Power shutdowns intended to prevent more devastating California wildfires are raising new concerns about another longstanding environmental threat: air pollution.
As utilities halted service to more than 2 million people this week, lines formed at hardware stores selling portable generators, while many hospitals and businesses fired up their own. The prospect of emissions belching from untold numbers of the machines, some powered by diesel and gasoline as well as propane and natural gas, was troubling in a state already burdened with some of the nation's worst air quality.
"The wildfires that are driven by climate change and all the consequences of that are certainly a new normal and it's constantly emerging," Roselius said. Significant rises in diesel exhaust could worsen asthma symptoms and pose risks for people with heart and lung diseases, said Dr. John Balmes, a spokesman for the American Lung Association and a Bay Area resident among those temporarily without electricity.
"The use of these engines will generate additional emissions," board spokeswoman Melanie Turner said."We will be assessing the impact as these public safety power shutoffs evolve."
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