Tulsa area under an â€˜ Ozone Alertâ€™ for Saturday

Friday, July 29th 2005, 5:20 pm

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Environmental regulators warned Friday that the return of warmer weather and calm wind conditions over the weekend will create the right conditions for smog, necessitating the second weekend Ozone Alert of the year.

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality issued the alert Friday afternoon for Saturday. This marked the sixth alert of the season and the second one to fall on a Saturday. The combination of heavy industry and motorists commuting mean most alerts are called during weekdays.

A still day with temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s created ideal conditions for the formation of ground-level ozone, according to the Indian Nations Council of Governments, which announced the alert.

Cars and gas-powered mowers and weed trimmers should be used as little as possible during alerts to prevent formation of one of the gases that creates ground-level ozone, according to INCOG.

During alerts, drivers are asked to carpool and combine trips. INCOG also recommended only refueling vehicles in the evenings.

Active children, adults and especially people with respiratory disease such as asthma should limit prolonged outdoor exertion during alerts, according to DEQ.

Tulsa is one of several cities attempting to stay off the Environmental Protection Agency's "dirty air" list. The alert program is used to attempt to keep ozone levels from crossing federal thresholds at area air quality monitors.