 Air Fact Sheet
NITROUS OXIDES (NOx)
are gases produced as a result of high temperature combustion. In Alaska, NOx pollution problems stem mostly from industrial sources, although they are also produced by snowmachines, cars and trucks. Nox can irritate the lungs, cause bronchitis, pneumonia, and pulmonary edema, and lower resistance to respiratory infections such as influenza.
HYDROCARBONS are vaporized unburned fuels. Two-stroke engines used in snowmachines and other ORV's spew 20-25% of their fuel into the environment unburned. Hydrocarbons react in the presence of nitrogen oxides and sunlight to form ground-level ozone, a major component of smog. Ozone irritates the eyes, damages the lungs, and aggravates respiratory problems.
PARTICULATE MATTER (PM-10) is defined as particles with a diameter of less than 10 micrometers (um). These tiny particles can be inhaled and may travel deep into the lungs where they are trapped. Studies have shown that this can be harmful to health. Sources include woodsmoke, road dust, and vehicle exhaust, particularly from diesel vehicles.
CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) is a colorless, odorless and poisonous gas produced by an incomplete burn of carbon in fuels. Fairbanks is one of only seven cities nationwide ranked by the EPA as a "non-attainment" area for CO pollution. About 70% of the wintertime CO here comes from motor vehicles. When inhaled, CO enters the blood stream and chemically binds to hemoglobin, reducing the amount of oxygen delivered to all body tissues. CO weakens heart contractions, and can be life threatening to those with heart disease. Even at relatively low concentrations, CO can affect mental function, visual acuity, and alertness.
SULFUR DIOXIDE (SO2) is a colorless gas with a strong pungent odor that enters the air primarily from certain industrial processes and the burning of coal and oil. Sources of SO2 in Fairbanks are mainly power plants.
What You Can Do
- Plug in your car if the temperature is +20 or below. Cars emit up to 100 times as much CO during cold starts as they do after warming up, and Fairbanks' worst pollution days often occur when the temperature is between 0 and +20, rather than when it is 30 or 40 below zero.
- Use a timer or a power-saver on your plug-in; electricity also pollutes. Plugging in for two hours each day costs less than $4 a month, but plugging in continually would cost $43.
- Minimize vehicle trips - do several errands at once, share errands with others, carpool, walk, or bike. Because start-up is so polluting, reducing the number of short trips is very important.
- Make sure your car is well maintained. Even new cars can sometimes be poorly tuned. The dirtiest ten percent of vehicles in Fairbanks produce 70% of total on-road air pollution.
- Properly inflate your tires, drive at even speeds, and never leave your car idling or warm it up for more than a minute or two. Idling DOES cause more pollution than turning the car off and restarting it when you're done with your shopping, even if no plug-ins are available.
- Remove studded tires as soon as the roads clear up in the spring, and drive the posted speed on unpaved roads. This helps to keep the particulate levels down.
- Avoid anything with a two-stroke engine, particularly in town. This includes most snowmachines and other ORVs. These engines emit the same volume of hydrocarbons and NOx as 1,000 cars, and as much CO as 250 to 500 cars.
- Try to use only newer wood stoves with catalytic converters, and when using stoves or fireplaces, build smaller fires that burn hotter and cleaner. Traditional wood heat releases huge amounts of PM-10.
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