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  EPA Standards: Minimizing the Risk

  People, Air & Fire: The Burning Questions

  What should we all know about fire?

  Air Quality Timeline

onger term exposures at levels below the old ozone standard caused health problems, including asthma attacks, breathing and respiratory problems, loss of lung function, and possible long-term lung damage and lowered immunity to disease. Fine particulate matter was found to lodge deeply in the lungs and cause respiratory problems and premature deaths. These fine particles come from burning (such as in fireplaces, campfires, woodstoves, prescribed burns, and rice burning) and chemical reactions that occur in the air. We are all at risk. Health problems linked to air pollution range from eye irritation, sore throats, and coughing to lung damage, cancer, and pre-mature death. Healthy children and adults who play or exercise vigorously are also at risk.

And the Economy

Every year, Californian's lose billions of dollars due to air pollution. The cost of health-related problems, plus damage to crops, forests, and wild vegetation, all add up to a big drain on California's economy. Air pollution is something we can't afford.