Researcher Says Wood Burning Not Sustainable
A fascinating article, “Heating and Air Pollution,” discusses the disproportionate contribution of wood smoke to pollution when wood burning is used as a heat source. The author, Marcelo Mena, is the Director of the Center for Sustainability Research at Universidad Andres Bello and performs research on regional air quality and climate modeling.
The bottom line, Mena notes in a follow-up comment to the article, is that current use of wood burning in many developing countries and in the US is not sustainable because it generates orders of magnitude more particulate pollution than other fuel sources.
Mena notes that in Santiago, Chile, just 8 percent of the population uses wood burning stoves, yet the resulting soot makes up 49 percent of air pollution. This is paralleled by findings in the Bay Area, where the number of people who rely on wood stoves for heat is low, yet wood smoke makes up more than 30 percent of winter time air pollution.
Mena also notes that a stringent ban on wood burning on bad air days in the San Joaquin Valley in California led to a remarkable 44 percent reduction in the number of days when the air quality was unhealthful. “In my years working in air pollution,” Mena stresses, “I’ve never seen a single measure with such effectiveness in reducing pollution.”
What are the ramifications for clean air policies? Mena suggests that in cities, where the wood smoke pollution burden adds to that from vehicular pollution, we should think about outright bans in wood burning.
EPA: Wood Burning “Relic from the Past”
EPA Regional Director Jared Blumenfeld was recently interviewed on San Francisco’s KCBS radio, speaking out about the health and environmental hazards of wood smoke pollution. The segment talks about why all wood burning will eventually be banned.
The piece is only a minute long, but definitely worth a listen:
Wood Smoke Radio Segment
New Year’s Resolution: Cleaner Air in 2012
Every year during the holiday season, people gather around the fireplace to celebrate with family and friends. Unfortunately, fireplaces are also fire hazards with hot embers or ashes leading to nearly 11,600 residential building fires in the U.S. each year.
While many are aware of the fire danger posed by fireplaces, the hazards posed by wood smoke are just as real, but far less publicized. The EPA notes that fine particles from wood smoke have serious adverse health effects.
Fireplaces and wood stoves are the single largest source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in many areas in the winter, including the San Francisco Bay Area. Study after study shows that PM2.5 worsens asthma, increases heart attacks, damages lungs, and even leads to death.
This New Year’s Eve, why not skip the fire and the toxic wood smoke?
Instead, raise your glass to good health and clean air in the coming year.
Happy New Year from Families for Clean Air.
Washington State Grants Target Communities Impacted by Wood Smoke
Residents in Washington communities that are heavily impacted by wood smoke may soon be breathing a little easier thanks to $2.4 million in grants from the state of Washington’s Department of Ecology.
Families for Clean Air is pleased to report that many of the grants are not going towards changing out old wood stoves for new ones. Instead, in some areas, the money will help people replace old wood stoves and other high-polluting wood burning devices with cleaner, more efficient heating equipment.
The Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) is offering up to $1,000 to qualified Thurston County residents who want to change to gas or electric heating systems. The program is available to residents who want to replace pre-1995 certified wood stoves and fireplace inserts; uncertified wood stoves and fireplace inserts; or free-standing fireplaces. According to ORCAA, by removing just 60 solid fuel (wood or pellet) burning devices from the community, residents will reduce emissions by 10 tons of PM2.5 per year.
Asking People to Voluntarily Refrain from Wood Burning
The Bay Air Quality Management District has asked people in the 9 county areas around the San Francisco Bay to voluntarily refrain from burning fires in the next few days in order to avoid unhealthful conditions that would trigger a Spare the Air alert.
The Air District’s call for voluntary restraint builds upon the successful strategy used last year, when they asked people not to burn on the days leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas when weather conditions would have trapped wood smoke close to the ground. People responded to the requests, and the region’s air quality did not exceed the national air quality health standards on those holidays, unlike many years in the past.
By expanding the call for voluntary restraint beyond holidays to any day when weather conditions are ripe for wood smoke to linger, the Air District can further protect public health. This is a carrot and stick approach: If people voluntarily refrain from burning during stagnant weather conditions, they are rewarded with cleaner air to breathe, fewer trips to the emergency room due to asthma or heart attacks, and their neighbors’ appreciation. If people don’t reduce their burning, then a Spare the Air alert is triggered, imposing a mandatory ban on wood burning and minimum $400 fines for those who don’t comply.
The consequences of wood smoke pollution are borne by everyone, not just those who fail to heed mandatory curtailments. However, we at Families for Clean Air applaud the District’s success so far in heading off Spare the Air alerts with requests for voluntary restraint. This is an encouraging and positive step toward protecting public health.
