banning most wood burning, in a change that could double the number of warnings annually.
Air regulators will issue alerts when forecasts predict fine particle pollution levels will reach 25 micrograms per cubic meter over 24 hours, down from the previous standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter.
A growing body of health research has found that fine particulate pollution, known as PM2.5, contributes to a wide range of serious health issues, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and even dementia…