Area residents warned about poor air quality

The Environmental Protection Agency's New England office warned residents of Connecticut, Rhode Island and northeastern Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and coastal Maine that the air quality rating of unhealthy Wednesday is likely to continue into today due to high levels of ground-level ozone.

"When air quality is poor, EPA and the medical community suggests that people limit their strenuous outdoor activity," Curt Spalding, administrator of EPA's New England office, said Wednesday. "People can also help reduce emissions during these times."

Demand for electricity in New England was also forecast to reach high load levels due to the hot weather predicted for today, the EPA said.

The agency asked homeowners and employers to make a special effort to reduce electricity consumption. Employers can consider asking employees to dress casually, and both employers and homeowners can turn air conditioning to a higher temperature setting and turn off any unnecessary lights and computers, the EPA said. Homeowners can also defer electricity-consuming activities such as doing laundry until later hours.

Exposure to elevated ozone levels can cause serious breathing problems, aggravate asthma and other lung conditions and make people more susceptible to respiratory infections.

Ground-level ozone, also known as smog, is formed mostly from pollutants from cars, trucks, buses and the burning of fossil fuels at power plants interacting with sunlight. Ozone smog is also emitted from gasoline stations, household products such as paints and cleaners and lawn and garden equipment.

The EPA asked the public to help reduce ozone levels by using public transportation, car pooling or limiting vehicle trips; refueling cars at night; and avoiding the use of small gasoline-powered engines such as lawn mowers, chain saws and leaf blowers.