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Published Sunday, April 03, 2011 in Local

Photo by Jeffrey Leo

The Clean Air Campaign has extended its ozone reporting season, and will begin issuing smog alerts from April through October, instead of May through September. Tailpipe emissions from vehicles like these on Bullsboro Drive Friday afternoon are a major cause of ground level ozone and smog.

Smog Alerts: Ozone season extended for Coweta and metro

By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL

sarah@newnan.com

Ozone season is getting longer. At least officially, that is.

Smog alert forecasts, normally issued from May 1 to Sept. 30, will now be issued from April 1 to Oct. 31.

Air quality is a year-round concern in Georgia, according to The Clean Air Campaign. That is especially true for the metro Atlanta area and Coweta County.

“We decided to extend ozone forecasting to give people the information they need to make informed choices to better protect their health — as well as to encourage them to take air-friendly actions that will reduce pollution throughout the year,” said Susan Zimmer-Dauphinee, program manager for the Ambient Monitoring Program at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

“When a smog alert is issued, it means circumstances are in place to create unhealthy air, but when we do our part and change our actions, we can also change the outcome,” said Kevin Green, executive director of The Clean Air Campaign. “We can reduce emissions that form smog by driving less, carpooling, vanpooling, taking transit or teleworking We can also take other air-friendly actions such as reducing unnecessary engine idling, refueling vehicles after dusk and avoiding the use of gas-powered lawn equipment on days when smog levels are projected to be high.”

Ground-level ozone, a major component of smog, is formed by complex chemical reactions in the air, in the presence of sunlight. That makes warm, dry and stagnant weather conditions more conducive to smog formation.

The Clean Air Campaign will use the forecasts by the EPD to further inform the public, through its smog alerts, when air quality is expected to be unhealthy.

The expansion of air quality monitoring won’t affect the outdoor burn ban, which runs from May 1 to Sept. 30. The burn ban currently affects 54 counties.

Cowetans who live near Peachtree City might notice a good bit of smoke over the next few weeks, as debris burning gets under way at the Lake McIntosh site.

Vegetation cleared during the construction of Lake McIntosh will be burned on lake property that is in Coweta County. Lake McIntosh will be owned and operated by the Fayette County Water System. Part of the lake property is in Coweta, and part is in Peachtree City. Debris burning is not allowed in Peachtree City, so all the burning will have to be done on the Coweta side.

A burn permit is needed for any kind of outdoor burning, and can be obtained from the Georgia Forestry Commission.

Permits for burning of “hand piled vegetation,” such as leaves and debris from storm damage, can be obtained online at www.gfc.state.ga.us or by calling 1-877-OK2-BURN.

Permits for burning of “machine piled vegetation” as well as “area burns” must be obtained directly from the local Georgia Forestry Commission office at 770-254-7431.

No outdoor burning is allowed in the city of Newnan.

It is unlawful to burn man-made materials, such as tires and garbage, as well as lumber.

In Coweta, all fires, and smoke, need to be out one hour before dark.

A temporary burn ban was issued March 25 because of dry conditions and wildfires in South Georgia. However, that ban was lifted Monday after extensive rains.

Though temporary burn bans, and daily burn restrictions, are based on the danger of wildfire, the annual burn ban is meant to cut down on air pollution.

Smog alerts are issued when poor air quality conditions are forecast.

Because the alerts are predictions, if enough individuals and businesses act on the warnings, they can help prevent ozone violations from occurring.

You can get information on air quality, and sign up to have smog alerts e-mailed to you, by visiting www.cleanaircampaign.org and clicking on the “air we breathe” tab.

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