September 2017. British Lung Foundation Recommends "Avoid open fires and wood-burning stoves. If you can, use gas or electricity to cook and to heat your home." and "If you’re thinking about buying a wood-burning stove, please think about the outdoor air pollution it will cause to your neighbours’ air quality and to the quality of the air entering your own home." September 2017. City bans wood-burning fireplaces in new homes "Under current guidelines, property owners are encouraged but not required to use gas-burning devices only. In April the DRB voted 6-1 to recommend City Council consider prohibiting wood-burning fireplaces and stoves in new construction. To make a point, resident Rich Ehrenfeld showed a video featuring a house with a burning cigarette where the chimney should be. He said the analogy may be extreme but it makes sense. If I’m sitting next to someone smoking a cigarette, I don’t care about the overall air quality, he said. It’s the same for sensitive receptors. They can’t work in their yards if someone is using a wood-burning fireplace. “A lot of data points to … maybe gas is better for the environment,” he added. “Gas is not great. It’s not the ultimate thing to burn gas. But it’s a whole lot better and the C02 that’s given off by burning gas in a fireplace is about half what the C02 that’s given up in a wood-burning fireplace.” He said the prohibition should result in wood-burners phasing themselves out over time". September 2017. Worried about the effects of smoke from wood-burners? Here are some alternative options for your fireplace Some scientists believe they are more harmful than traffic pollution. That’s because wood-burning produces particulates — tiny toxic particles that get into the lungs, the blood and even the brain. They can cause heart attacks and lung problems and can be particularly damaging for children. A recent study showed the biggest source of these dangerous soot particles is wood-burning, a third of which occurs in homes. New generations of the stoves will be more efficient at reducing emissions, but they won’t be able to eradicate them. So, for some wood-burner owners, the love affair is over. If you do decide to ditch it, what can you do with the fireplace? September 2017. New York's mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated Earth Day on Tuesday by proposing more regulations — including a ban on new wood-burning fireplaces. Instead of wood-burning fireplaces, de Blasio wants to allow only cleaner-burning units, such as those that use natural gas ... “Today’s reforms — the biggest in a generation — will make a fundamental difference for thousands of New Yorkers living with asthma, and pave the way for other cities around the nation to follow suit.” September 2017. Montreal's famous bagel shops under fire for wood-burning ovens. Montreal residents are going before city council on Monday to demand a ban on wood-burning ovens at several famous bagel shops because they say not enough has been done to address air pollution. Francois Grenier, who lives on the same block where Fairmount Bagels has stood since 1949, says he has been asking the city to deal with the wood-burning ovens for more than 20 years. “I’m suffering,” he says. “The first time I had a big asthma crisis. Since then I had to close my windows in the summer when the wind was coming from southwest, so I’m living in air-conditioning.” ... "We reduced the emissions by 70 percent," he said. That's still about 30 per cent above the city’s emission standards, according to Morena, but he says they will have a filter in place by early next year that should further reduce emissions. September 2017. Smoke gets in your eyes. "Wood fired fire pits may lure people to a place to eat or drink, yet the smoke can also cause serious health problems. If you live or your business is in a crowded area and you have a wood fired fire pit, why not switch to propane? Propane burns clean, hot and smokeless and will not cause health problems for you, those you love, and those nearby ." August 2017. Air pollution almost as bad for babies as smoking during pregnancy. A new study carried out by the universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen has revealed that Scottish babies  The research also showed that mothers who smoked during pregnancy, but who were exposed to less pollution, gave birth to children with similar defects. The study only took into account a sampling pool in the northeast of Scotland, where air pollution is less pronounced than in cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow. Average PM2.5 concentrations during the study were 7.2 micrograms per cubic metre, far below the annual average of 10 mcg per cubic metre recommended by the WHO. The graph shows that a 5 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure has a significant detrimental effect on unborn babies' skull size (measured in terms of a SD score for bi-parietal diameter measurement). Lead scientist Dr Tom Clemens explained that his team’s findings showed that “a foetus with a non-smoking mother exposed to high pollution levels is only slightly better off than one with a smoking mother exposed to low levels of pollution”. Clemens urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Union to review their separate definitions of what emission levels are considered acceptable. August 2017. Emergency Department Visits of Young Children and Long-Term Exposure to Neighbourhood Smoke From Household Heating. A single household per hectare heating with wood or coal increases the risk of an infant under 3 having a non-accidental visit to an emergency department by 7%. "Policies that reduce smoke pollution from domestic heating by as little as one household per hectare using solid fuel burners could improve child health."
August 2017. Chile takes action on air pollution. Firewood produces as much as 94 per cent of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions in some Chilean cities, according to the Ministry of Environment. But lack of money is preventing many households from switching to cleaner energy sources... Every year in Chile, air pollution costs the health sector at least $670 million and is the root cause of the 127,000 emergency health consultations and more than 4,000 premature deaths.
To address this challenge, in 2014, the Government launched a programme in the centre-south region to replace 200,000 firewood heaters with more energy-efficient heaters such as new gas, paraffin or wood pellet-based heaters. “This year we have seen the effects and the benefits of atmospheric decontamination plans that we did not notice in previous years, due to drought and bad ventilation conditions,” says Environment Minister Marcelo Mena. Mena revealed that between 1 April and 29 June 2017 severe air pollution episodes in the main cities of the centre-south region were 45 per cent lower than in the same period of 2016. August 2017. Air pollution to blame for soaring numbers of non-smokers who develop lung cancer Doctors at leading cancer centres in London warned that high levels of pollution are causing a spike in cases of lung cancer. They said, if the trend continues, the number of lung cancer deaths among non-smokers will overtake those who smoke within a decade.
August 2017. Current air quality issues should make people rethink their wood stoves. "Currently we're engulfed in smoky air throughout southern BC with health warnings about the air quality. The smoke from wildfires is worrying. It's like living inside a highly polluted city.
" So why do we willingly create a similar situation throughout the winter months with outdoor burning and a plethora of wood-burning appliances polluting our valley which create their own air-quality warnings?..." "We replaced a wood stove with a ductless electric heat pump soon after purchasing our home here. Our hydro bills are low and we have the significant benefit of summertime air-conditioning. It's a choice that many might make with a bit of encouragement or assistance. It's wonderful that some members of local councils and other levels of government are supporting efforts for cleaner air. But current rebate opportunities are limited and especially limited in helping people select a heat pump, which is the greenest alternative...." August 2017.
Dangers from burning wood. With all of the recent criticisms of diesel cars, I feel it is necessary to point out the pollution that is caused by wood-burners and garden bonfires.Known as PM2.5s, defined as having a diameter of one four-hundredth-of-a-millimetre or less, approximately 30 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair, these particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and have been implicated in exacerbating both lung and cardiovascular diseases. According to the European Environment Agency, PM2.5s are responsible for 37,800 premature deaths in Britain annually and while wood-burning stoves are portrayed, particularly by the manufacturers, as the eco-friendly option, the single biggest source for these particles is wood-burning, a third of which at least occurs actually in our homes. The fact is that the makers of wood-burning stoves and boilers have been allowed to circumvent long-standing laws aimed at preventing smog. (Letter to West Sussex County Times). August 2017. Hospitals in British Columbia See Massive Spike In Patients With Respiratory Problems. Poor air quality persists throughout the southern half of British Columbia as tinder-dry conditions continue to fuel wildfires. Dr. Bonnie Henry, deputy provincial health officer, said there has been a recent spike in emergency calls and hospital visits from people suffering from respiratory and other conditions related to the smoke and heat, particularly in the Lower Mainland. The increase can be from 20 per cent to 50 per cent more than we've seen in the past 10 years in the same area. "Depending on the day and the time of day, the increase can be from 20 per cent to 50 per cent more than we've seen in the past 10 years in the same area," Henry said. The BC Ambulance Service is monitoring the situation and staffing accordingly, Henry said, and health authorities are reminding the public to take precautions such as exercising indoors to avoid health problems. ... People with medical conditions, infants and the elderly are encouraged to stay indoors — ideally in air-conditioned environments — as well as keep any necessary medications handy and stay hydrated. 911 calls for breathing issues jump as smoky haze chokes Vancouver’s air quality "People are being advised to avoid any strenuous activity outside." Metro Vancouver air quality worse than Beijing: St. Paul’s respirologist. “That’s very rare. Most of the time we beat Beijing hands down. But over the next few days I’m afraid the quality of air in Beijing will be better.” According to a real-time air pollution data collected by the World Air Quality Index project, the air quality index in Burnaby was at an ‘unhealthy’ level on Friday (index of 110), while Beijing was at a ‘moderate’ one (index of 99). .August 2017. Burning firewood is an airborne public health hazard Dr. Brian Moench. "If someone from the American Lung Association knocked on your door suggesting that you join their fundraising project by buying vouchers for discounts on cigarettes, proclaiming, “It’s all for a good cause,” you might think you have just entered an alternate reality universe. "Unfortunately, the Humboldt Senior Resource Center has been living for many years in just such an alternate reality. The HSRC is once again selling discounted firewood vouchers for seniors ... For a person that doesn’t smoke, burning firewood for home heating is probably the worst thing you can do for your own health and longevity, and that of all your neighbors. "Thousands of medical studies have proven beyond any doubt that air pollution causes or exacerbates virtually the same entire list of health outcomes as cigarettes do — heart attacks, strokes, asthma, pneumonia, high blood pressure, shortened life expectancy, chromosomal damage, Alzheimer’s, every kind of pregnancy complication, still births, and even sudden death. "But all air pollution is not created equal. Wood smoke is the most toxic type of pollution in most cities, more dangerous than auto pollution and most industrial pollution. Lighting a wood fire in your house is essentially starting up your own mini-toxic waste incinerator." August 2017. Former Labour government Minister, Brian Wilson on wood stove installation: "With further confirmation that wood burners cause damage to neighbours health (see Sunday times 16th July 2017 and the comprehensive Mikee5 contribution on GBF) it surely becomes priority to minimise health impact and not maximise the damage potential by facilitating release of the deadly emissions close to the ground . With confirmation that 31% of toxic fine particles are already created by wood burners and with 200,000 additional units installed each year guaranteeing air quality damage equating to millions of extra diesel vehicles operating in the UK it would appear time for the application of joined up thinking, due diligence and duty of care ....
NOX production is a further concern especially when aware nitrogen content in the fuel can vary by a factor of 20 plus, a Scottish Nov 2008 report confirmed wood burning creates levels of toxic pollution many times higher than equivalent gas or oil. Fire Authorities report a substantial increase in domestic chimney fires due to wood burning which further confirms pollution content in the emissions. The contribution to reported 40,000 UK deaths due to air pollution annually surely warrants investigation and action. Rgds Brian Wilson." Source: UK green building forum, thread about wood stove installation:
August 2017. Wood-heater emissions causing poor air quality warning in Melbourne CBD Pregnant women and people with heart and lung conditions should limit their time outdoors in Melbourne's CBD due to poor air quality.
A warning from the Environment Protection Authority has been in place for most of Thursday, with an afternoon update stating air quality is "unhealthy for sensitive groups".
The elevated level of PM2.5 particles is likely due to wood-heater emissions and other sources of urban pollution not being dispersed because of still atmospheric conditions, the environmental watchdog said. August 2017. Indian startup Avant Garde Innovations has developed a low-cost wind turbine that can generate 3-5 kW hours of electricity daily. The size of a ceiling fan, this wind turbine can generate 5 kWh/kW per day — enough electricity to power an entire house for a lifetime — with just a one-time cost of US$750.
August 2017. UK’s largest heat pump to warm 350 homes. New heating decarbonisation targets have been set by the UK government and large heat pumps are expected to play a key role in meeting these standards. ... “We’re looking to gain fuel poverty alleviation for Hillpark Drive, Glasgow, UK. It is a 350 home social housing estate built in the 1970s currently fitted with electric storage heating. ...
The 400 kW/h air source heat pump is designed to be installed at an energy centre and connected to a centralised district heating network which will deliver low carbon heat to six buildings plugged into the scheme. At 8 metres long and 10,000 kg in weight, the air source heat pump incorporates in-built control systems to enable remote monitoring and ensure optimum efficiency throughout its life-cycle, an expected 20+ years. With the use of the robust industrial manufacturing components, higher water temperatures of 60°C are achieved, allowing for regular radiators to be used.
Air source heat pumps are perfect for the UK’s mild climate as warmth is extracted from the outside air and then boosted up for distribution via a “wet” central heating system to the whole housing community. This will be the first time an ASHP installation in Britain will provide central renewable heating for a block of high rise buildings. August 2017. Wildfire smoke from British Columbia + historic heat wave hitting Western Washington have counties across Washington state issuing burn bans. For, example, King County has a Stage 1 air quality burn ban. No charcoal barbeques, fire pits, chimeneas, fire bowls, or similar free-standing devices, campfires or bonfires, fireplaces, uncertified wood stoves, or uncertified inserts, agricultural fires (as described in the agricultural burn permit).
Health experts warn of effects of smoke Smoke in the air poses a health concern, as gases and particles are taken in that can cause lung and eye issues. Flathead County health officer Hillary Hanson explained the danger of smoke.
"What we're most concerned with is that fine particle, because that's what people are breathing into their lungs, and that's what can cause the issues," Hanson said.
July 2017. Wood-burners harm neighbours’ health. If your neighbours have a wood-burning stove, they could be wrecking your health, scientists have warned. They found that every wood stove releases billions of tiny toxic particles into the air that can drift into nearby homes, especially at low wind speeds.
“Even modest wood-burning in densely populated residential areas may lead to pollution exposures comparable to those from traffic sources,” Gary Fuller, a researcher at King’s College London, told a conference last week. He analysed pollution levels and sources in cities such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and Norwich, showing that wood-burning accounted for up to 31% of toxic particles in the air.
He also found that suburban toxin levels peaked in the evenings and on Sundays, when more people were at home. July 2017. Utah physicians group alarmed by studies linking more deaths to air pollution. An association of Utah doctors is calling for more stringent limits on air pollution in light of new evidence they say shows air quality is more critical to human health than once thought. Members of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment said they would seek lower limits on ambient air pollution, urge state leaders to plan more carefully for future growth, and press for a review of rules restricting emissions from wood-burning stoves, restaurants and fireworks.
"There is no safe level of air pollution that we can inhale," said Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians. "So if there is a standard, it's arbitrary" and based on factors such as politics and economic costs. July 2017. Smoke campaign puts heat on wood heaters. Announced by the Minister for the Environment and Heritage Mick Gentleman, the ‘Burn Right Tonight’ campaign will also encourage them to switch to more sustainable alternatives to keep Canberra’s air clean. “Smoke from domestic wood heaters remains the largest source of air pollution in the Territory,” Mr Gentleman said. July 2017. Impressionism: Civilization is going up in smoke, one chiminea at a time. "In
our city will have a ban on open backyard fires just so the neighbourhood doesn’t go up in flames in the event of a dry season, or to prevent the smoke from your slightly damp, crappy firewood, purchased at the local gas station, doesn’t send plumes of suffocating smoke up and into the blades of your neighbour’s cooling fan, filling his domain with stifling fumes.
This is the very definition what is means to be civilized: We don’t fill each others homes with smoke."
July 2017. Increased air pollution cuts victims' lifespan by a decade, costing billions. A new study in the August issue of Ecological Indicators shows that, on average, an increase in pollution particles in the air of 10 micrograms per cubic meter cuts victims' life expectancy by 9-11 years - more than previously thought. June 2017. Air pollution exposure may hasten death, even at levels deemed 'safe'. A study of 97% of the US population ages 65 or older - more than 60 million adults - linked long-term exposure to PM2.5 to a substantially increased risk of premature death. The analysis found no sign of a “safe” level of pollution, below which the risk of dying early tapered off.
the Harvard University scientists who conducted the study calculated that reducing PM2.5 pollution by just 1 ug/m3 nationwide would save about 12,000 lives each year in the USA.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that, in areas where annual PM2.5 exposure was less than 12 ug/m3 found than an increase of just 1 ug/m3 increased the risk of premature death by 1.26%. June 2017. Following complaints, Cambridge restaurant ordered to stop cooking with charcoal and wood. Cambridge health officials have ordered the owners of Shepard Restaurant & Bar in Cambridge to immediately stop using charcoal and wood for cooking following complaints from neighbors that smoke was seeping into their homes and affecting their health.
Legal Notice of Decision. June 2017. New smoke pollution rules make it harder to ignore burn bans. " FAIRBANKS — Want to burn wood or coal when the air is bad? You’ll need a waiver under new rules adopted Monday by the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly.
"That goes for people even if they have a newer-model stove and they are burning dry wood. The fine for burning without a waiver is $100. To get a waiver, burners will have to prove their stoves are approved, their wood is stored properly and they know how to burn cleanly, according to the package of new rules proposed by Borough Mayor Karl Kassel, amended by the assembly and approved in a 7-2 vote."
June 2017. Air pollution: the toll on public health (appendix to: Montreal bagels and the pollution problem). "In 2011, Quebec’s public health institute and Montreal’s public health agency collaborated on a study to quantify the health impacts of wood stoves in Rivière-des-Prairies, where a large proportion of residential homes use wood for heating.
"Across a population of 34,000, the researchers found that the increased presence of fine particulate emissions from wood burning was causing on average in a given year of approximately 1,000 to 3,000 days of acute respiratory symptoms, 29 to 92 days of asthma symptoms, 700 to 2,100 days of reduced activity, four to 11 days of acute childhood bronchitis, and up to two premature deaths."
June 2017. Tasmanians who upset their neighbours by burning excessively green and toxic firewood could soon be hit with an immediate fix order by compliance officers.
The State Government proposal would mostly target residents whose woodheater smoke emissions choke those living in close proximity and cause respiratory problems. Under current regulations, households and small businesses served with a written notice by EPA and council officers to reduce smoke are given 21 days to fix the problem. It is now proposed officers be given the power to order an immediate fix to the public health problem that plagues certain suburbs particularly in Launceston and Hobart. June 2017. Rebates offered to put out wood fires. The Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Shane Rattenbury has encouraged householders to replace their wood heaters to help improve the ACT’s air quality.
May 2017. NSW EPA probes coal-fired power plants over pollution claims - another example of hopelessly inadequate government supervision "The Bayswater power station in the Hunter Valley was only required to report pollution from one of its four generation units. Staff were instructed to supply lower sulphur coal to the unit being monitored while dirtier coal was burnt in the other three, according to participants attending a public meeting held with current plant owners AGL in Muswellbrook in March."
He encouraged Canberrans to take advantage of ACT Government rebates this winter and said the Actsmart Wood Heater Replacement Program offered incentives for the removal and disposal of domestic wood-burning heaters. “During winter, Tuggeranong can be particularly affected by wood smoke, which gets trapped in the valley,” Mr Rattenbury said. “The fine particulate matter in this smoke is detrimental to our health and our air quality.” May 2017. Christchurch smokebusters to hit the streets for third year. Three two-person groups will be roving the city from June 6, looking for chimneys producing visible smoke. New rules came into effect this year requiring replacement of wood burners that are at least 15 years old. National rules require that Christchurch have three or fewer high air pollution nights each year. Last year, the first winter in which the rules were in place, Christchurch had five. It has had two so far this year. Timaru remains well off meeting the target: it had 27 high air pollution nights last year, and three this year. May 2017. Air pollution linked to DNA damage in children. Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest that exposure to ambient PAH may play a role in telomere shortening“The fine particulate matter in this smoke is detrimental to our health and our air quality.”  May 2017. Heart attack risk increases 17-fold following respiratory infections. Woodsmoke contains toxic chemicals such as acrolein that reduce the ability of the lungs to fight infection. This research helps explain why breathing woodsmoke increases the risk of heart attacks as well as lung diseases.
"This is the first study to report an association between respiratory infections such as pneumonia, influenza and bronchitis and increased risk of heart attack in patients confirmed by coronary angiography (a special X-Ray to detect heart artery blockages). Our findings confirm what has been suggested in prior studies that a respiratory infection can act as a trigger for a heart attack," said senior author Professor Geoffrey Tofler, cardiologist from University of Sydney, Royal North Shore Hospital and Heart Research Australia.
May 2017. Poor air quality expected in Melbourne and Geelong. "Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) advises that air quality in Melbourne and Geelong may be unhealthy for sensitive groups today due to elevated levels of PM2.5 particles. Sensitive groups include people over 65, children 14 years and younger, pregnant women and those with existing heart or lung conditions. These people should reduce prolonged or heavy physical activity and, where possible, limit the time spent outdoors. The elevated levels of PM2.5 are likely due to wood heater emissions and other urban sources of pollution not being dispersed because of still atmospheric conditions over past 24 hours. today." May 2017. Saskatchewan Lung Association says wood-burning firepits dangerous for people with health conditions
Concerned citizens, including the Saskatchewan Lung Association, made presentations to a city committee on Monday, asking that wood-burning backyard firepits be completely banned. They argued that smoke from neighbouring yards can be dangerous to people with lung and heart conditions. This issue is long overdue," said Saskatchewan Lung Association vice-president of health promotion, Jennifer May told CBC News."We encourage the people of Saskatoon to be good neighbours and foster a healthy community." May said backyard smoke can travel lengthy distances and can affect people with asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). "Honestly, I think a lot of people don't even realize when they're sitting outside and having their fire, they're not realizing some of the impacts they're having on some members of their community," said May. The idea has precedent in other Canadian cities like Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Kelowna, which have already have outright bans. May would like people to start using alternatives, like propane and natural gas heaters instead. May 2017. Bay Area air hits healthy milestone thanks to tough wood-burning rules. SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area has cleaned up its air enough to meet the federal health standard for soot and fine pollution particles after a long and controversial campaign to reduce wood burning. Bay Area air quality regulators said it’s good news for people at risk of asthma and emphysema attacks, strokes and heart attacks, and other ailments aggravated by the fine pollution particles. Likened to very tiny razor blades, the particles and droplets finer than the width of a human hair are called PM 2.5. They invade human respiratory and circulatory systems, health experts say.
“Meeting this air quality milestone is truly a clean air success story for the Bay Area, and the air district’s 2008 wood-burning rule has played a significant role helping us meet the standard,” said Jack Broadbent, the chief executive officer of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The wood-burning rule banned wood fires during Spare the Air days when unhealthy air is predicted. The rule also banned old-fashioned, wood-burning fireplaces and stoves in new construction. April 2017. Air pollution: 'Heart disease link found' Several studies show that air pollution such as woodsmoke increases the risk of heart disease. Launceston's successful woodsmoke program reduced deaths in winter from respiratory disease by 28% and cardiovascular disease by 20%. A Canadian study reported a 19% increase in the risk of heart attack among people 65 and older. The researches "noticed that the association was stronger when more of the air pollution came from wood burning,"
In order to understand how this occurs, scientists asked 14 healthy volunteers to breathe in air containing gold nano-particles, which scientists consider inert, while exercising for two hours. A day later, researchers found that gold nano-particles had made their way into the bloodstream of most participants.And for some people, the particles remained in the body for months - they were detected in people's urine three months later. In another similar experiment, researchers asked three patients with clogged-up blood vessels to breathe in air containing tiny gold nanoparticles. A day later, when the patients had part of their damaged blood vessels surgically removed, there was evidence of this gold building up in the diseased parts of vessels.
This study sheds further light on how air pollution particles get into the bloodstream and damage our health.
See also: Researchers from McGill and Health Canada find that air pollution from wood burning linked to increased risk of heart attacks in seniors.
April 2017. Spare the Air, Cool the Climate. The new 2017 Bay Area Clean Air Plan aims to limit fossil fuel combustion, stop methane leaks, make buildings more efficient and eliminate wood burning to reduce particulate and black carbon emissions.
Wood smoke and soot fouling Marin’s air Lung Association study slams area. Bonnie Holmes-Gen, senior director of air quality and climate change for the American Lung Association (ALA) in California said: “wintertime wood smoke tends to be the major culprit increasing particle pollution or soot levels in Marin County and the reason for the unhealthy days. Wood smoke pollution can get trapped in the region during stagnant winter conditions
See also: Santa Barbara County Wood Smoke Reduction Program US$1,000 to replace a wood stove or fireplace with a natural gas or propane fireplace insert or freestanding stove or electric heat pump, or US$500 to remove a wood stove or fireplace. April 2017. Pilot Program Aims to Snuff Harmful Wood Smoke. A voluntary pilot program that encourages homeowners to Heat Clean, Save Green by providing $500 to remove or $1,000 to replace a wood-burning fireplaces or woodstove with non-polluting heating. This program is similar to other successful voluntary programs throughout California, in line with state efforts to reduce levels of both particulate matter and black carbon, a short-lived climate pollutant emitted when wood burns. Kittitas County Holding Wood Stove Buy-Back Old home-heating wood stoves can be turned in for a cash incentive. Those with qualifying stoves will receive a $250 check in about three weeks from the event. Stoves must be in working order and free of firebrick... April 2017. Link between air pollution and breast cancer discovered. Research has suggested that increased exposure to soot particles could lead to denser breast tissue, which is one of the strongest risk factors linked to breast cancer ... Researchers from the University of Florida, US, looked at 279,967 women to discover if there was a link between pollution and breast cancer. It is thought that increases in PM2.5 impact the body's hormone levels, which can trigger different tissue types in the breast to start growing. Dense breast tissue tends to contain less fat, but more glandular tissue, which increases the chance of cells becoming cancerous.
On top of this, cancer in dense breast tissue is often harder to detect with standard breast screenings. This can mean that women only realise they have breast cancer when they start experiencing symptoms, which can make it harder to treat. See also: Barbecued and smoked meat tied to risk of death from breast cancer "There are many carcinogens found in grilled or smoked meats," said lead study author Humberto Parada, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "One of the most common are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are formed during combustion of organic material." "Women may be exposed to these carcinogens by cigarette smoke or air pollution, which are associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer, Parada said by email. Some research has suggested exposure to these chemicals through grilled or smoked meat can increase the risk of breast cancer, but the current study offers some of the first evidence suggesting it also influences survival odds." April 2017. Santa Barbara County residents can get cash to help with removal or replacement of wood-burning fireplaces or wood stoves in their homes as part of a new voluntary pilot program encouraging homeowners countywide to "Heat Clean, Save Green."
Applicants who meet program requirements will receive a $1,000 from the APCD to help cover the costs of replacing a wood-burning stove or fireplace or a $500 check to help cover the costs of removing it. ... "It's a change that can make a big difference in your neighborhood."
Devices that will qualify for a rebate include operable woodstoves (conventional, catalytic, noncatalytic and pellet) and operable wood-burning fireplaces (open hearth and fireplace insert). Qualified replacements include natural gas or propane fireplace inserts or free-standing heating stoves and electric heat pumps.
April 2017. Wood Fires Found to Create More Pollution than Previously Thought. Secondary emissions from wood smoke are far more dangerous than we previously thought. A recent study from the University of Eastern Finland has demonstrated that the formation of secondary aerosols is much higher then was estimated. When wood smoke ages in the ambient air, aerosols are created rapidly. In just three hours the aerosols that are formed increase significantly.
April 2017. Replacement rebates are again on offer to reduce wood smoke. “The EPA recognises that wood smoke is a major contributor to poor air quality in the region during the winter months,” Muswellbrook Shire Council sustainability coordinator, Mark Scandrett said. Both Muswellbrook and Singleton councils are offering a $1500 rebate to replace your wood heater with a less smoky form of heating, such as air conditioning.
1. Premature death: Science shows that both short-term and long-term exposure to unhealthy air can shorten your life and lead to premature death. Medical experts have known about this risk for decades —remember our blog about the great smog event depicted in "The Crown"? 2. Asthma attacks: Breathing ozone and particle pollution can lead to increased asthma attacks, which can result in visits to the emergency room and hospital admissions, not to mention missed work and school.
3. Cardiovascular disease: Air pollution can increase the risk of both heart attacks and stroke. 4. Lung cancer: In 2013, the World Health Organization determined that particle pollution can cause lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. 5. Developmental damage: Exposure to air pollution can slow and stunt lung development in growing children, harming their health now and reducing their lung function as adults. 6. Susceptibility to infections: Air pollution increases the risk of lung infections, especially in children. 9. Worsened COPD symptoms: Exposure to air pollution can make it even harder for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to breathe. Severe symptoms can lead to hospitalization and even death. 8. Lung tissue swelling and irritation: Even people with healthy lungs are susceptible to irritation and swelling. For those living with chronic lung diseases, such as asthma and COPD, these effects can be especially harmful. 9. Low infant birth weight: Some studies show exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of low infant birth weight and infant mortality. 10. Wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath: Like many of the other conditions in this list, these can be caused by both long-term exposure and short-term exposure to high levels of air pollutants. April 2017. HEALTH – Heating your home with wood is more dangerous than you likely realize. "IT MAY BE natural, but there’s nothing safe or environmentally sound about heating your home with wood or clearing debris and yard waste in a burn barrel or pile.
....The health impacts of exposure to wood smoke are diverse, and a substantial scientific and medical body of evidence points to short-term (acute) effects and longer-term (chronic) effects. Wood smoke is a cocktail of small, dangerous particles and droplets that easily work their way into our lungs, bloodstream, brain, and other organs. ....Although children and the elderly are at higher risk, wood smoke affects everyone and its cumulative impacts on our health care systems are becoming more evident" April 2017. Heating the leading cause of Franklin County fires ... comes as no surprise to local fire chiefs, who have experienced many heating-related incidents in their time as firefighters. They believe the numbers have to do with wood stoves and pellet stoves being a popular method of heating in the area.
March 2017. Wood Stoves May Spark Heart Trouble. "During cold months, when pollution from wood stoves is highest, there was a 19 percent increase in the risk of heart attack among people 65 and older, the researchers found. "We noticed that the association was stronger when more of the air pollution came from wood burning," Weichenthal said in a university news release.
"Exposure to fumes from biomass combustion, such as those generated by wood-burning indoor stoves, has long been recognized by the medical community as a significant health risk, especially in rural areas of the developing world," said Dr. Irene Galperin. She directs the Pleural Center at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. There's an especially strong connection between wood-burning stoves and an increased risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a major killer, Galperin added. "Wood-burning releases small particles into the atmosphere which, when inhaled, can cause direct injury to the lining of the respiratory tract, ultimately leading to inflammation," she explained. "It is likely that this inflammatory process is not limited to the lungs. When inflammation involves the coronary arteries that feed the heart, it may lead to heart attack." Galperin believes more must be done to educate people about the dangers, especially in communities where wood stoves are popular.
Dr. Alan Mensch, chief of pulmonary medicine at Northwell Health's Plainview Hospital, in Plainview, NYagreed with Galperin that the study has an important message."The take-away," he said, "is that what we take into our bodies -- either by ingesting or inhaling -- has the potential to have profound effects on our health."
March 2017. Black carbon found in air pollution can increase the resistance of bacteria that cause respiratory disease. "The four-year investigation focused on how pollution in the air, which is thought to be responsible for millions of deaths each year, affects bacteria in the nose, throat and lungs of humans. It found black carbon, produced when diesel, biomass and biofuels are burned, changes the way bacteria grow, possibly affecting their ability to survive and beat human immune systems. The study concluded that the resistance of communities of Streptococcus pneumoniae – a major cause of respiratory diseases – to penicillin was increased by black carbon. It also caused this pathogen to spread from the nose down the respiratory tract, allowing disease to develop." See also: New study reveals air (black carbon) pollution can alter the effectiveness of antibiotics and increases the potential of disease. March 2017. The choking side of wood burning. Letter to the Cowichan Valley Citizen. "I look out over the smoky haze in my neighbourhood as I gasp for breath, wheezing and coughing and feeling like I am drowning. Eventually my heart is pounding so hard I head for the emergency department. While I am waiting to be seen a mother brings in a child in obvious respiratory distress. When I am seen by the emergency room doctor he gives me a prescription for an inhaler. I get the prescription filled; it costs over $100. It is now evening. While I spent the day at the hospital my neighbours have been happily saving a few bucks burning unseasoned wood they picked up on the side of the road. One neighbour is even burning landscaping wood chips — hey they are even cheaper than wood. The smoke is still billowing from his chimney as the cool fog settles in and holds this toxic mix at ground level.
"The cost: thousands of dollars of taxpayer money towards the cost of health care, thousands of dollars in prescriptions, the cost of watching as your child or loved one drowns in their own mucous.
"Why: so you can save a few bucks on your Hydro bill or not have to go to the dump with your refuse. "Hardly seems fair to me, but hey, this is the Cowichan Valley, where your child is 75 per cent more likely to get asthma and burning wood is your right." P. Vogan. March 2017. Burning old treated and painted timbers poisoning city air. Research by GNS Sciences has found ilevels of substances like arsenic and lead reached up to three times the guideline for human health during winter in some inner-city areas.
The findings were important, study leader Perry Davy said, in light of recently released findings from the Otago Study, which showed lead exposure in childhood could reduce a person's IQ and social standing later in life....
While the toxins had the potential to harm the general population, Davy said the effect could be far worse for the households that were burning them. "We have no idea what the concentration might be inside the home or in the neighbourhood of someone burning this stuff."
'These studies show that air in New Zealand urban centres is not as clean as we would like to think." Davy said councils were responsible for managing air quality and most had banned the burning of timber treated with arsenic compounds. "There is clearly more work to do in this area," Dr Davy said. Wood stoves are the largest single source of PAH in our air. Other research shows that exposure to PAH also reduces children's IQ and increases the risk of behavioural problems such as anxiety and attention deficit. Woodsmoke also increases the risk of Alzheimers and brain damage from strokes in the elderly. February 2017. Wood stoves bad for the heart. Researchers from McGill and Health Canada find that air pollution from wood burning linked to increased risk of heart attacks. The risk of acute myocardial infarction for the elderly living in and around small cities is increased by air pollution caused by biomass burning from woodstoves. By comparing pollution data from three cities in British Columbia (Prince George, Kamloops and Courtenay/Comox) with hospital admissions, researchers from McGill and Health Canada found that rising concentrations of fine particulate air pollution caused by wood burning were associated with increased hospitalization for myocardial infarction. During the cold season, when pollution from woodstoves is at its highest, the risk of heart attacks among subjects of 65 years and older increased by 19%.
“We noticed that the association was stronger when more of the air pollution came from wood burning, says McGill University professor Scott Weichenthal, lead author of a new study published in Epidemiology. This suggests that the source of pollution matters and that all particulate air pollution is perhaps not equally harmful when it comes to cardiovascular disease.”
February 2017. Bonfires and wood burning stoves could be banned in Croydon. "Banning bonfires, restrictions on wood burning stoves and patrols to fine motorists with idling engines are all being considered as measures to tackle Croydon's air pollution problem..."
February 2017. Exposure to PM2.5 pollution above the US EPA standard of 12 ug/m3 nearly doubles the risk of cognitive decline and all-cause dementia; exposure to this level of PM2.5 pollution quadrupled the risk for people with 2 copies of the APOE gene. The LA times reports that before the EPA set new air pollution standards in 2012, some 21% of new cases of dementia and of accelerated cognitive decline could likely have been attributed to air pollution.
February 2017. Air pollution linked to 2.7 million premature births a year. Policymakers should tackle particulates at source to prevent infant deaths and lifelong disabilities, say researchers
Traffic fumes, slash-and-burn farming and open wood stoves are raising the risk of babies being born before they are ready.As many as 2.7 million premature births a year – 18% of the global total – can be linked to outdoor air pollution, a study in Environment International found. Many of the policy options to tackle harmful particulates also reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. For example, replacing old diesel vehicles with cleaner transport or returning agricultural waste to the land instead of burning it. The prospect of children suffering from avoidable disabilities may spur action. January 2017 Wood-burners: London air pollution is just tip of the iceberg. New Scientist.
"The harm far exceeds traffic pollution", said air pollution expert Gary Fuller. "While people are exposed to high levels of traffic pollution mainly when travelling on busy streets, wood burning produces huge amounts of pollution where people live, when they are at home. ..."Burning wood also emits black carbon – soot – that warms the atmosphere during the short time it remains in the air. Most studies ignore this, but Mitchell and Forster calculate that over 20 years - the timescale that matters if we don’t want the world to go too far above 2°C of warming - wood stoves provide little or no benefit". January 2017. As London is put on a 'very high' pollution alert... are trendy wood-burners taking us back to the pea soupers of the 1950s? According to the European Environment Agency, PM2.5s are responsible for 37,800 premature deaths in Britain a year. And while wood-burning stoves may seem like a more eco-friendly option, the single biggest source for these particles is wood-burning — a third of which occurs in our homes.
On Sunday evening, a team led by Dr Gary Fuller, an air pollution scientist at King’s College, London, measured the highest levels of PM2.5s since 2011. Tellingly, it occurred at a time when traffic was relatively light, but a lot of people were at home in front of their wood-burners. Analysis of the air confirmed a high level of wood smoke. The fact is that the makers of wood-burning stoves and boilers have been allowed to circumvent long-standing laws aimed at preventing smog.Even worse, in the case of boilers, taxpayers are subsidising deadly pollution. A study in Tasmania, where new wood-burning stoves are allowed only if they are designed to emit less than 2.5g of PM2.5s per kg of wood burned, found that in real life they emit nearly four times that — with an average of 9.4g per kg. At that level, a single wood stove burning three tonnes of wood a year — the average — will emit as much PM2.5 pollution as 2,000 petrol cars. It’s likely the levels of pollution from wood-burning stoves in Britain are at least as high, however no tests of this kind — that is, in conditions that imitate real life — have been carried out over here yet. London pollution levels sent soaring by wood fires during cold snap "Thousands of Londoners enjoying a wood fire at home on Sunday fuelled the worst toxic air peak for nearly six years, scientists said. Wood-burning was a major contributor to particulate pollution surging to “black”, or “very high”, levels at sites in Westminster, the City, Camden and Kensington very early on Monday." (from the London Evening Standard).
Pollution in London from wood burning on the rise "according to King's College some of the pollution was due to "unusually high levels of domestic wood burning. This is not to underestimate the contribution of traffic emissions but wood burning was making up half of the pollution readings at some monitors at some sites - all exacerbated by low winds not blowing away pollutants. ..."
More than a million homes in Britain now have a wood burning stove with 175,000 new ones installed every year."..according to the Danish Ecological Council which has looked into the use of wooden stoves: "Just 16,000 wood stoves in Copenhagen (600,000 inhabitants) emit as much fine-particles pollution in one winter, as all traffic emit within one year. It also says: "New low-emission stoves cause much higher emissions (above 500.000 part/cm3) than new trucks with particulate filters (below 1.000 part/cm3)." "So far mayoral policies have been aimed at cleaning up traffic in particular NO2, but perhaps some attention should focus on the burning of wood in homes." (from the BBC) London on pollution 'high alert' due to cold air, traffic, and wood burning. “This episode is actually a perfect illustration of all the things that control air pollution,” said Baker. “The weather conditions happened to coincide with the two peaks – one from the traffic, one from the wood burning – and then that was on top of what we had already built up locally over a number of days and a bit coming in from the continent.” Air pollution in London passes levels in Beijing... and wood burners are making problem worse Demand for the stoves, which cost between £400 and £7,000, has tripled in the last five years – partly down to the savings they can make to energy bills. Last year experts at the University of Southampton warned that wood burners 'liberate significant amounts of particulate pollution into the outdoor air’ and said they risked undoing the good work of the Clean Air Act which was brought in following the Great Smog of 1952, which is estimated to have killed 12,000 people. NSW EPA Clean Air for NSW Consultation Submissions due: 20 Jan 2017. "In consultation with stakeholders and the wider community, it is proposed that the EPA will investigate further improvements to the wood heater regulatory framework for consideration by Government, as well as education, training and replacement programs."  January 2017. Smog warning issued for the Montreal area. "According to meteorologists, the leading cause of poor air quality in the province is wood burning — more than industrial activities and transportation." January 2017. Ten air-quality monitors for Valley to keep track of pollution. State-of-the-art equipment to increase the monitoring of the air quality in the Cowichan Valley is soon to be installed. The Ministry of Environment committed to supplying 10 purple air monitors, which cost approximately $200 each, for the Valley, and the private sector is supplying six more of the monitors. January 2017. Heat pump replaces scouts’ fireplace Thanks to the injection of $2000 from the Premier’s Discretionary Fund and $3000 from the Penguin Lions Club, two heat pumps have been installed at the scout hall. Group leader Phil Leaver thanked both for the funding. “We’ve been heating the place with a fireplace so for ease and convenience to heat the place, and safety too more than anything this will help,” he said. December 2016. Protecting kids from wood smoke. British Columbia Lung Association. "These days, BC parents are well aware of the harms of food additives, the dangers of certain toys, and of course, the health risks around cigarettes - yet wood smoke doesn’t seem to be on their radar. While this is largely due to a lack of awareness, it is important that they become educated on both the issue and solutions. The fact is sustained wood smoke exposure can pose health risks to their children." The Canadian Lung Association recommends that you don't burn wood in residential setting.
No wood burning is best. "Sadly, the air we pollute, is the air we breathe. And while I confess some nostalgia for the embrace of a cozy wood fire, I have come to realize through my own experience that health must come first, and no burning is best."
December 2016. Why cutting soot emissions is 'fastest solution' to slowing Arctic ice melt. Reducing wood-burning, gas-flaring and global diesel emissions would be ‘quick win’ in combating irreversible climate change, scientists say
December 2016. Guardian Pollutionwatch. Why logs are twice as dirty as diesel. "Particle pollution from UK wood burning is now estimated to be more than double diesel exhaust."
"Swiss scientists have been investigating what happens to wood smoke once it leaves your chimney. They burnt logs in a stove and collected the smoke in a chamber. UV lights were used to simulate sunlight and they waited. Slowly the particle pollution in the chamber increased, in some cases by up to three times. If this laboratory experiment reflects what happens in our cities; then pollution from wood burning is even greater than we thought." December 2016. Danish Report: Pollution from residential burning by the Danish Ecological Council. "Wood burning is responsible for about 67% of total Danish emissions of harmful fine particles; although wood burning only covers about 3% of the Danish energy consumption." ..."It does not seem logical that an eco-labelled stove is allowed to pollute 25 times more than a 10 year old truck ". Table 2 of the report compares emissions from residential wood burning (RWB) in the 27 EU countries with other sources. RWB is responsible for 654,000 tonnes of PM2.5 emissions (46% of all PM2.5 emissions), over 4 times more than the 149,500 tonnes of PM2.5 from road transport. RWB is also responsible for 56% of black carbon emissions, compared to 23% from road transport. December 2016. New Swedish study: wood smoke kills more than car exhaust. According to the researchers' calculations, air pollution from wood burning cuases approximately 324 persons premature deaths each year in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Umeå region. This is more than the approximately 299 people who die prematurely from air pollution from vehicle exhaust and dubbdäcks- and brake wear in the area.
December 2016. Why Christmas is the most TOXIC day of the year. An air pollution expert has warned families could breathe in as many harmful particles as if they stood all morning on a busy London road.
The danger comes from cooking a roast over several hours, with gas ovens pumping out nitrogen dioxide.
Those roasting chestnuts on an open fire, or even lighting their fire or wood-burner, could inhale wood smoke, which has been linked to premature death. .. Wood burners can cause smoke to be inhaled when lit, while it can also enter from a neighbour's home. In Denmark, emissions from wood-burning stoves are calculated to cause 400 premature deaths every year, while in London it accounts for between seven and nine per cent of winter-time particle pollution. December 2016. Updated air quality guidelines encourage Utah schools to keep children indoors on high pollution days. "New guidelines from the Utah Department of Health lower the bar for when students should be kept indoors due to poor air quality. "Their lungs are still developing," said Brittney Guerra, a specialist with the Utah Asthma Program. "They're a sensitive group." The new recommendations call for all students to be kept indoors when levels of fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, reach 55.5 micrograms per cubic meter — enough to earn either a "red" or "purple" on the state's air quality color scale. "When particulate matter levels reach 35.5, or an "orange" air day, the department recommends indoor accommodations for students showing respiratory symptoms, like coughing or shortness of breath, and for students with asthma, chronic lung disease or other pre-existing respiratory conditions."
Five surprising ways to improve Utah's inversion pollution. 1. Quit burning things. “Wood burning is a much bigger issue than people realize,” said Brian Moench of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. “Most North American cities have as much of an air pollution problem related to wood burning as they do from vehicles.” December 2016. Newer woodstoves not an answer. "A few facts about air pollution, PM 2.5 is very detrimental to health. Woodstove emissions are made up of approximately 80 to 90 per cent PM 2.5.
"Wood burning accounts for 97 per cent of the PM2.5 emissions associated with heating in B.C. and only accounts for 10 per cent of heating needs. The three Purple Air monitors in Parksville have so far shown very high levels of pollution caused entirely from wood stoves. The fact is, even newer wood stoves produce more PM 2.5 per year then 1,000 cars ..." December 2016. Risking wellbeing in smoky Cowichan. "At the end of it all I was forced to sell my home and move away. I now live in Osoyoos and have not experienced a single asthmatic event in one-and-a-half winters.
"The single most responsible source of smoke in my neighborhood was wood burning stoves. I have shared pictures on just how bad the situation was. Persons looking to move into the area must be made aware of the risk they are placing on their wellbeing by moving into the Cowichan Valley."
November 2016. How does poor air quality impact the average person's health? Robert Paine (M.D.), Chief of The University of Utah Health Care Division of Pulmonary, says it all comes down to particulate matter 2.5, a mixture of dust, soot, and other harmful emissions poisoning Utah's air.
"If you were going to make a drug delivery system, you would make the particles 2.5 microns in size... That's the perfect size to get down into the lung, and get out into the part of the lung where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged, and to come very close to the blood, which circulates through the rest of the body," Paine explained. Once inside the lungs, the particulates cause all kinds of problems. Besides the obvious effects like pulmonary complications, Paine says there is evidence poor air quality causes a decline in cognitive functioning. "For every 10 [micrograms per cubic meter] you raise [particulate matter 2.5], we get about 4 percent increase in the rate of heart attacks, so these are very significant numbers," Paine said. Good 4 Utah crews spotted a lot of people in downtown SLC wearing disposable surgical masks, but Paine says those are not very effective at filtering air. November 2016. Inconvenient truth about your wood-burning stove: They can be bad for the environment AND your health "at odds with its perceived green credentials — the wood-burning craze is posing a real danger to the environment, and to our health. Air quality experts say the stoves contribute to an ever-thickening cloud of smog engulfing our towns and cities, which is increasing the risk of cancer, lung disease, heart attack, stroke and even dementia." ...
"Just as the drive towards dirty diesel in the name of battling climate change turns out to have been an environmental disaster for air quality, so does the move towards wood burning. And it seems that only time will tell exactly how serious a toll it takes on our health."
November 2016. American Lung Association in California Cautions Against Wood-Burning and Urges Cleaner Alternatives for Winter Heat. "With the arrival of cooler temperatures, the American Lung Association in California is urging the public to avoid wood burning and to consider cleaner burning alternatives. Burning wood emits harmful toxins and fine particles into the air that can worsen asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)."
November 2016. Smoking a pack per day causes 150 mutations in every lung cell. Ludmil Alexandrov of Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States explained that it had until now been difficult to explain how smoking increases the risk of cancer in parts of the body that don't come into direct contact with smoke. "Before now, we had a large body of epidemiological evidence linking smoking with cancer, but now we can actually observe and quantify the molecular changes in the DNA," he said.
The study found certain molecular fingerprints of DNA damage - called mutational signatures - in the smokers' DNA, and the scientists counted how many of these were in different tumors.In lung cells, they found that on average, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day led to 150 mutations in each cell every year. Each mutation is a potential start point for a "cascade of genetic damage" that can eventually lead to cancer, they said. The results also showed that a smoking a pack of cigarettes a day led to an average 97 mutations in each cell in the larynx, 39 mutations for the pharynx, 23 for the mouth, 18 for the bladder, and six mutations in every cell of the liver each year. Research paper, published in Science: Mutational signatures associated with tobacco smoking in human cancer. "Only cancers originating in tissues directly exposed to smoke showed a signature characteristic of the known tobacco (and woodsmoke) carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene." November 2016. NSW EPA Clean Air for NSW Consultation Submissions due: 20 Jan 2017. "In consultation with stakeholders and the wider community, it is proposed that the EPA will investigate further improvements to the wood heater regulatory framework for consideration by Government, as well as education, training and replacement programs."
November 2016. Wood smoke under fire in British Columbia. The Cowichan Valley Regional District released an extensive airshed protection strategy late last year, noting that hospital admissions for children with respiratory diseases were on average 70 per cent higher in the valley than the rest of B.C. between 1998 and 2012. Asthma rates were 14 per cent higher and chronic respiratory illness in people over 45 was 50 per cent higher. Officials have taken on the delicate task of encouraging municipalities within its boundaries to bring wood-burning bylaws in line with the City of Duncan, the most densely populated area in the region. Old stoves must be removed when a house is sold in Duncan and only up-to-date wood-burning appliances are allowed in new construction. No burning is allowed during an air quality advisory.
November 2016. PhD research: "Lifetime Evaluation of Biomass Burning Markers in Low Temperature Conditions." Stricter regulations have reduced emissions from cars and trucks, but emissions from residential wood stoves remain relatively uncontrolled. Clarkson University chemical engineering Ph.D. student Vikram Pratap is working to better understand how much pollution is generated by these stoves and how wood smoke evolves chemically and physically in the atmosphere. Pratap won a student poster award at the 2016 American Association for Aerosol Research Conference.
"In order to understand the impact of stoves on air pollution, we need to understand what kind of chemistry happens to the smoke after it is emitted from the chimney and it spends some time in the atmosphere," said Pratap's adviser, Assistant Professor Shunsuke Nakao. "Virtually all the previous studies have been done in room temperature conditions and not in winter conditions, when people are most likely to use stoves."
October 2016. Chile's Environment Minister unveils Air Quality Plan. Included is a total ban on wood heating in the Province of Santiago over the communes of San Bernardo and Puente Alto, standards stricter emission for the industry, a low emission zone for lorries and between May and August, a vehicle restriction permanent for vehicles registered before September 1, 2011 green seal and the vehicular restriction on motorcycles registered before September 1, 2010.
“Wood smoke from the (San Francisco) Bay Area’s 1.4 million fireplaces and wood stoves continues to be the largest source of wintertime air pollution in the region,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District. “The Air District’s more stringent amendments to our wood-burning rule serve to further protect public health from wood smoke pollution.”
1. Anyone whose sole source of heat is a wood-burning device must use an EPA-certified or pellet-fueled device that is registered with the Air District to qualify for an exemption. An open-hearth fireplace will no longer qualify for an exemption. 2. Bay Area residents who begin a chimney or fireplace remodeling project that costs over $15,000 and requires a building permit will be allowed to install only a gas-fueled, electric or EPA-certified device. 3. No wood-burning devices of any kind may be installed in new homes or buildings being constructed in the Bay Area. September 2016. The key to tackling climate change: electrify everything.
"Tackling climate change is a complicated undertaking, to say the least. But here’s a good rule of thumb for how to get started:
Electrify everything. The need for electrification is well understood by climate and energy experts, but I’m not sure it has filtered down to the public yet...We know, or at least have a pretty good idea, how to get electricity down to zero carbon ... The same cannot yet be said of combustion fuels, which are increasingly out of place in the modern world". September 2016. Pollution particles 'get into brain'. New research provides the first evidence that minute particles of what is called magnetite, which can be derived from pollution, can find their way into the brain. The lead author of the research paper, Prof Barbara Maher, has previously identified magnetite particles in samples of air gathered beside a busy road in Lancaster and outside a power station ... While large particles of pollution such as soot can be trapped inside the nose, smaller types can enter the lungs and even smaller ones can cross into the bloodstream. But nanoscale particles of magnetite are believed to be small enough to pass from the nose into the olfactory bulb and then via the nervous system into the frontal cortex of the brain. "These particles are made out of iron and iron is very reactive so it's almost certainly going to do some damage to the brain. It's involved in producing very reactive molecules called reaction oxygen species which produce oxidative damage and that's very well defined.
"We already know oxidative damage contributes to brain damage in Alzheimer's patients so if you've got iron in the brain it's very likely to do some damage. It can't be benign." See also the research paper (published January 2016) showing that increased exposure of just 1 ug/m3 PM2.5 increased the risk of dementia by 8%, Alzheimer's by 15% and the risk of Parkinson’s diseases by 8% Increased exposure of 3.5 ug/m3 reduced the volume of white matter in the brain by 6.2 cubic centimeters. Toxic air pollution particles found in human brains “What this is pointing towards perhaps is there needs to be a major shift in policy and an attempt to reduce the particulate matter burden on human health.” Maher said. “The more you realise the impact this is having, the more urgent and important it is to reduce the concentrations in the atmosphere.”
August 2016. Rebates for non-polluting heating snapped up in a day. Bay Area homeowners are eligible to seek rebates from $750 to $12,000 per home to replace wood-burning fireplaces and stoves with gas or electric heating devices such as fireplace inserts, heat pumps, or gas stoves. The region’s air pollution agency starting taking applications for the rebates at 10 a.m. Friday, and all the money was spoken for by the end of the day as more than 2,000 people applied. August 2016. 1,500 fewer wood heaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. Money will be available starting Friday morning for roughly 1,500 Bay Area homeowners and landlords to help them upgrade their wood-burning heating devices with cleaner ones to reduce winter air pollution, officials with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said today. “This program is really about removing wood burning devices from our region,” Flannigan said. The cleaner devices are designed to be the home’s chief heating source.
The air district’s board approved $3 million for the program. Funding for a project can range from $750 to $12,000 depending on the type of device, air district officials said. Groups that are considered heavily impacted such as low-income households and people living in rural areas where natural gas is not available are eligible for additional money. August 2016. US EPA - $4.5 Million to help develop low-cost air pollution sensor technology. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced grants to six research organizations to develop and use low-cost air pollution sensor technology, while engaging communities to learn about their local air quality.
“Through these projects, scientists and communities will join together to develop and test new low-cost, portable, easy-to-use ways to measure air pollution,” said Thomas A. Burke, EPA science advisor and deputy assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “This research will provide tools communities can use to understand air pollution in their neighborhoods and improve public health.” While recent advances in technology have led to the development of low-cost air pollution sensors, they have not been widely tested, especially under field conditions. These grants will help fund research projects that explore how scientific data can be effectively gathered and used by communities to learn about local air quality. August 2016. The dangers of dirty air need to be made much more transparent to city-dwellers.  Official air quality indices focus on the immediate risks to health, which for most people are serious only when the air is almost unbreathable. It is all too easy for people to take the short-term index, which says “low pollution” most of the time, as a proxy for their lifelong risks. Easy, and wrong. A dependable long-term air-quality index, similar in design to existing short-term gauges, is needed in the world’s big cities. That would educate policymakers and voters about the nature of the problem. It would help doctors dispense routine advice to pregnant women, children and other more vulnerable people on how to reduce exposure to pollution. And it would enable the development of apps and products that can deliver practical advice to everyone. Reducing air pollution may take lots of money, time and compromises. But telling people just how bad pollution is for them and how to avoid it is easy, uncontroversial and cheap. Not everyone will heed the advice (for proof, look no further than the sunburnt arms and faces on an English summer day). But even if a minority do, thousands of people in every big city will live longer, healthier lives. August 2016. Pollution may shorten lung cancer patients' lives. Air pollution may shorten the life of people who are suffering from lung cancer, researchers have found. The findings, which add to growing evidence about the health impact of airborne toxins, show that those diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer are most at risk of an early death. That applies in particular to people with adenocarcinoma, the commonest form on non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for 80% of cases of the disease.
The findings come from US medical research that examined the health outcomes until late 2011 of 352,000 people in California who were diagnosed with lung cancer between 1988 and 2009. Those with early stage lung cancer survived for an average of 3.6 years, but that fell to 2.4 years for those who had been exposed to high levels of particulate matter. August 2016. Tasmanian Government to offer no-interest loans to households & small businesses to improve energy efficiency, and has set aside $10 million to fund the scheme. "We want it to extend to solar including solar hot water, but it will apply to other appliances including for example a heat pump". August 2016. Singleton residents urged to reduce their woodsmoke emissions Singleton Council and Muswellbrook Shire Council are on the lookout for any smoky chimneys in the local area. Emitting excessive smoke from your chimney is unlawful. Residents found to be emitting excessive smoke will be provided with educational material and /or a warning letter.
However, ongoing or serious breaches may result in the issue of a smoke abatement notice or a $200 fine.
August 2016.
Three environmental groups intend to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for not enforcing federal air pollution law in Fairbanks.
Six years after the Fairbanks North Star Borough was designated as non-compliant because of unhealthy fine particulate, federal law requires the EPA to declare the borough a “serious non-attainment area.”
State environmental officials who created cleanup plans for Fairbanks air pollution, now designated as “moderate,” likely would have to consider stronger controls, said Kenta Tsuda, an attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental law firm. .... A Fairbanks pulmonologist who advocates for a cleanup plan, Dr. Owen Hanley, said in the announcement that there are few areas in medicine where the cause of illness is so well established. “It is inexcusable that the vulnerable must repeatedly petition their government for safe air,” he said. The groups in June sued the EPA to force an agency decision on whether to accept a state plan to reduce unhealthy fine particulate produced by wood stoves and other sources. The groups claim the plan is flawed and should be rejected because it anticipates that most homes will transition from wood heat to natural gas in the near future. The current plan also does not include control measures used elsewhere such as firewood dryness certification programs for firewood or taxes and other disincentives to discourage the resale of used, inefficient wood stoves, Tsuda said. A 60-day notice is required before the agency can be sued. August 2016. Utah Air quality advocates push for statewide reform and want grassroots campaign to counter better-funded lobbyists and industry interests. Air quality advocates say their voices are often drowned out at the state Legislature by better-funded lobbyists for industry interests. That’s why they want to see more citizens stepping up ... “There is no safe level of air pollution. Every little bit of air pollution will have an impact,” Moench said. Some of those impacts — like cancer, reduced IQs in children and scarred lungs — sound scary. Residents throughout the state can take charge, improving air quality through their houses and habits. ... And while it’s been a controversial topic in recent years, Griffee said eliminating wood-burning can have drastic impacts on a home’s pollution footprint. “It penetrates really easily into neighbor’s homes, and it’s really toxic,” Griffee said. “It’s about being a good neighbor and making good choices for your community.” August 2016. Missoula satisfies air quality standards. Montana Department of Environmental Quality formally asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to declare Missoula in compliance with national air quality standards.Over the past two decades, city and county officials passed rules prohibiting installation of wood-burning stoves and heaters in the valley, reduced the amount and kinds of traction sand applied to icy roads and stepped up cleaning efforts to remove sand after the ice had melted. Those sources made up about 92 percent of the PM-10 pollution.
 July 2016. Talk by Dr Fay Johnston 'Interventions to reduce the public health impacts of wood smoke. Stories from Tasmania' presented at the International Wood Smoke Researchers Network. Dr Johnston's talk contrasted the benefits achieved in Launceston - reduced wintertime deaths from respiratory disease by 28% and cardiovascular disease by 20% - with the lack of benefits from more recent initiatives such as education to persuade people to operate heaters correctly and supplying SmartBurn catalysts.
July 2016. Trees home to critically endangered swift parrot illegally cut down for firewood. Illegal firewood collectors in Tasmania have cut down trees that are the home of the critically endangered swift parrot.
Scientists estimate the bird could be wiped out within 16 years. There are fewer than 2,000 parrots left and the trees that have been cut down contain hollows that the swift have been nesting in. July 2016. Did early campfires trigger the emergence of tuberculosis? Fire brought warmth and comfort to early humans but may also have triggered the emergence of deadly tuberculosis, Australian researchers suggest.
Smoke-damaged lungs, as well as the closeness of humans around a campfire, could have created the ideal conditions for tuberculosis to mutate from a harmless soil bacterium into our number one bacterial killer, according to the researchers' data model. The model, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed controlled use of fire would have increased the likelihood of tuberculosis emerging by several orders of magnitude. June 2016. The public health risks of air pollution: Interview with Kirk Smith, director of the Global Health and Environment Program at the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley, discusses wood burning stoves: June 2016. Air pollution major contributor to stroke. “In an unprecedented survey of global risk factors for stroke, air pollution in the form of fine particulate matter ranked seventh in terms of its impact on healthy lifespan, while household air pollution from burning solid fuels ranked eighth.....The most alarming finding was that about a third of the burden of stroke is attributable to air pollution. Although air pollution is known to damage the lungs, heart, and brain, the extent of this threat seems to have been underestimated,” they write. “Air pollution is not just a problem in big cities, but is also a global problem. With the ceaseless air streams across oceans and continents, what happens in Beijing matters in Berlin.” See also the research paper published in the Lancet which shows that in developed countries the increased risk from outdoor air pollution (10.2%) is comparable to that from lack of exercise (11.2%) and much higher than the risk from passive smoking (1.5%). Current standards are nowhere near adequate. In the USA, a Harvard University study showed that the harmful effects of outdoor pollution were observed even in areas where concentrations were less than a third of the current standard set by the US EPA.
June 2016. Research paper investigating what type of air pollution is associated with the greatest increase in visits to hospital emergency departments for lung diseases. "Across four US cities, among the primary PM2.5 sources assessed, biomass burning PM2.5 was most strongly associated with respiratory health."
June 2016. Delta wants more done on wood burning. "It occurred to me we seem to make a great to-do about diesel engines and other industries polluting, and yet, wood smoke, which is originating in the Lower Mainland, is the number one source of particulate in the region," said Mayor Lois Jackson.
June 2016. Father and condo owner wins human rights battle to protect his family from second-hand smoke
“I filed a human rights complaint. They can take months, even years, to process, but luckily just as we were beginning to lose hope, the Human Rights Tribunal contacted me and with their help, we forged a path toward resolution. It began with mediation, and ultimately led to the owners voting to make our complex 100% smoke-free.”
"Since the building has become smoke-free a lot of neighbours have approached me personally and thanked me for speaking up. Some were suffering from second-hand smoke issues in silence, afraid to say anything," added Paulo mentioning how valuable he found the smokefreehousingbc.ca website.
June 2016. 10 MW of wind power might help disperse NZ's woodsmoke - but might be noisy and cost more than a switch to non-polluting heating! If the significant energy inputs (10 MW or more) were instead be used to power 10,000 heat pumps, all the polluting wood burners could be replaced (as recommended by the UN Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization), resulting in no pollution and substantially less greenhouse gas emissions! Otago Regional Council explored "novel methods" to reduce PM10 concentrations, including wind machines to "modify" the inversion and disperse the polluting particles.A total of 58 machines would need to be installed across the entire area in Alexandra needing intervention, with "moderate" effects, the report says.
"There are several complications to the use of wind machines for PM10 intervention. Wind machines are not able to operate in supercooled fog as there is the potential for severe damage to the machine due to ice buildup on the blades. This could limit operation on cold nights, which typically lead to high PM10 concentrations. In addition, because wind machines have only been investigated for use in agricultural settings, it is uncertain how effective wind machines would be at modifying inversion characteristics in the complex surface environment of an urban area."
The machines were also noisy so could cause a "significant problem" with getting consent. Each of scheme assessed, would require significant energy inputs (on the order of 10 MW or more) and would need to be run continuously during periods of strong inversions and resultant periods of limited dispersion - conditions typical of Alexandra winter nights, he said.
See also: Central Otago’s proposed Plan B is laughable. June 2016. Barbecues make popular London park 'more polluted than city streets'. "Concerned residents and Islington Council both sought the help of experts at King’s College London for monitoring equipment to test levels of PM2.5, fine particulate matter that can increase the risks of heart attacks and strokes in those that inhale it.
In a report, produced using readings taken by residents last summer, experts at the university’s BreatheLondon Project concluded that “residents are experiencing elevated levels of PM2.5 due to barbecues”. There were “extremely high levels” recorded in close proximity of the lit barbeques, but also “some evidence of elevated concentrations” inside nearby homes.
Residents have also obtained an earlier draft of the report, which they say is even more damning. This concluded: “Mean concentrations recorded over the whole monitoring period were higher in Highbury Fields than even at the kerbside of a busy London trunk route.” April 2016. Fairbanks residents notify EPA of intent to sue for further delay in addressing dirty air. Citizens for Clean Air, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, and the Sierra Club sent a letter calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet its obligation under the law to approve or disapprove a plan submitted last year by the State of Alaska to address air pollution in Fairbanks. The letter, submitted by environmental law firm Earthjustice’s Alaska office, notified EPA of the community groups’ intent to sue if EPA does not act in 60 days. The groups were already forced to sue EPA once, in April 2014, to move the state planning process for cleaning Fairbank’s air forward. This helped prompt the State of Alaska to submit an overdue plan to address air pollution to EPA in the end of January 2015. But EPA has now missed the next deadline required by law—to approve or disapprove the State’s plan. That deadline passed on February 18 of this year. The groups are now seeking to compel the agency to perform its duty under the Clean Air Act to make a decision on the plan, an important next step in addressing air pollution in the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
Dr. Jeanne Olson, North Pole veterinarian: “Heavy smoke chronically inundates a group of area neighborhoods so consistently that it has been nicknamed ‘the Rectangle of Death.’ We are not asking for special treatment. We are merely insisting that our government follows the law established to protect our citizens from poisons in the air we need to breathe.”
Patrice Lee, Citizens for Clean Air: "Bad air affects us; often we only realize once we’re really sick or it’s too late. Fairbanks has needed to clean-up our air for over eight years. The EPA must do its job: enforce the Clean Air Act. One hundred thousand children, women, and men (and too many pets to count) in the Fairbanks North Star Borough Non-Attainment Area are counting on it.” April 2016. Lessons from Los Angeles: Fighting pollution helps children. "Despite doubling its population, Los Angles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties saw decreases in the following pollutants over 20 years: • 47 percent in PM2.5 • 49 percent in nitrogen oxides • 35 percent in PM10 • 12 percent in ozone
Researchers tracked 4,602 children in eight distinct communities in three groups as they aged from 5 to 18 and looked at children with asthma and those without. They also factored in race, exposure to secondhand smoke, and socio-economic demographics.
What they found is the decrease in fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, was correspondingly accompanied by a 32 percent decrease in bronchitic symptoms experienced by children with asthma. For those without asthma, there was a 21 percent reduction in respiratory problems."
Research paper (JAMA): Association of Changes in Air Quality With Bronchitic Symptoms in Children in California, 1993-2012. April 2016. Clean air advocacy group addresses regional district. Annual State of the Air reports by the BC Lung Association also show that, of 40 communities measured in the province, Courtenay is one of the five worst for fine particulate pollution. BC’s Healthlink states that “particulate matter is considered the air pollutant of greatest concern to human health in B.C.” In the Comox Valley, wood smoke is the source of high particulate readings.
In addition to fine particulates, wood smoke contains many of the same toxic chemicals as cigarettes. BC Lung Association materials note that wood smoke contains volatile organic compounds such as furans, dioxins, benzene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are carcinogenic. It also contains harmful formaldehyde and nitrogen oxides. “Breathing in so many fine particulates can affect the development of children’s lungs, increase respiratory infections, increase the risk of heart attacks and much more. And 50-70 per cent of what’s outside, gets inside a house,” said Ellis. “Additionally, one fireplace burning 10 pounds of wood in an hour will produce almost as many carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as 3,000 packs of cigarettes.” April 2016. Nobel prizewinner, renowned climate scientist and sustainability expert call for immediate action to reduce greenhouse super-pollutants to stave off climate calamity.
Nobel prize-winning scientist Mario Molina joins discoverer of the greenhouse effect of halocarbons, V. Ramanathan, and the president of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, Durwood Zaelke, in calling for immediate action to cut four super-pollutants, which could make the difference between a reasonably safe climate and one that carries staggering human and financial costs.
"All countries must keep their commitments to pursue aggressive cuts to carbon dioxide under the Paris Agreement. Yet even under full implementation, global temperatures will increase between about 4.5 and 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit, far above the 3.6-degree guard rail. The best and fastest way to prevent immediate climate destabilization lies in cutting back on emissions of super pollutants that make outsize contributions to warming despite the fact that they are produced in much smaller quantities than carbon dioxide. They include ground-level ozone and black carbon soot, from sources such as power plants and diesel engines, as well as methane (often from natural gas systems and agriculture) and hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants (HFCs) in air conditioning and other systems.
"Cutting carbon dioxide emissions remains imperative, and cannot be delayed. Yet the parallel strategy of reducing super pollutants is perhaps even more important to avert disastrous consequences in the near-term." March 2016. Bay Area landlords real estate agents required to disclose the health hazards of wood smoke. "Beginning June 1, anyone selling or leasing residential property within the Bay Area will be required to disclose the health hazards of wood smoke, as part of the signed disclosure documents in real estate purchase or rental transactions."
March 2016. Air pollution not just bad for your lungs. Exposure to air pollution for just a month or two may still be enough to increase the risk of developing diabetes, especially for obese people, a recent U.S. study suggests. ... It’s possible that air pollution causes inflammation in the body, which triggers a chain reaction that makes it harder for people to process blood sugar, said senior study author Dr. Frank Gilliland, director of the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center and researcher at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles ... PM 2.5 exposure was significantly associated with diabetes risk factors, with an effect equivalent to that of obesity ... Indoors, people should use what’s known as a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter on furnaces or air conditioning units, or buy stand-alone units for bedrooms, Jerrett said. These mechanical filters force air through a fine mesh that can trap harmful pollutants, but there’s a limit to how much individuals can do, he said. “Air pollution is an involuntary risk factor,” Jerrett said. “We all breathe the air, and this should create a stronger incentive for government to take action to reduce emissions that lead to air pollution.”
March 2016. Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution. "Each year in the UK, around 40,000 deaths are attributable to exposure to outdoor air pollution which plays a role in many of the major health challenges of our day. It has been linked to cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and changes linked to dementia. The health problems resulting from exposure to air pollution have a high cost to people who suffer from illness and premature death, to our health services and to business. In the UK, these costs add up to more than £20 billion every year.
Extract from the report by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health:
"The increasing popularity of wood burning for heating, in part due to policies to reduce CO2 emissions, risks undoing some of the air quality improvements that have resulted from widespread adoption of gas for domestic heating. Particles from wood burning can now be found each winter in our urban air, mainly at weekends, with wood burning accounting for between 7 and 9% of London’s wintertime particle pollution.[27] Studies have shown that smoke from wood heating enters neighbouring homes, providing a clear exposure pathway.[28,29]" March 2016. Tacoma's winter pollution: 53% wood smoke, 5% diesel. "our wood smoke study (TNT, 3-4) was focused on the total health risks of fine-particulate matter, of which diesel is not the largest contributor in the winter months. In fact, 53 percent of this pollution comes from wood smoke and only 5 percent comes from diesel.
"Second, contrary to popular belief, wood-burning might be carbon neutral only if replacement trees are planted. In fact, wood-burning might be far more harmful for climate change than the writer thinks. "Burning wood emits more carbon dioxide (per unit of energy) than coal or natural gas. If the climate change goal is to immediately start to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and particulate matter being emitted, it is better not to burn wood but instead to use it as a carbon sink by letting it quietly rot in the ground." Robin Evans-Agnew, Chris Eberhardt, Tacoma (Lead researchers of the wood smoke study project). March 2016. "Tens of thousands of people are dying every year because repeated warnings about the dangers of diesel cars and wood-burning for heating were ignored by successive governments trying to make Britain ‘greener’, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. "Ironically, the policies have only made our air dirtier. They are accused of triggering a ‘public health disaster’, with the huge shift to diesel vehicles to try to cut greenhouse gas emissions denounced as a ‘con’.
"Last week, a devastating official report said the drive for diesel and wood-burning are directly responsible for needlessly high incidences of a shocking list of conditions including diabetes, autism, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, learning difficulties, asthma, low birth weight and kidney disease." March 2016. Taxing wood-burning stoves could save lives and money. A tax on wood-burning stoves could save 300 lives a year and save society nearly 6 billion kroner annually in environmental costs, according to research by the environmental economic council Miljøøkonomiske Råd. Measuring stove use would be done by installing a gauge in the chimney that would measure the number of hours the stove was in use. March 2016. Mom calls for ban on outdoor fires in Saskatoon. "Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal all ban outdoor fires in urban areas, generally citing air quality concerns. In those cities, barbecues are still permitted, and there are permits available for fires on special or religious occasions.
"Jill Hubick, a registered nurse with the Lung Association of Saskatchewan, said wood smoke contains many potential irritants and carcinogens. As such, she said the association would like to see outdoor burning banned in residential areas. She said it's generally not good enough to simply expect people with lung conditions to remain indoors. "Smoke doesn't have any boundaries. Even if you close your windows and close your doors and go inside - it's going to seep into the individual's home," she said. "With one-in-three people in Saskatchewan expected to be affected by a lung condition in their lifetime, Hubick said the issue is big enough that the Lung Association has started a coalition to push for a ban." March 2016. Is your football team playing badly? It may be air pollution. "In almost half of the matches covered (44%), the level ranged between 20 and 50 micrograms per cubic metre, the latter figure being the European Union regulation threshold for particulate pollution. This threshold was exceeded in 7% of the matches .... The economists found that player performance was impeded by pollution even at levels well below these health limits. And at high levels – above the EU threshold – there was a significantly noticeable decline equivalent in performance, by as much as 16%."
Feb 2016. Is your wood burner killing you? Smoke from stove linked to deadly cancers, asthma and diabetes. The much loved home wood burners are contributing towards air pollution that is killing around 40,000 people per year. Diseases such as asthma, cancer and diabetes have all been linked to illnesses invoked by the harmful pollution that is released from the burners.
The health impacts of pollutants found outside the home such as those from vehicle exhausts, are widely known to cause at least 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK. Close to 10 per cent of wintertime particle pollution created in London comes from wood burning and the fumes also spread to neighbouring houses. The Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health released the report on air pollution. While experts at the University of Southampton and Queen Mary University of London claimed that wood burning was a 'concern' when looking at future energy demands. They wrote: "[Wood burning in fires and stoves] liberates significant amounts of particulate pollution into the outdoor air." Feb 2016. Bay Area pollution regulators will offer homeowners thousands of dollars to replace old wood fireplaces and stoves with cleaner heating devices such as gas fire logs.
Feb 2016. Recipient of first pollution ticket was using new wood stove obtained under a woodstove replacement program - apt demonstration that new stoves also cause unacceptable pollution and that the only effective way to reduce the health damage from air pollution is to provide subsidies only to people who replace wood stoves (old or new) with non-polluting heating.
Feb 2016. The truth about London's air pollution. "Awareness of the invisible problem is vital, says Barratt: “If you have awareness and concern then people are more likely to accept political strategies which will infringe upon their lives. If politicians come along and say they are going to restrict diesels in their city but the population doesn’t believe there is a problem, they will say no.” ... “The life-shortening effects of air pollution are equivalent if not greater than the risks of inactivity and obesity and alcoholism,” he says. “They should be in that bundle.”
See also: Pollutionwatch: Please don’t keep the home fires burning Between Christmas and New Year traffic pollution declined in the early evening, but airborne particles continued to increase until just before midnight, indicative of smoke from household fires. This was especially apparent across the south in Bristol, Eastbourne, Oxford and Reading and also in Cardiff, Southampton and parts of London. In Eastbourne particle concentrations quadrupled each evening; in Bristol they increased by more than five times. Domestic wood burning takes place where people live, at the times when everyone else is at home. Even modest wood burning in densely populated areas can lead to harmful pollution exposures comparable to those from traffic. Home wood burning needs to be addressed before more people invest in stoves or make open fires a feature in their living rooms. Jan 2016.To ease pollution and protect health consider alternatives to burning wood for heat. ... The agency recommends that good neighbors eliminate or limit the amount of wood smoke they produce. “Most wood heaters, such as woodstoves and fireplaces, release far more air pollution, indoors and out, than heaters using other fuels,” it stated. “In winter, when people heat their homes the most, cold nights with little wind cause smoke and air pollutants to remain stagnate at ground level for long periods.” In families where individuals suffer from chronic or repeated respiratory problems, like asthma or emphysema, or have heart disease, wood should not be burned at all. Jan 2016. UK: 2.4 times more PM2.5 pollution from domestic wood burning than traffic. "Revised figures show domestic wood burning to be the UK’s largest single source of PM2.5 emissions, 2.4 times greater than all PM2.5 emissions from traffic ... The sooner policymakers recognize the disproportionate contribution of wood stoves to PM2.5 pollution (a tiny minority of UK households using wood stoves emit over twice as much PM2.5 as all the UK’s cars, trucks and buses), recognize the disproportionate health costs – thousands of pounds per wood stove per year – and consequently heed the UNEP/WMO recommendation to phase our log-burning stoves in developed countries, the better it will be for our health and the health of our planet."
January 2016. Log fires or traffic fumes: what's the real cause of Bergen's air pollution? The air quality in Norway’s second largest city, Bergen, grew so bad earlier this month that the council surprised residents by introducing a week-long, alternate-day plan for private vehicles. But the reality is rather different: new research shows that in Norway, the burning of logs in homes is a far bigger contributor to the problem than traffic – and more damaging to residents’ health. Recently, the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) published statistics showing that “particulate matter from log burning in cities is more dangerous than pollution from traffic”. Research by Statistics Norway (SSB), meanwhile, concluded that 61% of the particulate matter in Norway’s air stems from its 1.7 million existing log fires, compared to 39% from private vehicles, buses and lorries.
January 2016. Metro Vancouver plans wood burning crackdown. "Wood fireplace owners who smoke up the neighbourhood may be in for a fight with Metro Vancouver. Air quality planners at the regional district will propose to gradually restrict wood burning in the region to reduce the health hazard posed by fine particulate. ...
"Most new fireplaces being installed are natural gas or electric rather than wood, but Metro staff are also contemplating whether to recommend building code and municipal bylaws ban wood ones entirely. "Should there be any wood-burning fireplaces in new construction at all? We feel there shouldn't be," Quan said.
"Public awareness is also part of the strategy. Metro now issues air quality bulletins for wood smoke when cold stagnant air is expected to produce smoky conditions. The first bulletin was issued in late November." 1 January 2016. Summary of PM2.5 measurements in 2015.
 Muswellbrook had 3 exceedances of the PM2.5 standard, all in winter:
14/6/15 31.2, 21/7/15 27.3, 22/7/15 26.7. The highest number of exceedances of the PM2.5 standard in NSW in 2015 was, Armidale, where woodsmoke pollution resulted in 34 days > 25 ug/m3:
24/5/15 35, 25/5/15 27, 3/6/15 33, 4/6/15 27, 6/6/15 26, 8/6/15 33, 21/6/15 49, 22/6/15 50, 23/6/15 36, 24/6/15 38, 25/6/15 26, 28/6/15 28, 16/7/15 26, 28/7/15 31, 29/7/15 28, 1/8/15 33, 2/8/15 30, 11/8/15 28, 15/8/15 35, 16/8/15 46, 17/8/15 31, 26/8/15 34, 27/8/15 26, 28/8/15 51, 29/8/15 64, 30/8/15 59, 31/8/15 35, 1/9/15 26, 4/9/15 26, 5/9/15 28, 6/9/15 31, 7/9/15 30, 12/9/15 26, 15/9/15 26)  Other locations that exceeded the PM2.5 standard were:
Stockton:3 27/6/15 27, 4/7/15 27.4, 5/7/15 30.9
Liverpool 2: 7/6/15 30.2, 21/8/15 32.2
Mayfield 2: 22/8/15 27.7, 20/12/15 30.2
Earlwood 2: 30/6/15 25.1 21/8/15 28.0
Carrington 1: 22/8/15 30.7
Rozelle 1: 21/8/15 33.4
Chullora 1: 21/8/15 37.2
Newcastle 1: 22/8/15 28.4
Beresfield 1: 21/8/15 25.9
Wollongong 1: 21/8/15 31.6
Locations with no measurements above 25 ug/m3: Wyong 0, Wallsend 0, Richmond 0, Singleton 0, Camberwell 0, Wagga 0, Camden 0. January 2016. How Do You Fight The World's 'Largest Environmental Health Problem'? Harness The Sun. Every day, nearly half the people in the world prepare their meals over burning wood, charcoal or animal dung. And every year, more than 4 million people -- most of them women and children -- die prematurely from the resulting household smoke. The practice also contributes to deforestation and climate change. Cooking with energy from the sun could soon put a major dent in what some experts call the world's greatest environmental health issue. January 2016. 1st ‘Spare the Air' alert of the season called; wood-burning prohibited Appeal to Australian Environment Ministers Meeting, 15 Dec 2015: Save 700 lives a year by cleaning up air and woodsmoke pollution Although a 6 ug/m3 standard would avoid the premature deaths of at least 700 Australians per year, the NSW EPA said that much of the pollution they were measuring at the Richmond & Liverpool sites, Sydney was from wood burning and it might be difficult to tighten PM2.5 standards. December 2015. UK domestic wood burning emits 2.3 times more PM2.5 than traffic! The UK's Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs' statistical release 'Emissions of air pollutants in the UK, 1970 to 2014' reports that domestic wood burning emitted 35,900 tonnes of PM2.5 in 2013, 2.4 times as much as all PM2.5 from traffic. Above average winter temperatures in 2014 resulted in a slightly lower at 34,000 tonnes, 2.3 times as much as traffic's PM2.5. Although the report does not explain the massive upward revision in PM2.5 emissions from domestic wood burning, it seems likely that real-life emissions from wood burning stove have been found to be much higher than previously thought. With 38,700 premature deaths attributed to PM2.5 pollution in the UK and domestic wood burning responsible for over twice as many PM2.5 in the UK as all cars, trucks and buses, the best option for UK residents would be to phase out log-burning stoves to improve health, reduce air pollution and reduce global warming. December 2015. Doctor’s Orders: Wood Burning Hazardous to Your Health. "Here is a brief message to share with your wood burning neighbors. If you are not a smoker, burning wood is probably the greatest threat to your own health of anything that you can do. But it is also a threat to your children and your neighbors, as inappropriate and intolerable as blowing cigarette smoke in their faces all winter long. Your neighbors are less than enthusiastic about sacrificing their health for your freedom to burn wood. Living in a civilized society means they shouldn’t have to."
December 2015. Italy: Town bans pizza-making over soaring pollution. An edict issued by the mayor of San Vitaliano, just outside of Naples, bans the use of wood-fired stoves in bakeries and eateries including pizzerias unless their owners install special filters to reduce air pollution. Bad air quality is a longstanding problem for San Vitaliano. According to Il Mattino newspaper, it is more polluted than Beijing, while nearby Naples - usually seen as one of Italy's worst offenders in terms of air quality - seems like "a perfumed garden" in comparison. In 2015, San Vitaliano exceeded the threshold for emissions 114 times, compared to 86 times in Milan, another badly polluted Italian city, the paper says. December 2015. Odd or even? Not trucks, not cars, studies blame wood smoke and power plants as top polluters. NEW DELHI: Less than a fortnight before the odd-even formula for private cars is implemented in Delhi to curb pollution levels in the city, three studies have found that the actual culprit in winters is not vehicular emissions.
Two reports — one by former faculty members of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and the other by US, Indian and University of Birmingham researchers — said wood smoke is the prime contributor to the presence of PM 2.5 — fine particles with a width of 2.5 .
December 2015. Agreed Statement, Environment Ministers Meeting. Ministers agreed to measures to reduce air pollution from wood heaters, including the adoption of new emission and efficiency standards for new wood heaters and sharing best management practices across jurisdictions. This approach encourages innovation and sharing of cost effective approaches and allows each jurisdiction to tailor actions for local conditions and priorities.
December 2015. COMMENT: Air pollution is now the invisible killer. Mehreen Faruki, Newcastle Herald. Poor air quality is costing us our lives, health and money. It is responsible for 3000 Australians’ deaths and costs more than $5 billion every year. Some of the worst culprits include wood fire heaters which produce the majority of Sydney’s fine particle pollution during winter
 December 2015. Air quality in Europe — 2015 report, European Environment Agency. Table 9.2 (left, click to enlarge) show an estimated 37,800 premature deaths from PM2.5 pollution in the UK, nearly 3 times as many as the 14,100 from NO2 pollution. UK traffic pollution is decreasing, but wood stove pollution (responsible for 17% of PM2.5 emissions, compared to 18% from traffic) is increasing. Tackling this major source of PM2.5 pollution, e.g. by following the UN Environment Program recommendation to phase out log-burning stoves in developed countries, would be one of quickest and most cost-effective way to prevent deaths from air pollution in the UK.
December 2015. Where there's smoke, there may be bronchitis. Smokers and nonsmokers around wood smoke were 9 percent more likely to have trouble breathing — and specifically 11 percent more likely to suffer bronchitis symptoms. "The effect is all the more worrisome given that COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S ... The important lesson is that the adverse respiratory effects exist in residences of rural mountainous communities across the United States,” said Dr. Akshay. “Before we thought that COPD was just (from) cigarette smoke, but now we can see that it’s really quite something more.” “We were surprised by the strength of the association, which was largely comparable to the effect size seen in developing countries,” Dr. Akshay added. “Our study was done in Albuquerque and surrounding communities and our suspicion is that wood smoke is higher in rural communities and mountainous locations, such as the Rocky Mountain Belt and Appalachia.
December 2015. Wood smoke presents major health hazard. Jennifer Lawson of the Cowichan Fresh Air Team said, “Wood smoke is like tobacco smoke; there is no safe level for wood smoke.” Later she added, “Breathing wood smoke is smoking, we need legislative change.” She called for bylaws that would disallow fire places or wood stoves in new homes, or from being installed in existing homes, and ban outdoor burning.
Commenting on a suggestion that instead of an exchange program swapping old wood stoves for new units, North Cowichan should look at a program that would encourage switch overs to new, clean technologies like heat pumps, Mayor Jon Lefebure said his stance is changing. “I have come to the point where I agree with Ms. Lawson that I don’t feel good when we exchange an old wood stove for a new wood stove,” he said.
November 2015. $10 stove responds to wood smoke’s risks. In 2013 Carlos Glatt became a first-hand witness to the harmful effects of cooking with firewood. He was part of a group of volunteers distributing food to the victims and survivors of Hurricanes Ingrid and Manuel in the state of Guerrero.
Touched by the case of a 14-year-old teen with “lung pain,” Glatt decided to design a greener alternative to the wood stove. His product, called La Estufita GlattStove, or the Little GlattStove, looks like a large can and is fueled by a liquid, natural gas-based fuel that, Glatt claims, pollutes less than wood and even propane. Glatt plans to sell 50% of his production through supermarkets and convenience stores at US $10; a liter of fuel will sell for $1. The other half will be sold to economically-marginalized communities at a much-reduced price through the collaboration of donors who will pay 90% of the stove’s price; consumers will be able to purchase it for just $1. November 2015. My view: Even a little air pollution harms everyone. Brian Moench, Utah Physicians for A Healthy Environment. Here’s a take-home message. Pollution is not just a problem during our thick winter inversions, as this study clearly showed. Even a little air pollution does a little harm to many, if not all of us, and can do much harm to those at high risk. Air pollution makes people sick in multiple ways. All the major organs are affected. It can be lethal by causing heart attacks, strokes, pneumonia, cancer and multiple other maladies, beginning with intrauterine development and impairment of the basic building blocks of life, the chromosomes.
Most state and federal regulatory schemes assume everyone in the community breathes the same pollution, therefore facing the same health risk. But on a supposedly “green” day for the community at large, there can be pockets of pollution that would make Beijing blush ... As we enter the winter season, many people will also be taking a real “hit from their neighbors,” homeowners who crank up wood stoves and fireplaces. Research has shown that if you are downwind of a neighbor or restaurant that burns wood, you may be inhaling pollution levels up to 100 times greater than what is measured at the nearest monitoring station. Other research shows that most of that pollution can penetrate inside your home and stay there long after a storm cleans out the air in the valley.
Furthermore, not all pollution is created equal. Wood smoke is by far the most toxic type of pollution that most people ever breathe, much more biologically reactive than secondhand cigarette smoke.... November 2015. 15 Advantages of a Natural Gas Fireplace. "We know that a warm fireplace can make your home feel comfortable during the winter. However, wood burning fireplaces present major health risks. If you are a frequent fireplace user, check out these 15 advantages of a natural gas fireplace and consider making the switch!
November 2015. The dangers of the flu. If people use a fireplace or wood stove, those are major irritants to people with lung disease. Even outdoor woodsmoke is an irritant. New Hampshire’s population has one of the highest exposures to outdoor woodsmoke, which can exacerbate breathing issues for those already dealing with respiratory illness.
If you have COPD, emphysema, asthma or any respiratory condition, try to avoid burning wood or being exposed to wood smoke."
Doctors say particles from wood smoke can trigger asthma attacks and heart problems. They also contain cancer causing chemicals. Wood smoke adds to the pollution we see during the winter when we have inversions.
“Every time that you burn wood, it's going to have an impact on the air quality, and if people are outside they actually experience poor health aspects of it,” Spangler said. Petition: STOP NEW WOOD HEATERS EMITTING MORE POLLUTION IN A FEW HOURS THAN THE AVERAGE CAR IN AN ENTIRE YEAR
October 2015. Researcher questions planned burns. University of Tasmania Menzies Institute for Medical Research public health physician and environmental epidemiologist Fay Johnston said if one accepted a higher mortality rate in the Latrobe Valley during and after the months of the blaze, one would also have to accept that planned fuel reduction burning in Australia carried a significant mortality risk for the population.
Dr Johnston said there were numerous examples of planned burn smoke impacts of similar magnitude to the mine fire.
"There is no evidence that concentration-response relationships for particulate matter from landscape fires and mortality are substantially different from particulate matter from background urban sources," Dr Johnston said. October 2015. Reducing global health risks through mitigation of short-lived climate pollutants World Health Organization Report highlights the need to reduce emissions short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP), including black carbon, methane, and ozone. SLCP are responsible for a substantial fraction of climate change as well as for a significant proportion of air-pollution related deaths and diseases that kill some 7 million people per year. The report again highlights the measures recommended by the UNEP report, including clean cookstoves in developing countries, preventing methane leaks from mines, pipelines and landfills, banning open burning of agricultural waste, cleaner transport and phasing out log-burning stoves in developed countries. Dr Flavia Bustreo, assistant director-general at WHO, commented: “Every day, these pollutants threaten the health of men, women and children. For the first time, this report recommends actions that countries, health and environment ministries, and cities can take right now to reduce emissions, protect health and avoid illness and premature deaths, which often take the greatest toll on the most vulnerable.”
October 2015. California: Wood fireplaces and stoves banned in new buildings. "The aim of the regulations ... is to limit emissions of the fine particles in smoke produced by combustion of wood and other solid fuels and wood products, such as pellets. This particulate matter can find its way into a person’s lungs and bloodstream and is linked to greater risk of heart attack, stroke, asthma, respiratory distress and other lung conditions, including cancer, according to the American Lung Association.
“It has a myriad of health impacts, like cigarette smoke,” air district spokeswoman Kristine Roselius said. And it’s the No. 1 source of air pollution during the winter months, the air district said. “It’s nasty,” said Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane, a member of the air district board of directors, which unanimously approved the rule amendments Wednesday. “And it’s a lot more nasty than most people realize.” The district board also approved a $3 million grant program to help offset the cost to homeowners of swapping out polluting stoves and fireplaces with gas, propane or electric heaters — or at least EPA-certified wood-burning devices, where no other heating option is available. .... Home sales and rental contracts also must include disclosure about the health hazards of fine particulate matter from wood smoke .... Effective Nov. 1, 2018, rental properties in natural gas service areas must have an alternative heating device other than wood burning.... The Lung Association was among more than a dozen health organizations that lauded the new rules, local spokeswoman Jenny Bard said.“We have been involved on this issue for two decades, and we receive calls every winter from residents whose health is impacted by their neighbors’ wood burning,” the association said. “This is a serious health issue, and we appreciate the Air District’s leadership to reduce exposures.” October 2015. WOOD heaters could be banned across Armidale after smoke pollution exceeded national health standards in 13 out of 14 days monitored. We can’t go on living in this filthy air now Armidale’s ‘dirty little secret’ is out,” Armidale Dumaresq councillor Margaret O’Connor said. Together with councillor Peter O’Donohue, she is leading the charge to ban all wood heaters across Armidale by 2030. The councillors want to ban wood heaters installed in all new homes and also ban the installation of any new wood heaters. October 2015. Asthma Australia - wood heaters - a bigger scandal than VW. There is an even bigger air pollution scandal in Australia than the one perpetrated by Volkswagen, according to the Australian Air Quality Group.Air Quality Group spokesperson, Dr Dorothy Robinson, says that household wood heating is the largest single source of fine particle pollution (the most health-hazardous air pollutant) emissions in many towns and cities. Dr Robinson says a wood heater can produce as much toxic air pollution in one day as a car does in a year and, like the VW scandal, laboratory tests on wood burning heaters fail to give a true picture of their emissions under real life operation.
“The true extent of the problem is highlighted by Australian Bureau of Statistics data showing that only 4 per cent of households in Sydney burn wood as the main form of heating. “Yet according to the NSW EPA, residential wood heating is responsible for over half of fine particle emissions in Sydney, every year. Asthma Foundation NSW supports three key recommendations to the NSW Woodsmoke Control Options that would together reduce wood smoke health costs by 75%. These include: Removal of existing heaters that do not meet a health-based standard when houses are offered for sale. Not allowing the installation of new heaters that do not meet a health-based standard and a tax on all wood heaters that do not meet current standards. Licencing fees to cover the cost of wood smoke-reduction programs with assistance for people whose health or lifestyle has been affected by wood smoke. “We need to protect the public from the detrimental health impacts of wood heater pollution. The failure to recall and repair wood heaters found to be up to 10 times more polluting than their certified values, needs to be addressed” Ms Goldman said. A new study by a science team led by Los Alamos National Laboratory shows that he particulates found in urban smoke are especially prone to absorbing sunlight and having a heating effect on the planet. The new analysis demonstrates that wood burning emits organic species that coat soot particles produced by diesel combustion, creating a lens to focus sunlight and increase warming. The study also shows that the magnification is increased as the particles age and are coated with more airborne chemicals.
“This is a double whammy,” said project leader Manvendra Dubey. “The transparent organics amplify soot’s warming by lensing, and then we have this very stable brown carbon that causes additional warming. We clearly elucidate the detailed processes that makes the carbon particle much more potent warming agents and provide a framework to capture them in climate models.” The researchers used state-of-the-art instruments in field studies near London tracking an urban plume as it moved across Europe. The observed lensing effect was successfully reproduced by theoretical calculations and laboratory measurements.
The paper also underscored the need for multiple field studies in more diverse environments with mixed carbon sources. Dubey noted that a similar study published in the journal Science in 2012 saw no enhanced light absorption in soot particles in California in the summer. He said that the key difference is that the sampled region did not have the solid wood combustion that was pervasive in the United Kingdom during wintertime. October 2015 Hoosier, Indiana: new grant program to encourage replacement of dirty Outdoor Wood Boilers with clean, renewable energy. The Hoosier Environmental Council and the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest — with the support of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Citizens Action Coalition, Indiana Wildlife Federation, and Sierra Club — launched an innovative, new grant program to financially encourage owners of dirty Outdoor Wood Boilers to replace their systems with clean, renewable energy. Selected awardees could receive up to 100% funding for replacing their old OWBs with new solar, geothermal, or geothermal/solar combination systems. Learn more — and apply — at this dedicated microsite, “It’s Doable, Go Renewable”!
–Public Health Toxicologist David Brown, Sc.D., an expert in wood smoke: “Some of the health effects reported…include awakening at night with coughing, headaches, inability to catch breath, continual sore throats, bronchitis and colds requiring children to stay home from school. In some cases the breathing difficulty has gone into asthma attacks requiring emergency-room treatment. Even episodes of short-term exposures to extreme levels of fine particulates from wood smoke and other sources, for periods as short as two hours, can produce significant adverse effects.” -Oncologist D. Barry Boyd, MD: “In addition to the fine particulate matter, wood smoke contains a number of organic compounds that are potential or recognized carcinogens. Exposure over time may raise the risk not only of chronic lung disease but also of lung cancer. As well, wood smoke interferes with normal lung development in infants and children. It increases children’s risk of lower respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Wood smoke exposure can depress the immune system and damage the layer of cells in the lungs that protect and cleanse the airways.” Other Struggles Facing Victims of OWB Wood Smoke: • People boarding up their homes to try to keep out smoke.
• Working class families spending money that could have been used to buy food or clothing are forced to buy expensive air filtration systems to protect their families from the plumes of smoke coming at them, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One HEPA replacement filter can alone cost $90. September 2015. New Brunswick Power, Canada, launches heat pump rebate program. NB Power is starting a new program that is expected to help people save on electricity costs. The utility is offering a $500 rebate on the purchase of a high-efficiency heat pump.
"The heat pumps [in this campaign] are going to stand the test of our crazy temperatures. Everyone has seen a day in the winter where it hits –20 C, especially the last two or three years we've had weird winters where temperatures have gone lower than normal," said Mudge. "We wanted to make sure the heat pumps homeowners in New Brunswick are purchasing are going to make sense for them to use in our type of climate." September 2015. David Attenborough and Professor Brian Cox call for Major Program to Combat Climate Change
In a 2-minute video, David Attenborough explains that our world and its wildlife are in danger because of climate change. In the 1960s, scientists overcame immense odds to put men on the moon. A similar effort is now needed to combat climate change. If we make renewable energy cheaper than coal, fossil fuels will stay in the ground.
David Attenborough, Professor Cox, and many other leaders of business, science and industry have put their names to a call for an investment of $15 billion a year over 10 years to make this happen. For much less than the $100 billion per year currently spent on defence, we could save our planet from climate change. The money invested in research would not only pay for itself, but provide significant economic benefits. Leaders of the world are urged to commit, by the Paris climate conference in December, to the positive, practical initiative, named the Global Apollo Program, in honour of the 1960s program that saw men walking on the moon. It's a short, but very powerful message that needs to be heard. September 2015. More people die from air pollution than Malaria and HIV/Aids. A new study shows that more than 3 million people a year are killed prematurely by outdoor air pollution, more than malaria and HIV/Aids combined. Details published in the prestigious journal 'Nature' reveal that The 1,002,370 from residential energy (presumably wood and coal smoke), more than double the 464,748 premature deaths from power generation and much higher than the 226,137 from industry, 179,268 from biomass burning and 163,852 from land traffic. See also Heating, Cooking Are Top Contributors to Air-Pollution Deaths Worldwide.
September 2015. Scotland’s environment minister has praised “significant progress” on reducing air pollution since 1990, with a new report showing emissions of most pollutants continued to fall in 2013. However, the report also shows that in more recent years the rate of reduction for several pollutants – such as NMVOCs, PM10 and ammonia – has slowed. The report highlights increasing quantities of domestic wood burning as a factor in flatlining PM10 emission levels.
Launched alongside Defra’s consultation on draft air quality plans for the UK which also started this week (see AirQualityNews.com story), the Scottish Government’s six-week consultation runs until November 9 2015. September 2015. Outdoor gas and propane gas fireplaces to be allowed in Port Colborne, but not wood. Many councillors said that they received more comments from residents that were against allowing open-air burning, and that many of those residents cited health and safety issues ... overruling idea that health and safety ought to come first prevailed, and council noted it is difficult to create a bylaw that would deal with people who are simply inconsiderate.
September 2015. Despite Stricter Air Standards, US residents still dying from air pollution. The survey of more than 500,000 Americans shows that as air pollution levels rise in the areas where they live, rates of death rise ... Every extra 10 ug/m3 PM2.5 raised the risk of heart death by 10% and overall death by 3%, according to the study published in the government journal Environmental Health Perspectives. "We need to better inform policymakers about the types and sources of particulate pollution so they know where to focus regulations," said Richard Hayes, a professor of population health and environmental medicine at NYU Langone.
September 2015. Are cheap sensors and concerned citizens leading to a shift in air monitoring? Responding to an explosion of low-cost, easy-to-use sensors to monitor air quality in recent years, US EPA scientists are studying the accuracy of these “next-generation air monitors,” and how the data collected might be used to improve communities and, eventually, affect how air quality is monitored and regulated
September 2015. Guest editorial: Wood burning -- it's time to let it go. Article by Dr. Brian Moench, President, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. "Recently Summit County took a bite out of tradition and a bite out of air pollution and approved a bold new ordinance that would prohibit solid fuel burning devices (think wood and coal in stoves and fireplaces) in new construction. This is an important step forward to cleaning our air, and we will all be better off for it. ... If you don't smoke, burning wood is probably the worst thing you can do to your own health. As Elsa sings in the movie Frozen, it's time to "Let it go." September 2015. Sacramento Metropolitan AQMD Receives Federal Grant to Study Toxic Pollutants From Wood Smoke in Sacramento. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) a $360,000 grant to study toxic pollutants from wood smoke in Sacramento.
Residential wood smoke is Sacramento’s main source of wintertime air pollution and it is suspected to be the main source of some hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), including acetaldehyde, acrolein, acetonitrile, and naphthalene. This study, to be conducted during one winter season beginning in November 2016, will provide a better understanding of air toxics from wood smoke and wood burning behavior in select environmental justice communities based on federal environmental justice data. September 2015. Rebates boosted to get more wood-fuelled heaters replaced in Canberra. "The Government has increased the rebate from $800 for a gas-ducted system to $1,100, so it's quite a sizeable inducement to remove those old wood heaters ..."And for a single gas appliance replacing a wood heater it is $600." ... Wood smoke is a serious health problem for people with lung or heart conditions, particularly in the Tuggeranong Valley where the smoke becomes trapped under an inversion layer on cold nights."
Shane Rattenbury called for the scheme to be extended to electric heating. "Mr Rattenbury cited research from Melbourne University's Melbourne Energy Institute released last week, showing how the use of electric split-systems for heating was cheaper than using gas. The savings come as gas prices rise in eastern Australia. By encouraging people to get onto gas now, we are ensuring that they will be the victim of predicted high gas price over the next five years," he said. "But by encouraging people to go electric now, we know they will be running on renewables in five years."
August 2015.
Switching off gas - An examination of declining gas demand in Eastern Australia. Report by Tim Forcey - Energy Advisor, Melbourne Energy Institute (MEI). The second page of the Executive summary (page 5) states: " Space-heating cost savings of $1,733/year (a savings of 77%) were modeled for a large home in Canberra and $658/year (63%) for a large home in Melbourne." Details are provided in Table 7 (page 24) showing gas heating for a large house in Canberra $2,255 compared to $522 for an efficient reverse cycle heater-air-conditioner. Expected costs for a medium-sized house in Orange, NSW are $1370 for gas and $949 for an efficient heater-air-conditioner.August 2015.
Mummies know best: the pharaohs giving up their secrets about heart disease. "Thomas and Finch suspect that pre-modern heart disease was caused not simply by genes or ageing, but by another risk factor, one that modern societies no longer face: widespread chronic infection. .... Such infections can significantly increase levels of inflammation in the body – and, in recent years, researchers have increasingly realised that inflammation can damage the cardiovascular system. In fact, inflammation appears to be the same mechanism through which obesity, unhealthy diet, and sedentary living also cause heart problems. On top of this, pre-modern people probably faced another serious trigger for inflammation: smoke from wood fires used for cooking, heating and lighting. So it is possible that ancient Egyptians, Peruvians, and others had the same illness as modern people – inflammation-induced heart disease – but with different root causes."
August 2015.
Wood stoves: Health risks from pollution outweigh ambiance. The Summit County Council has drawn a line in the smoke. Last week four of the board's five members voted in favor of banning wood stoves in new construction.August 2015. American Lung Association in California.
An important message from the National Blood, Lung and Heart Institute. "Even being next to a fireplace or fire pit this summer can aggravate your COPD."
August 2015. Limited moratorium on beach fires passed. "wood smoke is worse than cigarette smoke on a person’s health. Wood smoke particulates, Burnett said, can become embedded deep in the lungs and get into the blood stream, which can cause life-threatening diseases." "Carmel, in imposing the ban, becomes the last city on the Monterey Peninsula to ban or severely limit beach fires. Statewide, Mayor Pro Tempore Ken Talmage pointed out, only 38 of 435 beaches allow fires."
July 2015. Fine Hunter valley mine fined over toxic blast plume - money will be used fund wood smoke reduction "The penalty will be paid to Muswellbrook Council to fund its Wood Smoke Reduction program aimed at improving local air quality."
July 2015. Pollution from wood heaters has prompted dozens of complaints in Monash in the past five years. Mt Waverley father-of-two Douglas Crosher wants wood heaters banned after putting up with smoke from a nearby property for the past eight years. Mr Crosher said he was concerned about the health effects of smoke on his family and bothered by the sheer nuisance of smoke permeating his house.Mr Crosher has urged other residents concerned by pollution from wood heaters to register their complaint with the council and contact him via his website at woodsmokefree.com July 2015. In-principle agreement to move to 7 µg/m3 and 20 µg/m3 PM2.5 in the longer term "In recognising the health impacts of airborne particles, it is our intent to strengthen the reporting standards for particles (PM2.5 and PM10) in the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure. We agreed in-principle to adopt annual average and daily PM2.5 reporting standards of 8 µg/m3 and 25 µg/m3, respectively, with a move to 7 µg/m3 and 20 µg/m3 in the longer term."
July 2015. Summit County proposes to prohibit wood-burning stoves. The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission recommended last week to permanently ban all wood-burning appliances from any new construction or remodeling. "Unlike most other sources of pollution, home wood-burning emissions are released directly into the area where people spend most of their time at an elevation that does not promote dispersion," he wrote the commission, adding that it is almost impossible to prevent wood-smoke pollution from seeping into nearby homes." "The common belief is it's from cars. But it's not. It's wood burning." Statistics from state and federal environmental studies submitted to the commission last week paint a grim picture. Monitoring stations can miss that a neighbor burning wood might increase pollution by 100 times in the house next door. One fireplace burning 10 pounds of wood for an hour fouls the air worse than 120,000 cigarettes. July 2015. Letter published in the British Medical Journal. Wood burning stoves produce PM2.5 particles in amounts similar to traffic and increase global warming. "London’s annual mean PM10 from wood burning (1.1 μg/m3) far exceeds the predicted city-wide reduction of 0.17 μg/m3 from phases 1 and 2 of the Low Emission Zone to reduce traffic pollution.5 Solving the wood burning problem could generate more benefits for less cost than additional measures to reduce traffic emissions.
Health professionals must explain this to policymakers, so that—instead of repeating past mistakes—future policies use the best, most cost effective ways to minimise damage to public health from air pollution."
July 2015. Lisa Neville: Please Help Stop Wood-smoke Impacting on My Already Inflamed Airways.
Michellina van Loder, Professional Writer, Author, Journalist, Blogger "Each winter, my health is impacted on by my neighbours’ wood-smoke from their wood heaters. Not only does the woodsmoke make me ill for days at a time but it also makes my life and that of my family’s difficult: we have to seal our windows with masking tape to keep the smoke out; we can’t run the exhausts fans in the bathroom unless someone outside the bathroom can tape up and seal cracks around the door due to the backdraft of woodsmoke that comes in; some nights, I have to sleep with a 3M filter mask over my face to protect my airways; we can’t leave our washing outside, nor can we go outside for long—most days, I can’t go outside at all—because the wood-smoke particles permeate into our hair and clothing, effecting my airways when we come in .... "
July 2015. Interview with Dr. Brian Moench, President, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, who has been speaking out on the connection between pollution and health since 2007. Dr. Brian Moench says we can get worked up all we want when it comes to big polluters, but the trend of backyard fire pits is just as worrisome: July 2015. Smoke from open cooking fires kill 4 million people each year. One organization that's trying to make a difference in this issue is Dazin, which is a cooperative in Bhutan (though the same model could work in many other regions), a country with one of the highest rates of per capita firewood consumption in the world.
June 2015. PM2.5 pollution linked to reduced white matter in the brain: “Our study provides convincing evidence that several parts of the aging brain, especially the white matter, are an important target of neurotoxic effects induced by long-term exposures to fine particles in the air,” said the study’s lead author, Jiu-Chiuan Chen, an associate professor of at the USC Keck medical school.
June 2015. New York City Council approves legislation to update the city’s air code and help control pollution.
The bill will regulate the use of charbroilers in restaurants, end the use of all future fireplaces and wood-burning stoves, and prohibit new buildings from using wood as a source of heat except in the case of emergencies. Buildings with fireplaces and wood stoves would be required to use a specially treated type of wood that does not release as much ash into the air. The bill was approved by a vote of 48-2. See also City Council passes regulations for cleaner air. June 2015. The Clean Air Society of Australia & NZ (CASANZ), one of the few independent representatives on the Standards Australia Committee calls for a new wood heater standards, including modifying the current test procedure so that heater performance is measured under test conditions that more closely reflects actual operating performance, and to include the need for automatic controls of heater combustion to minimise smoke emissions. Because of the excessive pollution and health costs of from current wood heater models, CASANZ believes that "that action to ban domestic solid fuel burning for domestic heating should be seriously considered".
June 2015. Outdoor particulate air pollution results in 3.2 million premature deaths annually, more than the combined impact of HIV-AIDS and malaria. Improving air quality could potentially avoid millions of pollution-related deaths each year. That finding comes from a team of environmental engineering and public health researchers who developed a global model of how changes in outdoor air pollution could lead to changes in the rates of health problems such as heart attack, stroke and lung cancer. One of the study’s unexpected findings is that cleaning air in less polluted parts of the world, including in North America and Western Europe, can have as much health benefit as similar measures taken in the most polluted areas. June 2015. Climate Spectator: Australia is suffering a spate of solar-related fires, hundreds of them. The cause of these fires isn’t the solar panels themselves but, rather, a device installed next to solar panels called a rooftop DC isolator (or disconnect) switch – a uniquely Australian requirement. ... Despite the lack of fires or any demonstrable harm from solar panels themselves, and in spite of the evidence showing the fire risk from DC switches, Standards Australia moved to mandate the rooftop DC switch nationwide in 2012, in the name of fire safety.
During the standards-drafting process, Standards New Zealand sought an exemption from the rooftop DC isolator requirement, calling it a stupid idea. The rift eventually led to Australia-only and New Zealand-only sections of the standard.
Germany, itself a world leader in solar electricity, once required a practice similar to Australia’s rooftop DC isolator requirement but eventually stopped, because it was causing too many fires. The Germans found that placing DC switches in exposed places creates a degenerative process that, without regular maintenance, causes the switches to heat up, and eventually, to catch fire – even the high-quality German ones. ... Now Australia has become a new kind of leader in the solar PV industry. As of November 2014, there have been more than 167 fires in Queensland alone – all related to the rooftop DC isolator.
The solution is simple. Some solar PV industry experts – those most concerned with safety and quality – are asking Standards Australia to issue an amendment to the technical standard for installing solar panels, eliminating the requirement for a rooftop DC isolator. Petition: Please remove the need to install a DC Isolator on the roof alongside a Solar PV Array. Please mandate that all DC Isolators are removed from current installations before we have more fires or worse a solar fire related fatality.
June 2015. Fine Particulate Air Pollution Associated with Increased Risk of Childhood Autism. University of Pittsburgh research: "Based on the child’s exposure to concentrations of PM2.5 during the mother’s pregnancy and the first two years of life, the Pitt Public Health team found that children who fell into higher exposure groups were at an approximate 1.5-fold greater risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) after accounting for other factors associated with the child’s risk for ASD – such as the mother’s age, education and smoking during pregnancy. This risk estimate is in agreement with several other recent investigations of PM2.5 and autism." Peer-reviewed scientific paper.
May 2015. New research on the health problems caused by PM2.5 exposure:
| Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment - 30-sec video - essential viewing! Woodsmoke Pollution and your health - video of woodsmoke pollution in Canberra and Armidale and advice from Dr Jim Markos, Australian Lung Foundation
CSIRO Study: Impacts of smoke from regeneration burning on air quality in the Huon Valley, Tasmania The study measured PM2.5 pollution in Grove, a rural area, exposed only to forestry burns and Geeveston, a small town with 277 houses, exposed to smoke from domestic wood heaters as well as forestry burns. The difference is shown in the graph below. Although there is some pollution from forestry burns in Grove, the vast majority of the pollution in Geeveston is woodsmoke from domestic heating. The graph below compares the two - Grove (light green) has relatively low pollution. The 277 houses in Geeveston create a massive, unhealthy pollution problem every winter. The PM2.5 standard was exceeded in Geeveston on 99 occasions.  Because most people live in towns, people shop there children go to school there, people are exposed to high levels of toxic smoke pollution. As in Launceston, funds should be made available as a matter of urgency to replace wood heaters with gas or reverse cycle electric heating to protect residents' health. General News 90 Scientists urge US Congress to improve carbon accounting of biofuels and bioenergy "Clearing or cutting forests for energy, either to burn trees directly in power plants or to replace forests with bioenergy crops, has the net effect of releasing otherwise sequestered carbon into the atmosphere, just like the extraction and burning of fossil fuels." A Burning Issue: The experts speak about wood smoke.. Oroville Mercury-Register: 14 May 2010 In December 2009, after 33 breaches of the air quality standard, the US EPA set a three-year deadline for Chico, a small town in Butte County, to clean up its woodsmoke pollution. A local reported asked physicians, research scientists and other experts in Chico and nationwide how tiny particles and other ingredients of wood smoke may affect people's health. "Wood smoke definitely has a negative health impact." Mark Lundberg, MD, Butte County public health officer and president, Butte-Glenn Medical Society "I'm convinced that it causes potentially serious health effects in some people, particularly asthmatics ... If you're immediately downwind from someone who's burning, you can really get a significant exposure." Michael Lipsett, MD, chief, Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Public Health. Dr Lipsett developed public health and medical guidelines for state's outdoor air quality standards. "Your lung function at seven years of age predicts your lung function at 35 years of age. So factors that might impact the growth and development of your lungs early in your life are relevant to problems in your natural lung function as adults." Mark Miller, MD, MPH, director, UC San Francisco Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit and former Chico pediatrician "Studies have shown that if you expose people to air pollution particles, you can see that it changes heart rate. We've also shown that it can cause clotting. In one of these susceptible populations, that can be a problem." Robert Devlin, Ph.D., senior scientist and former chief, Clinical Research Branch, Environmental Public Health Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "There are nationwide and local epidemiological studies showing that when particulate matter (in air pollution) goes up, premature deaths go up." Matthew Lakin, Ph.D., scientist, risk assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "I think it's a fair comparison to look at wood smoke similar to burning vegetable matter such as tobacco." Melanie Marty, Ph.D., chief, Air Toxicology and Epidemiology Branch, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency "I think we need to educate the public ... I don't think they realize how toxic wood smoke is. I don't think we've done a very good job about that." L. Gretchen Wooding, MD. Proposed amendments to the NZ National Environmental Standard (NES) on air quality Green Party spokesperson on Resource Management, David Clendon, commented: Instead, the air quality standards standards should be upgraded by the introduction of a much-needed PM2.5 standard, allowing NZ to aim for the greatest reduction in the pollutant that most affects our health for the least possible cost. This cannot be achieved if the pollutant most closely linked to adverse health outcomes is not even considered. See our draft submission for more ideas and information. |
