Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2003 - 8:26 p.m.

OK, EW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Barbecue Fumes Adding to Haze

Mar 18, 8:52 am ET

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texans like to say that they live and breathe barbecue -- which may be one of the reasons why the air is so bad in Houston, the state's so-called barbecue capital.

According to a study from scientists at Rice University in the city, microscopic bits of polyunsaturated fatty acids released into the atmosphere from cooking meat on backyard barbecues are helping to foul the air in Houston.

The city at times registers levels that rank it as one of the more polluted U.S. urban areas in terms of air quality.

Matthew Fraser, an assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering at Rice who led the study, said he was measuring eight different sources of organic particulate matter in the atmosphere, coming from items such as burning gasoline.

"Meat turned out to be a somewhat important source of the atmospheric fine particles in the urban area in Houston," Fraser said.

Fraser said the percentage of particles in the atmosphere from cooking meat as a part of the overall level of airborne pollutants was in the single digits.

He added fine particles, such as those that come from cooking meat, are a health concern because they can penetrate deep into the lungs and lead to respiratory and heart problems.

The report is expected to be published next month in an academic periodical. The team at Rice conducted its survey of Houston air over a one-year period between 1997 and 1998.

"I think that a lot of American cities would have the same problem," Fraser said.

"Houston does have a reputation for being the barbecue capital of Texas. It is certainly possible that the problem of fine particles from cooking meat is more important here than other cities," he said.