SAfrica fires fuel air pollution in Cape Town

FIRE STORM

by Staff Writers
Cape Town (AFP) March 17, 2009
Summer wildfires, which raged for days around Cape Town and laid waste to historic vineyards and other property, has raised levels of hazardous air pollution in the city, an official said Tuesday.

A thick pall of smoke often hung over the city during December, January and February as fires swept outlying areas for a total of 16 days during this period.

"The City of Cape Town's monitoring reports on the pollution levels shows that the number of days when pollution levels were potentially hazardous to health were higher during these three months than in previous years," James Vos, of the city council's health committee, said in a statement.

Ivan Bromfield of the city's health department said fire pollutant particles caused a range of health problems, such as asthma, irritation of the eyes, throat and lungs, and could lead to respiratory or heart disease.

"Air pollution leads to more hospital admissions and visits to emergency departments, increasing the burden on the city's health care services. It also reduces productivity through lost working days," he said.

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FIRE STORM

Worst of Australian wildfire season declared over

Sydney (AFP) March 4, 2009
Australian authorities Wednesday declared the worst of the deadly wildfire season over, telling thousands of people who fled their homes it was safe to return.

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