text:
Australian Air Quality Group - Woodsmoke
Children & Health
Senate Inquiry
Current Woodheater 'Standards' don't reduce real-life emissions
Armidale Woodsmoke Health Costs
PM2.5 - no safe level
New Woodheaters Pollute
SuperPollutants
Policies Elsewhere
Woodheater-Car Comparison
Wood vs Cigarette Smoke
AHHA tactics - profits first
Mining & Power Station vs Woodsmoke pollution
Submissions - Armidale's Draft Air Quality Policy
Consultation: Armidale Policy
Dirty Wood-Heaters undoing Clean Car gains
Most Effective Ways to Reduce Your Global Warming
Bibliograhies
January 2020. Guardian: The five: missed UK environmental targets. In 2020 the UK is set to achieve only three of the five targets for pollutant emissions set by the European Union, falling short on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) – the biggest threat to human health – and ammonia. Households are now the biggest contributors of PM2.5, with a resurgence of home wood-burning a major factor.
December 2019. A 1% increase in the number of homes using wood as primary heating source added 12% to the risk of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in never-smokers.
Pulmonary and critical care medicine fellow Sarath Raju, M.D., studied data on 8,500 adults enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), 2007–2012. Of the participants, 19.5% resided in rural areas and 29.6% in urban areas. Rural areas, with a 12.0% prevalence of COPD, had more than double the disease burden seen in urban communities, with a 5.9% prevalence.
By analyzing differences between urban and rural communities that might affect COPD risk, the team discovered that communities with a high rate of solid fuel use — either coal or wood for primary heating — were associated with COPD prevalence. A 1% increase in the number of homes using wood as the primary heating source was linked to 12% higher odds of COPD among people who have never smoked.
In rural areas, 4.1% of people used wood as their primary heating source, as opposed to 0.6% in urban areas. "Wood smoke is a household source of pollution that is associated with high levels of particulate matter and toxic gases," says Raju, first author of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine paper. "We hope that this paper raises awareness of the growing epidemic of rural COPD."
December 2019. A winter's tale about climate change and Christmas. How to use Christmas to talk about the challenges we face with global warming and air quality
Turkey on your table … ammonia in the air
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire are not good for your health … a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking traditionally means that Santa Claus thinks you've been naughty rather than nice. Ironically, if you've been burning coal, peat or wood in your living room fire, then you have been very naughty indeed.
Santa Claus is coming to town - but how does he get here? … Santa, of course, knows that using fossil fuels for power would mean that in the next 50 years or so the place where he lives might be underwater and his annual visit to all of us would stop
December 2019. Measures to reduce air pollution quickly result in big health benefits Reducing air pollution in homes, cities or countries can have a dramatic effect on health almost immediately, and the benefits can far outweigh the costs, according to a review of evidence from around the world.
At a World Health Organization meeting earlier this year, respiratory doctors were asked, "If you stopped air pollution, what would you expect?" So a group led by Dean Schraufnagel of the University of Illinois at Chicago have tried to answer this question.
Even the doctors were surprised by how big the benefits can be, and how quickly they kick in. "With some of this stuff, I had to do a double take," Schraufnagel says.
For instance, when Ireland banned smoking in workplaces in 2004, the number of people dying from any cause fell by 13 per cent after just a week. There were also big falls in heart disease, strokes and a lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Non-smokers benefited the most.
These health benefits can lead to dramatic cost savings. The benefits of the 1970 Clean Air Act in the US exceeded the costs of implementing it by a factor of 32 to 1, the US Environmental Protection Agency has estimated, and will amount to $2 trillion for the year 2020.
See also: The Guardian. Cutting air pollution can prevent deaths within weeks.
December 2019. Controlled burns destroy ecosystems and may not reduce fire risk Professor Kingsley Dixon, Curtin University: "really fabulous new information coming out of a couple of the major research groups in eastern Australia is showing that prescribed burning in fact, as we have now found with the eastern states fires, tragically don't stop the fires we are facing. This is actually a climate change issue, and that by prescribed burning at those lower temperatures, what you do is you drive a more flammable system within those first five years, so then it takes fire again and again, and then the loop is welded into the ecology. ... And some interesting data I was shown last week which is soon to be published with the fires in New South Wales is that many of those fires actually stopped on the margin of forests that were long-term unburnt. They had built up a resistance to that." Interview by ABC Science Show.
December 2019. Bushfire smoke and our health. "The good news is that our health can be protected by using HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters; they trap 99.97% of the PM2.5 inside our homes and cost as little as $100."
December 2019. Brian Moench: Seven deadly misperceptions about our air quality. A recent landmark study showed that 99% of deaths from air pollution occurred in cities and towns that meet the USEPA's standards, which speaks volumes about the adequacy of those standards. Between 1,000 and 2,000 of Utah's residents die every year due to our air pollution.
December 2019. 'If we're serious about improving the air we breathe, we need to stop burning wood'. As a GP who sees first-hand the impact of air pollution, I am reassured that this problem is being taken seriously, and glad that the public is increasingly aware of the problems of diesel vehicles. But another source of pollution is rising unchecked in our city – woodburning stoves.
The tiny particulates which woodburners produce, called PM2.5 and PM10, are completely invisible, so many people assume that their eco-friendly burners are clean and safe. In fact, a single woodburning stove, which meets all European regulations, emits around the same amount of particulates as six modern diesel lorries or 18 modern diesel cars.
November 2019. Impact of air pollution on health may be far worse than thought. Air pollution has already been associated with a number of conditions, from strokes to brain cancer, miscarriage and mental health problems. The number of health problems linked to air pollution could be far higher than previously thought, according to research suggesting hospital admissions for conditions ranging from heart failure to urinary tract infections increase as air becomes dirtier.
November 2019. Clean air must be the right of every child. Air Quality News. The next generation will be physically unhealthier. Breathing polluted air promises to make the next generation worse off than we are today.
What's disturbing is the risks begin before they are born. Pregnant women exposed to high levels of air pollution risk premature birth, babies with low birthweights and infant mortality.
Black carbon and microplastics inhaled by pregnant women can travel through her bloodstream to the placenta, exposing unborn children to these pollutants and increasing their risks of physical illnesses (especially poor lung function) and mental disorders later in life.
Children are more physically vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. They breathe faster than adults and are more physically active, taking in more toxins in relation to their body weight. Physically, their bodies are smaller, with narrower airways, veins, arteries and organs, and with immune systems that are relatively immature.
Toxic air quality is to blame for childhood autism, asthma, allergies, diabetes, obesity. It also causes childhood cancer, depression, mental illness and impairs children's digestive, immune, thyroid and reproductive systems. Suffice it to say that the global burden of healthcare for the next generation is set to skyrocket.
It is not only the air pollution outside that affects children. It is more likely the pollution indoors, which can be up to five times worse that has a huge impact on children. Why? Because children spend about 90% of their time indoors.
Those in developing countries are at higher risk due to greater exposure to air pollution at home from cookstoves using solid fuels. In the years to come, this bodes for a generation riddled with health issues.
Air pollution stunts children's brain development too
Polluted air also affects children's cognitive development. Their brains and central nervous systems are still developing, making critical connections between neurons that affect speech, motor skills, memory, decision-making, recognition of people and their surroundings, and other critical functions.
Air pollution does not discriminate. It knows no boundaries. It affects rich and poor, young and old. But for the young, early exposure leads to a future fraught with development problems. Air pollution not only stunts their lungs, but also stunts their minds, their intelligence.
Children who breathe higher levels of toxic fumes over a longer period of time are more likely to have long-term physical and mental health issues than those who breathe less, research shows.
Breathing polluted air affects children's abilities to concentrate at school, score higher on tests and, later in life, get better, more qualified jobs and earn higher wages. The gap will widen between the unhealthy and the unhealthier.
Disparities will grow—between the haves and have-nots, between those who can afford healthcare to deal with air pollution-related diseases and those who cannot, and between those who can afford to buy air purifiers and face masks and those who cannot.
In other words, air pollution impacts children's cognitive development, hindering the ability to reach their full potential, and carve out a better life and make valuable contributions to their communities.
For every child, clean air
Children are society's future, but they're also society's most vulnerable members. Updating the Convention by making clear air an unalienable right of children the world over is urgent. It's time to act by adding access to clean air to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
https://airqualitynews.com/2019/11/20/clean-air-must-be-the-right-of-every-child/
November 2019. House in Picture-Perfect Country Village horribly polluted compared to 1st Floor Flat in Manchester City. UK Air Quality News. The flat is about 100 m from a busy road with lots of cars, buses and construction vehicles. The countryside house is in Hayfield, a village in the Peak District, Derbyshire - a picture-perfect setting, with just a few houses and only one road in and out where the occasional tractor will trundle past.
The average PM2.5 in the city flat was 35.3 μg/m3, considered 'unhealthy to sensitive individuals', meaning the elderly and those with respiratory issues are at risk. But the really shocking result was from Hayfield - an average PM2.5 level of 72.9 μg/m3, considered 'unhealthy to all', meaning all those in the area are likely to be affected.
PM2.5 reached an astonishing hourly peak of 177.9 μg/m3 in the house, a level considered seriously hazardous to human health. How can the countryside be more polluted than a bustling city centre? The house, and all of its neighbours have wood-burning stoves.
Because of the cold weather, the owner of the Hayfield house used his wood-burning stove three times in the week of measurement. He said: 'I expected the PM2.5 to be high, but I am shocked it is quite so high.'
The wood-burning stove is Defra approved, we use kiln-dried wood for cleaner burning and we didn't even have it on for very long.' However, he did note that he often had a window open and he does not know if his neighbour's stoves are Defra approved and what kind of fuel they use.
... in the 21st century, many are wondering if the flame has become more about luxury than necessity. With the dangers of PM2.5 pollution on human health becoming more pronounced with every new shocking study, time could be running out for the wood-burner.
November 2019. First Bay Area Winter Spare-the-Air Alert Issued for Saturday and Sunday (10 & 11 November). Burning wood, manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors, is banned this weekend, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said.
First-time violators of the wood-burning rule are encouraged to take a wood smoke awareness course. Those violators who choose not to take the course will receive a $100 ticket. Second violations are subject to a $500 ticket, with the ticket amount increasing for any subsequent violations.
Exemptions to the wood-burning ban are available for homes without permanently installed heating, where wood stoves or fireplaces are the only source of heat. 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 no longer qualifies for an exemption.
October 2019. SHEFFIELD: Frightening figures from UK's most monitored air. "People should stop using wood burners," says Rohit Chakraborty, a PhD researcher at the Urban Flows Observatory at the University of Sheffield. "The UK has great central heating available, but people burn solid fuels in their living rooms and it's filling their homes with pollution." "It's also a problem for their neighbours who may inhale the harmful particulates, he adds.
"A staggering 38 per cent of UK air pollution is from domestic wood burners and from burning coal. "If you're burning solid fuels, then you're creating particulates. And the World Health Organisation says there is no safe level of particulates."
September 2019. Krakow introduces a total ban on the use of solid fuels. From 1 September 2019, only gas fuels or light fuel oil are permitted in the area of Kraków in fuel combustion installations. The regulations also apply to the generation of heat for non-heating purposes and are not limited to private buildings. They also include occasional use of fireplaces, heating of farm buildings, public institutions, greenhouses, drying and food preparation.F or people who incur increased costs of heating, the Protective Program of the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Krakow is offered.
September 2019. The Guardian. Airborne pollutants in our bodies - the five. Fine particulate matter in polluted air enters the body via the lungs and affects our health in a variety of ways
Placenta. This week, scientists announced that they'd found, for the first time, air pollution particles on the foetal side of placental tissue. The discovery may explain the link between increased miscarriages and premature births and exposure to dirty air.
Brain. In 2016, UK scientists found "abundant" quantities of toxic nanoparticles, such as magnetite, from air pollution in human brains. Previous studies have found these particles are linked to Alzheimer's disease.
Heart. A 2019 study also found air pollution particles in the heart muscle tissue of city dwellers. "They are inside the mitochondria, which are damaged and appear abnormal," said lead author Barbara Maher. "Mitochondria are your energy source, making sure your heart pumps effectively."
Liver. The liver is particularly at risk from air pollution because of its role in cleaning the blood. A study by Wayne State University, Michigan, using animal models found that exposure to particulate matter caused liver fibrosis. And a University of Southern California study found that patients diagnosed with liver cancer who lived in urban areas had lower odds of survival.
Everywhere else… Earlier this year, a comprehensive global review concluded that air pollution could be damaging every organ in the human body – noting that 70,000 scientific papers have shown it is affecting human health. "Ultrafine particles pass through the [lungs], are readily picked up by cells, and carried via the bloodstream to expose virtually all cells in the body," the authors explained.
September 2019. Cornwall imposes outdoor fire ban. "When you have a bylaw that only [benefits] a small percentage of people in your city and then you have a high amount of complaints, you need to do something about it," Voisine told CBC Radio's All In A Day on Tuesday. "There's obviously a lot of complaints regarding smoke," Voisine said. "We've had people tell us that on Friday evenings on a warm night, people would leave their homes because their neighbours are burning [fires] and there's too much smoke." Some residents cry foul... For many councillors such as Elaine MacDonald, Glen Grant, Syd Gardiner and Claude McIntosh, the nuisance, health, and environmental impacts of wood bonfires was more than enough reason to ban them. "This country is in a war against climate change related to greenhouse gases," declared MacDonald. "We're just asking people to burn propane or natural gas instead of wood, and you won't be hurting your neighbour … I can't believe we are even debating this."
September 2019. Keene State College Opens Doors to Growth and Innovation Living our commitment to sustainability in the operations of our campus, and opportunities that we provide to students to learn and gain real experience in the field. This includes being the first college or university in the US to heat its campus with 100% purified waste vegetable oil ... environmental studies and geography programs with the City of Keene to collect and analyze data to help determine the location and extent of air pollution caused by the inversion of wood smoke.
September 2019. Burning wood from 'sustainably managed' forests increases carbon pollution for 40+ years. "It all comes down to the timing," says Attorney Heather Hillaker, noting that massive carbon reductions are needed within the next 12 years, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. She calls this "a timeframe that cannot be achieved by burning woody biomass."
September 2019. Irish Times. Give up your wood burners, say officials. Residential stoves were identified as one of the greatest causes of pollution in responses submitted to a consultation by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment into the introduction of a new air-pollution control programme.
August 2019. Money offered to Utah homeowners for converting wood-burning stoves into gas or electric. Homeowners are being offered grants to convert their wood-burning stoves and fireplaces into natural gas or electric.
Depending on their income, homeowners can receive up to $4,000 for the conversion, a press release stated. The program will launch in September in parts of Salt Lake and Davis Counties. In 2020, the program will expand to other areas along the Wasatch Front.
August 2019. Scotland performing well on air quality but 'work to be done' - significant contributions from domestic wood burners and agriculture. Scotland performing well on air quality but 'work to be done'. Whilst a key component of the government's original strategy was transport and urban air quality, Professor Gemmel says the country must look more closely at how it regulated emissions from domestic wood burners and agriculture, which the review says are significant contributors to air pollution in Scotland.
August 2019. Switching to reverse-cycle air-conditioning Peter O'Donohue, Sustainable Living Armidale.
I had kept accurate records of wood purchases throughout the previous years and the cost per week had grown over five years from approximately $30 to $40. There was no sign of wood becoming cheaper as supply sources moved further away from Armidale. The two winters that have passed using the reverse-cycle system has seen the heating costs reduce by 30% back to under $30/week based on electricity bills; this factors in increases in electricity charges
August 2019. Don't Burn Trees to Fight Climate Change—Let Them Grow, by Bill McKibben, New Yorker.
"The newest research shows just what folly biomass burning really is. This summer, William Moomaw was the co-author of a paper that tracked carbon accumulation in trees. Planting all those trees in Ethiopia definitely helps pull carbon from the air, but not as much as letting existing trees keep growing. Unlike human beings, who gain most of their height in their early years, Moomaw explained to me, "trees grow more rapidly in their middle period, and that extends far longer than most people realize."
August 2019. Air pollution in Sheffield: interview with Grantham Scholar Rohit Chakraborty. Question: If you could wave a magic wand and make everyone do one thing to stop air pollution, what would it be? Answer: I would stop people using domestic wood burners!
August 2019. Hitting clean air targets 'could stop 67,000 child asthma cases a year'. "A considerable proportion of childhood asthma is actually caused by air pollution, particularly PM2.5," said Dr Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, from the Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal) and a co-author of the research.
The study shows thousands of new cases of asthma could be prevented each year by adhering to guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO), but Nieuwenhuijsen and his colleagues write that there is more to do. Evidence suggests there is no threshold level when it comes to the impact of air pollution on health, they say.
August 2019. Turning manure into fuel in rural Cambodia with the biodigester. "If I said to you that we could remove all deaths from traffic accidents around the world. Would that be something of interest? The incredible fact is that cooking with wood kills twice as many people as traffic accidents around the world each year. The majority of them are women."
... "It's quite convenient to use. It saves time and it produces both gas and natural fertiliser. It also saves us money because we don't have to spend cash on firewood like we did before"
"By using a renewable energy source, households are also contributing to the fight against deforestation in the Kingdom".
July 2019. PM2.5 'sends immune system into overdrive', worsening asthma. Scientists from Hiroshima University, the University of California and the Leibniz Research Institute found that airborne particles activate the cell receptor AhR.
AhR, a receptor found on cells in organs in contact with the air such as the skin, the gut and the lungs, promotes the production of inflammation to remove toxins in the body but can cause health problems if it is over-activated.
July 2019. Crookwell Gazette: Experts warn on dangers of wood smoke. Associate Professor in Public Health at the University of Tasmania, Dr Fay Johnston, says that "bushfire smoke and the smoke produced by wood heaters have much in common. They, along with tobacco smoke, are examples of biomass smoke - emissions that come from burning organic matter such as grass, leaves or wood. "Biomass smoke is a toxic soup of hundreds of different chemicals that includes many well-known toxins and carcinogens."
Some local governments have acted to assist householders to replace poorly functioning wood heaters.
July 2019. Even Moderate Air Pollution May Lead to Lung Disease. Researchers studied 303,887 British men and women, with data on lung health gathered by physical examination and air pollution statistics geographically coded to the participants' home addresses. Each 5 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 led to a decrease in lung function more than four times greater than the effect of secondhand smoke at home. It was equivalent to 29% of the decrease caused by current smoking and 65%of that caused by being a former smoker.
So why do we continue to allow new wood stoves to be installed, each of which is expected to emit more PM2.5 pollution per year than 1,000 passenger cars?
June 2019. Wood Smoke Reduction Program Increases Rebates for Cleaner Heating Sources. Using wood for heat ... generates far more pollution than other heating alternatives, such as electricity or natural gas. In winter when people are burning wood as their primary source of heat in densely populated neighbourhoods, smoke from wood stoves and fireplaces is a significant source of air pollution in the Comox Valley because of the Valley's geography and meteorology.
June 2019. Arctic melt goes into overdrive Earlier this year, we saw the unprecedented disappearance of sea ice from the Bering Sea during a time of year when it should be gaining ice. This trend toward plummeting sea ice in the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic continues, this time centered in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
Why it matters: Sea ice loss is disrupting the balance of heat in the Northern Hemisphere, and it is reverberating throughout ecosystems, causing everything from plankton blooms near the Arctic Ocean surface to mass haul-outs of walruses in Russia and Alaska. It may also be disrupting weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere.
The big picture: Across the entire Arctic, sea ice extent is at a record low for this point in the year, and depending on weather conditions during the summer, it's possible that 2019 could set a new record low ice extent.
June 2019. With a premature death every five seconds, air pollution is violation of human rights, says UN expert. "The right to a healthy environment is fundamental to human well-being and is legally recognized by over 150 States at the national and regional levels. It should be globally reaffirmed to ensure the enjoyment of this right by everyone, everywhere while upholding the human rights principles of universality and non-discrimination." New Scientist: Does air pollution really kill nearly 9 million people each year? Lelieveld's team combined the latest risk estimates with data on people's exposure to air pollution in Europe to work out the number of extra early deaths in 2015. "790,000 people died who would have died later if there was no air pollution," ... Of course, everyone dies sometime. Another way to express the same finding is that those 800,000 people lost 17 years of life on average."
June 2019. Keep air clean by burning right on World Environment Day. "We're also encouraging ACT residents to replace their wood heaters with more environmentally-friendly alternatives such as electric systems. Rebates of $250 are on offer to remove domestic wood heaters."June 2019. Interview: Dr Gary Fuller, King's College London. "Woodburning is a very large source of air pollution but it's very difficult to persuade people this is the case because it doesn't fit with their preconception."
June 2019. Air pollution impairs brain development. Warning by Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. Another new study of 2,221 children shows that intrauterine and early infant exposure to air pollution impairs brain development, reducing working memory and executive attention capability, measured years later, in this case at ages 7 through 10. This kind of developmental damage is almost certainly permanent. And as so many of the other studies have shown, the impact was far more significant in boys. See also: Exposure to air pollution before and after birth may affect fundamental cognitive abilities.
June 2019. Clean Energy Success - heat pumps save money - British Columbia First Nation people south of Alaska. The Haida are one of the Canadian First Nations. Their territory encompasses parts of Southern Alaska and the archipelago of Haida Gwaii. Most community members in Skidegate used to chop their own wood to load up their furnaces to heat their homes. ... Heat pumps will be saving people about $100/month, which works out to over $400,000/year. This affects both Skidegate and the surrounding communities. Heat pumps improve air quality and circulation throughout the home or building, reduce mold and are cost efficient. "The money saved is both a big and small part of it," Stevens said. "Our main concern is for Mother Earth."
June 2019. Air Pollution Harms Reproductive Health Scientific Meeting – June 1, 2019, Salt Lake City, UT
May 2019. Scientific study of PM2.5 pollution and infant/neonatal deaths. About half of PM2.5 is naturally occurring dust and sea-salt whereas half is from other sources, comprising mainly carbon-based compounds, which are mostly due to human activity. We find a very strong association between exposure to carbonaceous PM2.5 and infant mortality, particularly neonatal mortality, i.e. mortality in the first 28 days after birth. We estimate that, at the mean level of exposure in the sample to carbonaceous PM2.5—10.9 mg/m3—the odds of neonatal mortality are over 50% higher than in the absence of pollution.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that the current World Health Organization guideline of limiting the overall ambient PM2.5 level to less than 10 mg/m3 should be augmented with a lower limit for harmful carbonaceous PM2.5.
May 2019. Air pollution systematically affects body's molecular structure. Researchers found that some molecules that serve as building blocks of cell membranes were elevated when air pollution levels rose, causing them to break. Broken cell membranes release different kinds of inflammatory molecules in the body which could be harmful to the body.
May 2019. Mother, daughter sue France over ill health from air pollution. A Paris court on Tuesday began hearing a case brought by a mother and daughter who, in a legal first in France, are suing the state for damages over ill health caused by air pollution. The mother and the daughter are asking for 160,000 euros ($179,000) in damages from the state at the administrative court of Montreuil in the east of Paris.
They argue the authorities did not take effective measures against atmospheric pollution, in particular during the very high pollution that Paris endured in December 2016.The pair say this had an effect on their health, especially as they were living at the time in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Ouen, just outside the clogged peripherique ring road.
Both say they developed respiratory problems that were accentuated during pollution peaks. The mother, 52, has had to take time off work and the daughter, 16, suffered asthma crises.They have since moved to the city of Orleans on doctors' advice and their health has improved considerably, says lawyer Francois Lafforgue.
Their legal team argues that French authorities failed to implement rules to better protect the population, did not use all the measures at their disposal and did not properly enforce measures when agreed. In total, around 50 people across France are taking similar actions against the French state, said Sebastien Vray, the founder of the NGO Respire, which assists the cases of the plaintiffs.
May 2019. Rebuttals to arguments about wood smoke and energy. Reasons why non-polluting heating is better than firewood in Orange, New South Wales.
May 2019. Dangerous delusions: biomass is not a renewable energy source It may be difficult for many people to accept that burning biomass is just as bad, if not worse, than burning fossil fuels, but this fact is finally sparking national and international movements against the biomass and biofuel industries.
According to the IPCC Special Report on global warming of 1.5 degrees, we have only 11 years in which to change how we consume and live. The bioenergy and unsustainable biofuel industries operate using the same extractive ideology that got us here in the first place -- an ideology which puts resource exploitation and short-term gains ahead of indigenous rights, local communities and ecosystems.
May 2019. Guardian Exclusive: air pollution may be damaging 'every organ in the body Comprehensive analysis finds harm from head to toe, including dementia, heart and lung disease, fertility problems and reduced intelligence. See also: Air pollution may be making us less intelligent (The Conversation, Dec 2018), Researchers Now Have Even More Proof That Air Pollution Can Cause Dementia, Medical Net News: Air Pollution damages brains, as well as hearts and lungs, Lung Disease in Middle Age May Increase Dementia Risk.
May 2019. Montreal's Air Pollution. The city's public health agency states that about 1500 citizens die yearly of complications because of our air pollution. So, what can we do? While 45% of the emissions produced by our city come from transportation, which would be harder to discourage people from using, 39% of emissions come from wood-burning stoves and fireplaces, a very easy problem to solve.
May 2019. Central Otago residents sign up to test winter pollution levels outside and inside homes. Cold air drained from mountains to pool in basins and valleys, and conditions were often calm during the winter, preventing smoke from home wood-burners from dispersing."Our research, based on deploying dense networks of sensors around the streets and in homes in Rangiora, Alexandra and Gisborne has revealed how little protection is provided by staying indoors, with fine particles which can affect people's health often found in higher concentrations inside than out." ... "It's a common myth that I'm protected from smoke in my home, but generally, no you're not. All but the most modern homes are very leaky."
Students, scientists, citizens study Arrowtown's ailing air "Domestic wood burners are a major source of air pollutants in urban areas during winter. However, until recently, little scientific evidence had been gathered to show how smoke levels in New Zealand towns are influenced by the weather, topography, buildings and home-heating behaviour." It's that kind of evidence that Dr Longley says is needed for regional councils to design effective intervention strategies.
May 2019. How you and your government can tackle air pollution. * Moving from coal and gas power stations and diesel generators to solar, wind and hydropower *Prioritise walking, cycling and public transport over cars in urban areas and shift to electric cars * Improve the energy efficiency of homes to reduce heating needs and avoid coal and wood burning inside ...
May 2019. Melting permafrost in Arctic will have $70tn climate impact. The release of methane and carbon dioxide from thawing permafrost will accelerate global warming and add up to $70tn (£54tn) to the world's climate bill, according to the most advanced study yet of the economic consequences of a melting Arctic.
May 2019. The air we breathe may be slowly killing us. In 2016," Gary Fuller writes in 'The Invisible Killer: The Rising Global Threat of Air Pollution — and How We Can Fight Back,': "95% of humanity breathed air that did not meet WHO guidelines and the situation was getting worse, especially since the turn of the century."
... Changing behavior through regulation works. When indoor cigarette smoking was banned in 12 U.S. states, 10 countries and 15 cities around the world, heart attack rates dropped an average of 12 percent, and strokes and children's asthma declined. When Britain required ultraclean, low-sulfur diesel, particulate pollution in central London dropped 60 percent. The city of Dublin prohibited the sale of dirty coal for home heating, and black smoke decreased 70 percent while deaths from respiratory problems dropped 16 percent.
May 2019. One in six people in the UK who are dying of lung cancer are non-smokers, with the causes being put down to growing levels of indoor and outdoor pollution. Experts in lung cancer have revealed that a growing number of non-smokers across Britain are being diagnosed with the disease. Many of these patients are being diagnosed at an incurable stage of the disease.
Rising car fumes, secondhand smoke, and both indoor and outdoor air pollution are being blamed. Health authorities are now urging people to stop using wood-burning stoves because the of the carcinogenic properties of the soot they generate.
See also: Childhood cancers rise by a third in Scotland with air pollution driving increase
May 2019. UK homes 'toxic boxes' due to indoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution is over three times worse than outdoor air pollution, with campaigners calling UK households 'toxic boxes' due to the number of air pollution particles trapped inside ... Researchers said this is due to a combination of indoor activities such as cooking or burning wood alongside outdoor pollution.
May 2019. Researchers Now Have Even More Proof That Air Pollution Can Cause Dementia. "The evidence is so compelling, in fact, that many leading researchers now believe it's conclusive. "I have no hesitation whatsoever to say that air pollution causes dementia," says Caleb Finch, gerontologist and the leader of USC's Air Pollution and Brain Disease research network, which has completed many of these new studies. In terms of its effects on our health and welfare, "air pollution is just as bad as cigarette smoke" Finch says." See also: The Terrifying Truth About Air Pollution and Dementia
May 2019. Wigan man faces court over complaints about his log burner. A private prosecution has been brought alleging the stove at his Botesworth Close home is either prejudicial to health or a nuisance due to the smoke emitted from it. The complainant is therefore seeking an order to abate or prohibit a statutory nuisance.
May 2019. Heat pump myths. New Hampshire, USA. In 2012 we installed "mini-splits" as the main heat source in our home. We have found them to work fine when outside temperatures are well below zero. Caution: One must buy Asian-engineered units to perform well at these temperatures.
May 2019. Kids can make sceptical parents change their minds on climate change. New Scientist.
May 2019. Destruction of nature is as big a threat to humanity as climate change. New Scientist. We are destroying nature at an unprecedented rate, threatening the survival of a million species – and our own future, too. But it's not too late to save them and us, says a major new report. "The evidence is incontestable. Our destruction of biodiversity and ecosystem services has reached levels that threaten our well-being at least as much as human-induced climate change."
April 2019. Couple gets comfy with heat pump in 120-year-old Nakusp home. It has taken a modern technology – the heat pump – to ensure that life in that 120-year-old home is comfortable. Facing cold, snowy winters ... "A friend of ours has a ductless heat pump system and told us to take a look," recalls Jim. "We did and were pretty impressed ... Because the heat pump is not generating its own heat, the more efficient cold climate models can be 300-500% more efficient than resistant heaters.
April 2019. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who are exposed frequently to biomass smoke emitted by burning wood and coal have a similar risk of exacerbation — acute pulmonary symptoms worsening — as patients who smoke tobacco, a study suggests. As a result of this finding, biomass smoke should be considered a significant risk factor for COPD, researchers advise.
April 2019. Utah study: Pollution presents higher health risks for childhood cancer survivors. "There's ... an increasing amount of research showing that the thresholds we use for air pollution may not really be protecting everyone the way that they should be," added Dr. Anne Kirchhoff, researcher on the study and a pediatrics professor at the University of Utah.
April 2019. How air pollution is doing more than killing us. BBC Futures. Emerging studies show that air pollution is linked to impaired judgement, mental health problems, poorer performance in school and most worryingly perhaps, higher levels of crime ... Importantly, even moderate pollution made a difference. "We find that these large effects on crime are present at levels which are well below current regulatory standards." In other words, levels that the US Environmental Protection Agency classifies as "good" were still strongly linked with higher crime rates.
April 2019. Smoke Exposure Heightens Mortality Risk for Wildland Firefighters A five-year career with short fire seasons increased the risk of dying from lung cancer by 8 percent, and the risk of cardiovascular mortality by 16 percent. For 25-year-long careers and longer seasons, those numbers climbed past 30 percent.
April 2019. One in six people dying of lung cancer in UK are non-smokers. Scientists blame rise on car fumes, secondhand smoke and soot from wood-burning stoves.
"Growing numbers of non-smokers are being diagnosed with lung cancer, many at a stage when it is incurable, experts in the disease have revealed. They blame the rise on car fumes, secondhand smoke and indoor air pollution, and have urged people to stop using wood-burning stoves because the soot they generate increases risk.
"About 6,000 non-smoking Britons a year now die of the disease, more than lose their lives to ovarian or cervical cancer or leukaemia, according to research published on Friday in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine."
April 2019. The average person in Europe loses two years of life due to air pollution. A report, published in the European Heart Journal on March 12, estimates that the average European loses about 2 years of life because of air pollution and that it causes about 800,000 people premature deaths, or roughly 17% of the 5 million deaths in Europe annually. Many of those deaths, between 40 and 80% of the total, are due to air pollution effects that have nothing to do with the respiratory system but rather are attributable to heart disease and strokes caused by air pollutants in the bloodstream, the researchers write.
"Chronic exposure to enhanced levels of fine particle matter impairs vascular function, which can lead to myocardial infarction, arterial hypertension, stroke, and heart failure," the researchers write.
Their estimate more than doubles the World Health Organization's previous estimate of early deaths due to air pollution. "To put this into perspective, this means that air pollution causes more extra deaths a year than tobacco smoking," Thomas Münzel, a cardiologist in Mainz, Germany, and one of the authors of the study, told the Guardian. "Smoking is avoidable but air pollution is not."
April 2019. World Earth Day: Air quality and its effects on respiratory health. A newly formed partnership between Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ (ARFNZ) and NIWA aims to provide the latest air quality research to over 700,000 people living with respiratory conditions in New Zealand.
April 2019. India could meet air quality standards by cutting household fuel use. "Household fuels are the single biggest source of outdoor air pollution in India," said Kirk R. Smith, professor of global environmental health at UC Berkeley and director of the Collaborative Clean Air Policy Centre. "We looked at what would happen if they only cleaned up households, and we came to this counterintuitive result that the whole country would reach national air pollution standards if they did that." ... In 2016, India instituted a national program to distribute clean burning stoves and propane to 80 million impoverished households, or about 500 million people. The rationale behind this program was to prevent illness due to cooking and heating smoke trapped within the home. However, Smith hopes the study's findings will bolster support for reducing outdoor air pollution, as well. Similar programs have been successful in China, where air pollution is now on the decline in 80 cities.
"We've realized that pollution may start in the kitchen, but it doesn't stay there—it goes outside, it goes next door, it goes down the street and it becomes part of the general outdoor air pollution," Smith said. ... And though it may come as a surprise to many Americans, air pollution from wood burning is still a problem here, too.
"Wood smoke is actually the chief cause of air pollution in the Bay Area, because we've cleaned up everything else, but we haven't done anything about fireplaces," Smith said. "And people don't even need fireplaces for heating ...
Research Paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Indian annual ambient air quality standard is achievable by completely mitigating emissions from household sources.
See also: cut in household fuel use may save 270,000 lives a year in India: IIT study "India could make a major dent in air pollution and save about 270,000 lives a year by curbing emissions from dirty household fuels such as wood, dung, coal and kerosene, according to a study led by researchers from IIT Delhi."
April 2019. Fairbanks remains on lung association's list of cities with most polluted air. Pollution in Fairbanks and North Pole spikes on cold winter days when chimneys are puffing out smoke and the air is stagnant, according to federal, state and local air quality regulators. Smoke from wood burning has been blamed as the primary culprit.
The bad air has caused environmental groups to sue the EPA in an effort to force the agency to enforce the federal Clean Air Act. "Particle pollution is made of soot or tiny particles that come from coal-fired power plants, diesel emissions, wildfires and wood-burning devices," said Marge Stoneking, executive director for the American Lung Association in Alaska. "These particles are so small that they can lodge deep in the lungs and trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, and can even be lethal."
April 2019. Wood stove article missing key elements. "The installation of a new-EPA certified stove is no guarantee for less smoke."
April 2019. Researchers at USU present study on woodburning practices in Cache Valley ... most of the interviewees reported using woodburning stoves as secondary rather than primary sources of heat. "We found that most of the people interviewed use woodburning stoves because it was there when they acquired the home," Wright said.
March 2019. BBC: The One Show: Emissions Mission. One minute extract of Joe Crowley explaining what people can do to make our air cleaner. The BBC presenters were extremely surprised to learn that one really efficient wood burning stove can release the same particulate as 18 new diesel cars. Would fewer people die from air pollution if more people were aware of this fact?
March 2019. The Conversation. Blame wood-burning stoves for winter air pollution and health threats. "research shows that in rural British Columbia the main source of winter air pollution is residential wood burning, and that it is mostly being ignored and rarely monitored by government ... Lack of government action to deal with this problem encourages people to ignore this evidence and to underestimate the risk. Burning wood deprives people of the right to breathe clean air in their own homes.Lack of government action to deal with this problem encourages people to ignore this evidence and to underestimate the risk. Burning wood deprives people of the right to breathe clean air in their own homes."
March 2019. Deadly air in our cities: the invisible killer. Air pollution is putting our children at risk. We meet campaigners – many of them concerned mothers – fighting back
In the winter you can taste and smell the pollution," says Kylie ap Garth, drinking coffee in a cafe in Hackney, east London. "My eldest is eight and he has asthma. Being outside, he would have a tight chest and cough. I just assumed it was the cold weather. I didn't realise there was a link to the cars."
When I speak to Quayle on the phone, she is pushing her toddler in a buggy near the South Circular road, south London. "If you walk around here in the evenings it's like walking through a bonfire," she says. "A friend of mine has a [pollution] monitor in their house. They have a stove that they rarely use, so they lit it for an experiment … the monitor went mental, and it wasn't even in the same room … But people get defensive, like 'how dare you say I can't have a wood-burning stove?'"
March 2019. Treehugger. Where does particulate pollution come from and what can I do about it? (Besides wearing a mask all the time) "In Ontario, Canada, the single biggest source (of particulate pollution) is residential heating at 39 percent, with transportation in second place at 19 percent. In Alaska. 73 percent comes from burning wood.
"We have discussed this a number of times on TreeHugger, but as the dangers of PM2.5 become more clear, it is becoming also clear that as charming and beautiful as fireplaces and wood stoves are, we should not be burning wood at all."
March 2019. Utah lawmakers endorse wood-burning stove conversions SALT LAKE CITY — A $14 million effort to help rid the Wasatch Front of wood smoke cleared a Senate committee on Monday and now goes to the full Senate.
HB357 by Rep. Timothy Hawkes, R-Centerville, is designed to reduce wood smoke pollution along the Wasatch Front in the areas where wintertime inversions drive unhealthy air quality that violate federal clean air standards.
Todd Bingham, who chairs the Utah Air Quality Policy Board, said Hawkes' bill was the No. 1 priority and is on Utah Gov. Gary Herbert's $100 million wish list for air pollution strategies. Hawkes says wood smoke is about 15 percent of the pollution problem during the winter.
Eligibiity for the funding would be determined based on income, how dependent a household is for wood burning as a source of heat and residency in nonattainment areas. Bryce Bird, director of the Utah Division of Air Quality, said any time the division has offered financial incentives for conversions to natural gas, the money is quickly used up. The last time, as an example, the application window closed in as little as five hours.
Rep. Timothy Hawkes, R-Centerville, successfully got HB357 to pass on a 53-17 vote. That bill provides one-time money of $14 million to assist households that want to convert wood-burning stoves to gas appliances. The money will be distributed based on income.
March 2019. OPINION: We accept product failure in our health system that we wouldn't consider in cars or food.
February 2019. Opinion: wood-burning-stoves-are-deadly-not-trendy. If wood stoves were a new invention, they'd be banned.
So why are PM2.5 particles so bad for us? They are one 30th the size of a human hair. Small enough to get from our lungs into our bodies. Hannelore Bové (University of Hasselt) has found PM2.5 particles in the cells of most organs of the human body, including brains.
Young vulnerable children's lungs, once damaged, stay damaged. Medical studies are linking PM2.5 to Alzheimer's, diabetes and heart disease as well as chronic breathing conditions like COPD. Wood smoke (PM2.5 soot) contains carcinogens also found in cigarette smoke. In the 'smokeless' fumes of a modern 'eco-friendly' wood burner, Kåre Press-Kristensen (Danish Ecological Council) found 500,000 microscopic particles per cm3. The same equipment found fewer than 1000 particles per cm3 in modern trucks' exhaust fumes.
February 2019. No one should have to breathe neighbors' wood smoke "Wood smoke is particularly harmful to those living with lung diseases like asthma, lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular diseases as well.
"Wood smoke particles are so small, they can penetrate the airway defenses and enter directly into the lung and blood stream and can cause damage from inflammation in many parts of the body. This can, for example, worsen lung disease or cause heart attacks. It's also associated with adverse birth outcomes and a wide variety of neurological disorders. Wood smoke produces toxic gases, including known carcinogens.
"Pollution from wood smoke is the single largest source of air pollution in the Bay Area in the winter. There are an estimated 589,000 residents in the Bay Area region who suffer from asthma, including 111,000 children. There are many thousands more who suffer from COPD, heart disease, lung cancer and other chronic conditions that are harmed by wood smoke. Even one fireplace or wood-burning stove can generate significant levels of air pollution, greatly affecting neighbors and their ability to enjoy their home. Many people who burn wood don't realize how much smoke they are generating and polluting the air in the neighborhood.
"As with any pollution, children are especially at risk, in part because their lungs do not fully form until the age of 18 and because they are often more active outdoors. Breathing high levels of wood smoke may contribute to their reduced lung function and risk of future lung disease. For children with asthma, breathing wood smoke can lead to serious asthma attacks and breathing emergencies.
"The American Lung Association in California supports controls on wood burning to reduce health impacts in local communities and has worked for decades to educate the public on the harmful effects."
February 2019. Lawmakers consider bills to help Utahns replace their old polluting cars, wood stoves & snowblowers. Hawkes' wood-stove proposal is expected to block 1,000 tons of pollution from entering the atmosphere. Though wood-burning is not nearly as widespread as driving, the bill is expected to have a strong "return on investment" because wood stoves are often operated as inversions build and their smoke is thick with lung-inflaming particulates, according to the governor's Air Quality Policy Advisory Board.
HB357 would cover 70 percent of residents' cost to replace their wood-burning device or fireplace with a heating appliance powered by natural gas, propane or electricity. It lays out three criteria for prioritizing eligibility for the program.
"There is preference for people who are 250 percent or less than the federal poverty level, and they live in a house where wood is the sole or supplemental source of heat," Hawkes explained. Participants must live within six miles of the Great Salt Lake Meridian, the line running the length of the Salt Lake Valley along Main Street.
Charter school flies air quality flag to protect health.
Sherri Morgan, Long Valley's executive director, said, "Our school and student leaders are looking forward to serving our community in such an important and meaningful way. We did not realize the extent of local pollution due to wood burning and want to help spread that knowledge." The school has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Flag Program to help protect people's health. This program is a partnership between the school and the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District.
By comparing the colored flags to the AQI, everyone who sees the flags will know what actions to take to protect their health. Green signals good air quality, yellow is moderate, orange means unhealthy for sensitive groups (like children and people with asthma), and red signals unhealthy air for everyone. A purple flag means the air quality is very unhealthy and sensitive groups should avoid all outdoor exertion while everyone else should limit outdoor exertion.
Air pollution could damage DNA for generations, Utah physicians report.
Beyond the previously-known effects like lung, heart, blood vessel, and cognitive problems, the group of doctors and medical professionals found that air pollution may have major impacts on DNA, fetal development and pregnancy. "We think that's a very strong, powerful and moral story that needs to be told," Moench told KSL.com. "Not only are we harming ourselves with the air pollution we accept, but we are also doing damage to future generations."
February 2019. Smoke from wildfire is like a 'chemical soup,' says fire researcher.
"The more we are finding out about smoke and health, the more we are finding out it is bad for us, which isn't a surprise but its worse than we thought."
This is very true and applies to both wildfire smoke and smoke from domestic heaters. Although wildfire smoke does cause health problems, it pales into insignificance compared to the amount of toxic pollution from wood stoves that gets into the lungs of Canadians living in Courtenay or Duncan. For more information, see average PM2.5 concentrations by month in these locations compared to Toronto and Vancouver.
February 2019. Guardian Pollutionwatch: carmakers must come clean on diesel pollution. "If your car seatbelt was designed to work in a test, but not an accident, it would be a major moral failure by the manufacturer and perhaps grounds for prosecution. The situation for diesel exhausts is similar. Last week, the European court of auditors found diesel cars had been designed to pass ever tighter exhaust tests, but caused much more air pollution on our roads."
This is exactly the same situation as wood stoves, except that wood stoves emit a lot more health-hazardous air pollution than diesel cars.
February 2019. Italian Researchers Use Drones To Pinpoint Air Polluters. Researchers are sending remote-controlled aircraft into residential neighborhoods to figure out just who's burning what in their stoves or fireplaces. In Italy, on average, only 25% of air pollution comes from moving vehicles. Another 25% is the result of industrial settlements. But the biggest share— the remaining 50% — is directly attributable to domestic heating. The system will allow administrators, data in hand, to intervene at the sources and take measures to facilitate the transition to less polluting forms of domestic heating.
January 2019. Fired up over wood stoves. Nara Brenchley, executive director of the Sunshine Coast Clean Air
Society, described wood smoke as "a health and environmental hazard." While conceding "there are ways to reduce the emissions," Ms. Brenchley points out that in light of new research, "the messaging has changed."
Wood smoke, she writes, increases the risk of heart attacks and dementia, and "children in wood burning neighbourhoods are more likely to develop lung and breathing problems or even autism." It's "12 times more carcinogenic than an equal volume of secondhand tobacco smoke" and "10 pounds of wood, burnt in one hour, releases as many polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as 6,000 packs of cigarettes." As if that isn't bad enough, burning wood releases more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels for an equal amount of heat while "black carbon, a component of soot, is the second largest contributor to climate change."
Nara Brenchley, Executive Director, Sunshine Coast Clean Air Society calls on the government to provide subsides for lower-income families and pensioners who heat with electricity: "Our submission (to the British Columbia Government) recommends that ...billing hydro (electricity) should encourage electric home heating and subsidies granted to lower-income families and pensioners who heat with electricity over other forms."
January 2019. Cost of Wood Heating - a nine-minute film featuring Dr. Charmaine Enns, the Medical Health Officer for North Vancouver Island and a number of local residents who are affected by wood smoke. Dr. Enns notes that when there are spikes in fine particulates, which come from wood smoke in the Comox Valley, there are "associated spikes in hospital presentations especially for heart disease or underlying lung disease."
January 2019. Wood burners and open fires face restrictions in new clean air plan. "NHS England says that almost 30% of preventable deaths in England are due to non-communicable diseases specifically attributed to air pollution. A pollutant called Particulate Matter (PM) is a particular concern with the World Health Organization (WHO) identifying it as the most damaging for people ... The most important activity that contributes to particulate pollution is the burning of fuels such as wood and coal in open fires and domestic stoves."
AAQG comment. Regulators appear to recognise that wood stoves are the largest single source of PM2.5 emissions. However, this strategy will do little to solve the problem because carefully-operated new stoves have similar emissions to the ones in use today.
December 2018. Treehugger: Is burning wood for heat green? In a word, no "As we learn about the dangers of particulate pollution, it becomes obvious that we have to stop burning wood."
December 2018. Lung Association of British Columbia: The toxic truth about wood smoke "Unfortunately, natural doesn't always mean harmless. A growing number of studies are associating wood smoke with an array of illnesses like asthma, heart disease and other lung and respiratory illnesses—many of the same illnesses that are associated with smoking.
"In fact, wood smoke has similarities to cigarette smoke. It contains over 200 chemicals and compounds, including carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
"Burning impact on health. Aside from being so similar to cigarette smoke, wood smoke is especially unhealthy due to the size of the particles contained within. ..."
December 2018. Bay Area residents rethinking wood-burning fireplaces for the holidays Mary Prunicki is an expert in how air pollution impacts our immune system. She's an instructor at Stanford's Sean Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research. She says "the smaller particulate matter PM 2.5 or smaller will go into your lungs and then it will cross into your bloodstream so it can cause inflammation in several organs of your body."
December 2018. There are alternatives to burning wood for heat. "I understand choosing an alternative heat source. For years we happily stoked our efficient wood-burner, until one winter evening, walking back from the corner store, I noticed just how many houses were affected by a belting chimney. Approaching my own house and smelling smoke, I looked around for the offending stack. You guessed it. It was ours. I realized then that well-meaning people don't know until they get outside their cozy home that they are causing inadvertent harm to their neighbors. Cleaner heat sources include electric area heaters, forced air heating systems, and, yes, sweaters."
December 2018. Wood burning banned in metro Phoenix through Tuesday The pollution that obscures portions of metro Phoenix's skyline during the holiday season has prompted environmental regulators to bar people from using wood-burning fireplaces and fire pits through to Christmas day. No-burn days have been called on Saturday through Tuesday because air pollution levels are expected to either approach or exceed federal health standards. Violators run the risk of being ticketed. Gas and electric heaters are allowed. As many as 10 inspectors will respond to complaints of wood burning. First-time violators will get warnings, while homeowners who are repeat offenders can face fines up to $250 per violation.
December 2018. Toxic air 'sparking depression in young Londoners' - 32% of teens who lived in areas with high levels of PM2.5 particulates experienced depression by age 18, compared to 14% cent living in parts with cleaner air.
December 2018. Air pollution in Mexico City is associated with the development of Alzheimer disease. Evidence found by testing the cerebrospinal fluid of living people.
December 2018. Comox Valley Wood stove exchange program. Applies to all wood stoves manufactured befor 2014. $250 to replace with another wood stove, $600 for a gas or pellet stove, $1000 if replacing with a heat pump.
December 2018. School student shows air quality is worse in south Fresno. "I'm letting my community know about the air quality they live in and the long-term health effects of living in bad air," he said recently while configuring an air monitor on the campus of Phoenix Secondary Academy in southeast Fresno. The air district's real-time system monitors air pollution at three locations in Fresno — but two of them only measure ozone (and not PM2.5 the most health-hazardous air pollutant).
December 2018. TRU Professor Speaks Out Against Wood Burning Stoves "Right now, we know air pollution is nine times deadlier than car crashes on the road," he said. "About 21,000 people die every year from air pollution." "So I really think we need to move forward. What we have got right now is now a smog of complacency in City Hall."
December 2018. UK children face winter health crisis due to pollution. "Winter often sees spikes in acute air pollution as the cold weather results in both an increase in emissions from the heating of homes and offices, including the burning of wood or coal, and reduced dispersion in cold, still conditions."
This, combined with freezing temperatures which weaken those with existing respiratory trouble, leaves thousands vulnerable to acute health problems."Admissions for people with respiratory conditions almost double during the winter – and the majority of those admitted are young children"
December 2018. Plateau will prohibit new businesses from burning wood to cook food As the city of Montreal considers how it will get existing bagel bakeries, pizzerias and others to stop burning wood, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough has announced it will prohibit any new businesses that use wood or charcoal to cook food from opening in the borough. Following a similar move by Ahuntsic-Cartierville in September, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough council passed a notice of motion on the issue at a council meeting Monday evening. "Fine particles emitted from the chimneys of these establishments pose a significant health risk to the people who live nearby. These microscopic particles become encrusted in the lungs of the adults and children who breathe them in, and then enter the bloodstream. Over the long term, exposure to these microscopic particles has been recognized as one of the causes of certain cancers and serious cardio-respiratory diseases."
See also: Ahuntsic-Cartiervielle bans wood-burning ovens in restaurants New restaurants in Ahuntsic-Cartierville will not be allowed to have wood-burning ovens, as the city keeps up its fight to reduce air pollution ... the city has already banned wood-burning stoves and fireplaces in homes – it's looking to extend the ban to commercial establishments next.
November 2018. Medical Net News: Air Pollution damages brains, as well as hearts and lungs.
November 2018. Lung disease in middle age linked to dementia later in life. Using data from the ARIC study, conducted in 4 US communities, researchers found that, for those with restrictive lung disease, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and sarcoidosis, the risk of dementia or mild cognitive impairment appeared to be 58 percent higher than for those without lung disease, and 33 percent higher among those with obstructive lung disease.
See also: A new study reports those who experience lung disease and problems with lung function during middle age are at an increased risk of developing dementia later in life.
November 2018. Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy or early life linked to autism diagnosis."Most of the 10 previous studies examining air pollution and autism, including one published earlier this year using data from Israel, show links between air pollution and autism. Although no one study is definitive, the accumulation of research suggests that the link is real and that more needs to be done to reduce emissions, said Amy Kalkbrenner, an associate professor and environmental epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, who was not involved in either study.
November 2018. If choking cities are to clean up their act, air pollution will need to become as socially unacceptable as smoking indoors. Air pollution expert Dr Gary Fuller writes: "Even the stoves that meet the newest European Ecodesign standards can still emit the same particle pollution as six modern lorries. Clearly it would not be acceptable to drive six lorries in your street all evening; neighbours would be rightly up in arms."
November 2018. Montreal gets double-whammy smog warning & special weather alert. "Wood heating in winter is the main source of the particles, "more than industrial activities and transportation," the federal meteorological agency says." All wood stoves must be registered and no wood burning is permitted during a smog alert.
November 2018. Poor air quality from the burning of wood, coal and peat for home heating is responsible for more than 1,100 premature deaths in Ireland.
The report revealed that air quality in Ireland is consistently above the WHO Air Quality Guideline value for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). This is the pollutant that the European Environment Agency has said has the greatest negative impact on the health of the Irish population - leading to 1,100 of a total 1,150 premature deaths in 2015.
The predominant source of these fine particulates arises from the use of solid fuels such as wood, coal and peat for home heating.
November 2018. UK Wood-burning stoves could be damaging your health - even if you don't have one. Far from the efficient and green image that most people have of wood-burning stoves, the cosy heaters are choking the British atmosphere and releasing invisible fumes into our homes. That's the argument of scientist Dr Gary Fuller, writing in the Mail on Sunday ahead of the publication of his new book 'The Invisible Killer: The Rising Global Threat of Air Pollution - And How We Can Fight Back'. Dr Fuller says that just one of the latest 'eco-friendly' wood-burning stoves, meeting all European tests, can produce about six times more particle pollution that a modern diesel lorry, or 18 times more than a modern diesel car.
WOOD-burning stoves are putting "lives at risk" and pose a real danger to the environment, scientists have warned. Researchers say they give off six times as much pollution as a diesel truck and could be making you ill. ... Mr Fuller's book The Invisible Killer: The Rising Global Threat Of Air Pollution – And How We Can Fight Back is released at the end of this month. In it he said the latest research suggested the effects of wood smoke were even worse than feared. He wrote: "It does not dissipate harmlessly. On the contrary, scientists have discovered that wood smoke changes over time as the gases and particles in the smoke react and then make yet more pollution particles. "However warm, cosy and no-doubt stylish they make us feel, we have to question the place of wood fires in towns and cities.
'LIVES ARE AT RISK' Wood-burning stoves give off SIX times as much cancer-causing pollution as diesel trucks and they could be making you ill. Dr Gary Fuller, a leading pollution scientist, has said action must take place 'urgently' ... "Wood-burning was producing 2.6 times more dangerous polluting particles than traffic exhaust."
It has been calculated that particle pollution caused 29,500 premature deaths in Britain in 2010 and that a short period of high air pollution in March and April 2014 caused about 1,650 additional deaths.
November 2018. Air Quality Life Index. An increase of 10 ug/m3 in PM2.5 exposure reduces life expectancy by 0.98 years. Download the AQLI report by Michael Greenstone and Claire Qing Fan, Chicago University.
November 2018. Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties: $1,500 to replace a wood stove with non-polluting heating (with up to $2,000 more for low-income families).
November 2018. Tasmanian research reveals new links between air quality and diabetes. "Using ambulance data instead of hospital data also proved very insightful. In Tasmania we know our population is at a higher risk, because we have a higher risk of most chronic diseases and an older generation. In summer we have some of the best air on the planet, but come winter we have some of the worst – largely due to wood fires." See also: Links between air pollution and diabetes found and Health impacts of air pollution go well beyond our airways.
Earlier this year, the Menzies Institute for Medical Research reported increases in hospital admissions for heart failure once daily average PM2.5 exceeded 4 ug/m3, a tiny fraction of the current Australian standard of 25 ug/m3. Much stricter standards are required to protect public health.
November 2018. Guardian: Air pollution: everything you should know about a public health emergency "The most damaging but best understood are tiny particles. These not only damage the lungs, but enter the bloodstream. They are increasingly thought to enter vital organs, including the brain and have been shown the reach the liver, spleen, kidneys and testes in lab animals.
"The research on babies and children is particularly worrying. A large recent study found toxic air significantly increases the risk of low birth weight, leading to lifelong damage to health. The doctors involved called this finding alone "something approaching a public health catastrophe". Millions of premature births may be linked to air pollution; another study makes the connection to birth defects and another to cot deaths. The first direct evidence of pollution particles in mothers' placentas has also been revealed. "It is a worrying problem – there is a massive association between air pollution a mother breathes in and the effect it has on the foetus," said the lead researcher.As children grow, asthma and stunted lung growth is a serious issue linked to air pollution, as is the ability to learn in school and the risk of teenage delinquency."
Pollution and the brain A major study published in August 2018 shockingly found that air pollution causes a "huge" reduction in intelligence. For the worst affected category, older men, the damage is equivalent to having spent a few less years in education, possibly due to inflammation of the brain. The average damage across men and women of all ages was one lost year of learning.
Recent research has also linked air pollution to mental illness, particularly the risk of suicide.
A recent study in Hong Kong found spikes in toxic air correlated with "extremely high mortality" in people with mental disorders. In Belgium, another study found the same link to suicide, even when pollution was below legal limits. Similar results have been found in Salt Lake City, Utah, South Korea and, in people under 30, in Tokyo.
Dementia – a general term for thinking or memory problems – is also linked to poor air quality. Research in London found people over-50 in areas with the highest nitrogen dioxide pollution had a 40% greater risk of developing dementia. US research saw a similar effect for particle pollution.
A burning issue. One of the biggest surprises air pollution researchers have encountered in the last decade is the huge impact of wood-burners on the air of western cities. "It has completely crept under the radar," says Gary Fuller, at King's College London.
As many as 1.5m stoves have been sold in the UK alone. The impact has been huge: 40% of particles in British cities are from wood burning, more than double than that from vehicles. In Dublin, wood and peat burning can cause 70% of particles.
The same rise has been seen in France, Germany and Belgium, while Australia, and parts of the US and Canada have had similar problems. In New Zealand, where 13,000 tonnes of wood could be burned on a winter's day, wood burners spew out up to 90% of particle pollution.
Even worse, in many European cities, including those in Italy, Hungary, Germany and Finland, people are burning old waste wood, often covered in lead paint, putting that toxic metal into the urban air.
Government action is starting to bite. Montreal banned all but the most modern and least polluting stoves in 2018. A community-wide scrappage scheme for old, smoky burners has taken place in Crested Butte, Colorado. The UK is focusing on ensuring wood is properly dried.
November 2018. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, writes in the Guardian: Air pollution is the new tobacco. Time to tackle this epidemic. "Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy can damage a developing baby's vital organs including the brain, heart and lungs and lead to a range of conditions including asthma, heart disease and cancers. Air pollution also negatively affects brain development during childhood, lowering children's chances of success in school and employment possibilities later in life.
"The WHO's latest estimates show that air pollution is responsible for one-quarter to one-third of deaths from heart attack, stroke, lung cancer and chronic respiratory disease."
November 2018. The Comox Valley has a dirty little secret, and we've only recently begun to acknowledge it. The prevalence of wood stoves has made our air quality one of the worst in British Columbia. No wood stove would pass a basic vehicle emissions test, yet the Comox Valley allows them to burn day and night, for weeks and months, with almost no regulation, polluting our air and posing serious public health risks.
"The solution is definitely not to move people to newer wood stoves, especially in more densely populated areas," she said. "A recent study from the UK showed that an eco-certified stove, operating at factory testing levels, puts out more fine particulates than 18 Modern Diesel Passenger cars."
Ellis said there are methods for Valley residents to protect themselves, including running HEPA-rated air purifiers inside, and turning off the 'fresh' air intakes in homes and vehicles during heavy smoke periods.
November 2018. Burning firewood is assault on community. I moved my family to Victoria for the promised clean air and healthy lifestyle. Instead, for six months of the year, I am unable to open my windows or enjoy a walk in my neighbourhood. None of the arguments for wanting to burn wood trumps my right to breathe clean air. Those who burn wood to save a few dollars on heating are offloading the cost of their dirty fuel onto society in the form of added health-care costs and, personally, the expense of buying and running air purifiers in every room of my house. Burning wood, with all of its known health risks, is tantamount to assault on members of the community.
November 2018. RED alert: 'No visible smoke is allowed from a chimney at a residential home' on high pollution days in Eugene, Springfield or Oakridge, Oregon. "Our number one priority is that people are safe ... be mindful that smoke can cause health issues for their neighbors."
November 2018. What would a smog-free city look like? "Even the cleanest wood-burners, such as those that meet new European Ecodesign standards, will emit as much particle pollution during a period of use as six modern lorrieswould driving for the same amount of time. So, though upgrading stoves can help, it is only by converting homes to non-solid-fuel heating systems such as gas boilers or heat pumps that real progress can be made in cleaning city air."
October 2018. World Health Organisation: Pollution in womb 'stunts development' Exposure to pollution in the womb risks harming children's intelligence and increases their chance of obesity, impaired lung function and childhood cancers, the World Health Organisation said.
A report from the WHO said that 93 per cent of all children aged under 15 were exposed to levels of fine particles above guidelines. They recommend levels of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 be kept below ten micrograms per cubic metre. The UK legal limit is 25 micrograms. The report said that air pollution had also been linked to premature birth and low birth weights and asthma.
"Air pollution is stunting our children's brains, affecting their health in more ways than we suspected," Dr Maria Neira, a WHO director, said. "We are talking about putting at risk a generation of having a reduced IQ. This is not only new but terribly shocking."
October 2018. Domestic fires can affect more than just kids' breathing. New analysis of data gathered by the University of Auckland's Growing Up in New Zealand study shows that children living in neighbourhoods where there are more wood or coal fire-heated houses may be at greater risk of skin diseases as well as respiratory diseases .... in their first four years of life, 40% of the children received respiratory medication prescriptions, 71% received skin medication prescriptions and 79% received either respiratory or skin medication prescriptions during the cooler season.This indicates a need for parents to think again about a wood or coal fire, especially if the neighbours have domestic fires too.
October 2018. When it comes to respiratory effects of wood smoke, sex matters. Wood smoke exposure resulted in higher inflammatory markers for the male subjects and lower inflammatory markers for the female subjects. The effects, which hint at milder responses to viral infection for wood smoke-exposed women compared to wood smoke-exposed men, were so consistently opposite that combining them, without regard to sex, produced misleading results.
October 2018. NZ wood-burners key pollutant, new air pollution report finds Southern towns are among the worst for air quality, with wood burners being blamed for potential health problems. A joint report from the Ministry for the Environment and Statistics NZ aimed at providing a snapshot of air quality in New Zealand. The report said burning fuels to heat homes was the biggest single human-made source of particles in the air. The problem was particularly bad during cooler months.
Particulate matter can cause human health problems ranging from shortness of breath and coughing to lung cancer, emphysema or premature death. The risk was particularly pronounced among vulnerable people like the elderly, sick or children, according to the report
October 2018. $7.5 million to replace wood stoves in Utah Rebates from $2,800 up to $3,800 have been made available if you exchange an operational wood stove or convert a fireplace to natural gas or propane. You can get $500 to exchange an uncertified wood stove for an EPA certified wood stove, or turn in the wood stove for recycling.
See also: Wood stove rebates run out in Salt Lake in less than a day "The $2.5-million grant from the EPA ran out in under a day. "Utahns just love a really good deal, and it's really convenient to switch from wood-burning to natural gas," said Mark Berger, air quality policy section manager.
October 2018. Groups plan new lawsuit over Fairbanks-area air pollution. The nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice sent a 60-day notice Wednesday that it would be suing the EPA "for failing to perform a nondiscretionary duty under the Clean Air Act," the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The planned suit is over missed deadlines for filing a new plan for reducing elevated levels of a toxic particulate that is found largely in wood smoke and is linked to a number of health problems.
October 2018. Utah Physicians group awarded $120K for education and replacing wood stoves with non-polluting alternatives. Residents in Summit County might be able to breathe a little easier thanks to a $120,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Fund.
The grant will be used by Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment for a program intended to reduce exposure to wood smoke pollution by helping low- and moderate-income residents obtain sources of heat cleaner and healthier than wood-burning stoves.
In addition, the grant will help fund an education and awareness campaign for underserved populations to address the health effects of wood smoke.
Project partners include the Summit County Health Department, Habitat for Humanity of Summit & Wasatch Counties and PurpleAir. "Wood smoke is one of the most toxic types of pollution the average person ever inhales, and a major source of overall pollution in Utah," Jonny Vasic, executive director of the physician group, said in a statement. "This is an exciting partnership that will help educate the community about the adverse health effects of wood smoke, and improve the health of numerous families and the community at large."
See Also: EPA awards $120,000 grant to replace fireplaces in Summit County Wood-burning appliances are often considered synonymous with homes in the mountains. But, health officials are hoping a new program will educate homeowners of the risk the ambiance poses to air quality and encourage them to make the switch to gas appliances.
October 2018. People burning wet wood on inefficient stoves 'poisoning themselves' A new IPPR study, Lethal but Legal, highlights 'shocking contribution' of domestic wood and coal fires to air pollution, which causes 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK.
October 2018. Montreal's wood-burning ban starts Oct. 1: What you need to know As of Oct. 1, fireplaces or wood-burning stoves that don't comply with the city's strict new emissions standards are no longer legal to use.
"After vehicle emissions, wood burning is the most significant source of fine particle pollution in Montreal, and that stuff is seriously harmful to human health. We breathe those fine particles deep into our lungs, where they can do a lot of damage. Yes, humans have gathered around fires since time immemorial, but we also used to die a lot younger. Now we know better. Since 2013, the World Health Organization has classified the fine particulate matter in wood smoke as a carcinogen. According to estimates by the Institut National de Santé Publique (INSPQ), wood smoke causes about 900 premature deaths per year on the island of Montreal, more than 6,000 cases of bronchitis in children, 40,000 asthma attacks and almost 300 emergency visits to hospitals for other respiratory and cardiac problems. In 2011, a study by the INSPQ and Montreal's public health agency estimated that neighbourhoods that heat with wood have higher rates of hospital admissions for respiratory problems than those that do not. 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. They found an increase in asthma attacks and bronchitis, as well as increased aggravation of other respiratory symptoms and premature deaths. Cities around the world are coming to the conclusion that it makes no sense to allow wood burning in densely populated areas and are taking action to restrict it. "
October 2018. Montreal's wood fireplaces get smoked out. In 2011, Montreal was ranked as the city with the second-worst air pollution in Canada ... Wood-burning is the main culprit in air pollution. The Service de l'Environnement reports that it accounts for 39 per cent of fine particle emission on an annual basis. These fine particle emissions contribute to climate change by producing black carbon, which traps heat in the atmosphere for short periods of time. More damaging than the heat, though, is the risk to respiratory health.
"Wood heating is a major source of air pollutants like carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and most importantly, of fine particles," Montreal's Service de l'Environnement wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune.
Scott Weichenthal, assistant professor in McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health, remarked that these fine particles—otherwise known as particulate matter—are extremely harmful to our well-being. "What comes out of chimneys is similar to what comes out of cigarettes," Weichenthal said.
While cigarette and wood smoke contain many of the same harmful chemicals, smoke inhaled from burning wood is a much larger-scale public health risk than second-hand cigarette smoke. If inhaled in equal amounts, the lifetime risk of cancer is 12 times greater with wood smoke than with cigarette smoke. In addition, its particulates are chemically active for much longer than that of cigarettes, meaning that they harm the body for longer.
Wood smoke particulates have widespread effects on respiratory and cardiovascular health. According to Weichenthal, they can also have neurological impacts and even result in death. Residential wood burning is the main cause of wintertime smog: A mixture of smoke and fog which is especially harmful to elderly people and children, as well as to those with heart and lung conditions. During Montreal's bitterly cold winter months, the increase in wood smoke production for heating makes the smog particularly bad.
On Oct. 1, a Montreal ban on certain wood-burning fireplaces and stoves came into effect after a three-year grace period. Originally implemented in 2015, the bylaw prohibits using solid fuel-burning appliances during smog warnings and prohibits appliances with emission rates greater than 2.5 grams of fine particles per hour. Residents who don't obey the regulations can be fined anywhere from $100 to $2,000.
October 2018. Montreal signals bagel makers that clock is ticking on wood burning. After cracking down on residential wood burning, the city of Montreal is turning its attention to bagel makers and other commercial operations that cook food over wood fires. Jean-François Parenteau, the city of Montreal's executive committee member responsible for environmental issues, says the era of the city tolerating harmful air pollution from commercial enterprises — even beloved ones like bagel factories and Portuguese grilled chicken restaurants — is coming to an end.
"I don't have a choice. It is for the welfare of citizens. And the welfare of citizens always goes before cultural issues, political issues or other. The welfare of citizens is the first goal of a politician. If he can't understand that, he should do something else."
Data collected on local air quality in Montreal neighbourhoods with bagel shops and other wood-burning businesses will feed debate on regulation. In a collaboration between Montreal's public health department and McGill University, researchers collected air samples over the past summer in a radius of up to 500 metres of commercial establishments that burn wood in the Ville-Marie and Plateau-Mont-Royal boroughs. The study is to be made public in about a month.
"Wood burning in urban areas is a public health issue," said Dr. David Kaiser, physician-manager of the environmental health team with Montreal's public health department.
If they can't meet those norms while burning wood, the city will require they convert to other heat sources, such as electricity or natural gas, by a "reasonable" deadline, said Jean-François Parenteau, city executive committee member responsible for environment. "I know that you can bake bagels with gas. I know I could do tests with citizens and nobody would be able to tell the difference between a bagel cooked over a gas fire or a wood fire. I'm certain."
"If you live next to a home or restaurant with a wood-burning fireplace, your health is screwed," Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, told Salt Lake City Magazine. "You might as well live in Beijing."... For their part, many of Montreal's iconic bagel shop owners have indicated that they're willing to make the change, saying that their bagels—which are smaller and chewier than the New York style, with a hint of wheaty sweetness, and yes, a slight whiff of smoke—will continue to be delicious. "Of course we've been cooperating," he told the Gazette. "You think I want to be known as the guy who insists on continuing to pollute? I'm not that guy."
October 2018. Guardian Pollutionwatch: Canada moves to limit wood burning. "Over the last decade Montreal has been plagued by winter smogs from home wood burning. With 38% of particle emissions coming from this source, the city had to act. This winter only fireplaces and stoves that meet the latest Canadian standards can be used and new rules will ban all wood burning during smogs."
September 2018. Guardian Pollutionwatch: wood and peat burning brings return of air pollution to Dublin "Overall, the home burning of solid fuel by just 13% of homes was responsible for 70% of the city's particle pollution."
September 2018. Using air purifiers in homes of pregnant women may improve fetal growth, B.C. study finds
Researchers recruited 500 pregnant women in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, one of the world's most polluted cities, and gave half of them high-efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA) air purifiers. The air purifiers decreased fine particulate matter in the women's homes by 29 per cent. "We found that pregnant women who used HEPA air purifiers inside their homes gave birth to babies that weighed 85 grams more on average at term than women who did not use air purifiers during pregnancy," researcher Prabjit Barn said.
Colleague Ryan Allen, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, at Canada's Simon Fraser University, notes that the study's goal was not necessarily about encouraging pregnant women to use air purifiers but to look at the health benefits of improved air quality. "It seems that what happens when air pollution improves is that you get healthier, better fetal growth," he said. "In the long-term, I would like to see wider recognition of the fact that air pollution is a threat to health and I would like to see us all… try to take it more seriously as a threat and try to address air pollution at the source."
That being said, Allen said if his wife were pregnant, he would purchase an air purifier for their home. "My wife and I actually operate air purifiers in our home right now, so I practise what I preach."
Prof. Allen's previous work demonstrated the benefits of HEPA filters in a small Canadian town (Smithers, population ~ 5,300). Woodsmoke was the main source of air pollution, with average PM2.5 pollution of 10.3 ug/m3 in winter. Markers of blood vessel health improved significantly when HEPA filters were used in the homes of the healthy adults recruited for the study.
September 2018. The mental cost of air pollution. An analysis by Arizona State University investigated the relationship between PM2.5 pollution (exposure over the previous 10 years) and dementia. The report, 'Hazed and confused' includes a graph showing the risk of dementia at age 85 by PM2.5 exposure, which increases by 26% for a 5 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 (20.6% for exposure of 5 ug/m3 to 25.9% for 10 ug/m3, see p45).
September 2018. Cooking with wood or coal is linked to increased risk of respiratory illness and death Yet another study links cooking with wood or coal to increased risk of respiratory illness & death, this time in never smokers in China, where a third of the homes uses solid fuels. Participants had no lung or other diseases when the study started.
September 2018. Greenbiz reports on the Global Climate Action Summit: super-greenhouse-pollutants, including methane and black carbon, contributing as much as 50% of current warming. "Mitigation of super pollutants is the only way to keep it below 2 degrees by 2050, while we are waiting for the CO2 measures to kick in," said Veerabhadran Ramanathan, distinguished professor of atmospheric and climate sciences at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, at the University of California, San Diego.
September 2018. Air pollution particles found in mothers' placentas. Unicef executive director Anthony Lake recently warned of the danger of air pollution to babies: "Not only do pollutants harm babies' developing lungs, they can permanently damage their developing brains – and, thus, their futures."
"It is a worrying problem – there is a massive association between air pollution a mother breathes in and the effect it has on the foetus," said Dr Lisa Miyashita, at Queen Mary University of London, one of the research team.
The new study, involving mothers living in London, UK, revealed sooty particles in the placentas of each of their babies and researchers say it is quite possible the particles entered the foetuses too.
September 2018. Every Fleming lives in danger zone for particulate matter (via Google Translate) "Of all pollutants in the air, particulate matter is the deadliest. And every Fleming lives in an environment where the concentration is unhealthy, says the annual report from the Flemish Environment Agency (VMM). Wood stoves and fireplaces may have thousands of deaths on their conscience."
September 2018.'Green' home heating fuels causing 'extreme levels of air pollution. Irish Times. The increasing use of solid fuels such as wood chippings and peat products to heat homes is causing "extreme air pollution" in Dublin, scientists at NUI Galway have found.
The fuels, which are marketed as being "green" and "climate-friendly", are causing "extraordinarily high levels of pollution" threatening human health, according NUIG's centre for climate and air pollution studies (CCAPS).
It predicts smoke caused by the fuels is set to lead to a return of smog despite the early 1990s smokey-coal ban that was put in place by Mary Harney in towns and cities.
Between November 2016 and January 2017, the daily AQG was breached on one in five days, usually in the late evening, while hourly levels were frequently 10 times higher than the 24-hour AQG threshold (25 micrograms). This limit is stricter than current regulatory levels but "is not to be regarded as safe since health problems can still occur below such thresholds", the researchers warn in their study in the journal Nature Sustainability.
Using technology that can track the tiniest particulates, the team led by Dr Jurgita Ovadnevaite found that 70 per cent of the pollution found during these periods is linked to peat and wood-burning. The dramatic rise comes despite the fact that only a small percentage of homes use peat or wood as a primary fuel – just 13 per cent of households, based on the closest census data.
Comment: Despite the aggressive marketing, wood stoves in fact speed up global warming and increase the risk of dangerous climate change.
September 2018. Victorians planning to see the light! CSIRO developing low-cost printed solar panels "The initial investment in silicon-based solar panels makes them prohibitively expensive for many homeowners and most renters.
But cheaper printed panels (that don't last as long as their silicon counterparts) would allow a short-term payoff that could be within reach for renters, according to Professor Dastoor.
September 2018. CSIRO: Could the Aussie barbeque go up in smoke? ..." barbeques aren't our dominant source of smoke pollution. In southern Australia particularly, smoke from wood heaters and fireplaces are generally the dominant source of domestic wood-smoke... an investigation into particle composition at Liverpool, Sydney, identified wood smoke as a major source of air pollution, making up about 40 per cent of PM2.5 during winter but dropping to almost zero during summer.
"You might not be able to see it but when your fire is smouldering smoke is still there. Exposure to particles and the toxic chemicals found in smoke has been associated with asthma, chronic lung disease, heart problems, cancer, and premature births and deaths."
August 2018. The Guardian view on air pollution: it's time for politicians to clean up. "Recent history shows that when well-evidenced public health measures deliver benefits in improved safety and wellbeing, people accept them with little fuss. The 11-year-old ban on smoking in public places and 35-year-old law making seatbelts compulsory are good examples ... Individual responsibility has a role to play in all this. Those of us who are able to should think about our choices to drive, walk, cycle, or use a wood-burning stove, just as we should be aware of what we eat and drink."
August 2018. Mayor wants to rid Copenhagen of polluting wood-burning stoves. "Wood-burning stoves may help to spread 'hygge', but they are also increasingly coming under scrutiny as a source of air pollution.
"As part of the new budget proposals, Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen intends to do something about this by banning new stoves and offering householders a cash incentive to scrap their old stoves and switch to district heating ... 77 premature deaths in 2014 could be directly attributed to particle emissions from wood-burning stoves."
August 2018. Forget the fires, Californians should be worried about air quality all year. Northern California's raging wildfires have blotted the skies with acrid smoke for weeks, but the air quality has still been better than a bad winter day.
August 2018. Wood-burning stoves, the picturesque polluters The Economist. "Earlier this year ministers also suggested that new stoves should face much stricter limits on emissions. Yet even the stoves that pass this new standard, labelled as eco-friendly, emit three times more particles per hour than a lorry. An article in the British Medical Journal called for a "polluter-pays" tax on new stoves, to equal the associated health costs, which it put at £889 ($1,150) per stove each year in inner London."
August 2018. Town Hall warning for wood-burning stove users. Suggestion that buyers of burner appliances do not know of air pollution harm some of them can cause. "It seems quite interesting that it will be the same people who'll be shouting and yelling about air pollution and traffic and things like that who are probably having the wood-burning stoves," she told a meeting of the council's cross-party environment scrutiny committee last Tuesday.
August 2018. American Public Health Association, EHHI, American Lung Association and many others oppose moves to delay the introduction of stricter wood stove standards. According to the most recent National Air Toxics Assessment, residential wood heating accounted for 50 percent of all "area source" air toxic cancer risks nationwide in 2011. That means that the air toxics from residential wood heating accounted for as much cancer risk as all the other smaller sources that exist often in multiple sites in a community, like gas stations and dry cleaners.
Reflecting sun's rays would cause crops to fail, scientists warn
"Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development in the US, said "There are other strategies for managing short-lived climate pollutants we should start with [including] cutting black carbon [soot, from fossil fuel burning], methane and HFC refrigerants. We need to think of climate change mitigation like a staggered race, where short-lived pollutants get a fast start and CO2 reductions eventually catch up and provide more and more cooling." If these measures were taken, it could reduce temperature rises by up to 0.6C by 2050 and by 1.2C by the end of this century."
August 2018. Armidale's air quality worse than Hong Kong and Singapore " Greens energy spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham slammed the government for sitting on its hands, particularly when it had a legal obligation to reduce air pollution.
"It is outrageous that Armidale residents are breathing highly polluted air while the government refuses a relatively inexpensive and easy fix," Mr Buckingham said.
"The Greens estimate that for as little as two million dollars you could clean up Armidale's air quality to ensure it meets the required health standards.
August 2018. Feeling tired? Smoke could have an effect on your energy level "These fine particles compounded by complex interactions between the amount of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide in air pollution can destroy red blood cells, known as erythrocytes, and can also lower the body's oxygen-carrying capacity. That means the heart, brain and the rest of the body are not getting the amount of oxygen they are used to, which in turn makes you feel sleepy."
July 2018. Nature Research Journal: Robust relationship between air quality and infant mortality in Africa "We find that a 10 μg m−3 increase in PM2.5 concentration is associated with a 9% (95% confidence interval, 4–14%) rise in infant mortality across the dataset. This effect has not declined over the last 15 years and does not diminish with higher levels of household wealth. Our estimates suggest that PM2.5 concentrations above minimum exposure levels were responsible for 22% (95% confidence interval, 9–35%) of infant deaths in our 30 study countries and led to 449,000 (95% confidence interval, 194,000–709,000) additional deaths of infants in 2015, an estimate that is more than three times higher than existing estimates that attribute death of infants to poor air quality for these countries"
July 2018. 'Like having a smoker in the house': Why wood heaters in winter are bad for us 'It is estimated that the burden on Victoria's health system due to pollution from wood heaters is $8 billion over 10 years."
"The neighbours can't see why it's a problem at all, they don't see why it's an issue," she says. One incident that did seem to improve things, she says, was the sight of her then nine-year-old daughter being taken away in ambulance in the middle of the night after a suspected asthma attack. However the change in behaviour didn't last long. See also: Sunday Sunrise, 8 July 2018.
July 2018. Australia's Clean Air Myth Just two weeks ago the air quality index (AQI) in Melbourne was stuck at around 100 for days due to small particulates from wood burning - you can see the view from near where I live in the photo below. Newspaper headlines, however, made it seem like weather was causing the pollution, instead of, well, the pollution itself ... Air pollution is impacting upon health and productivity across Australia, and we need rigorous and enforceable legislation to deal with it. But I don't see this happening until the media and our governments stop pushing the myth that our air is already clean.
July 2018. Get up to $4,000 to replace your old wood burning fireplace The SLO (San Luis Obispo) County Air Pollution Control District, California has funding available to help residents clean up their wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. "Fine particles from wood smoke can cause breathing problems for many residents, especially those with pre-existing conditions such as asthma or other lung and heart diseases, while long-term exposure has been linked to reduced lung function and growth in children, as well as lung cancer.
"Help protect our blue skies and the health of yourself, your family and your neighbors by replacing that old wood-burning device with a cleaner-burning natural gas or propane device and receive up to $4,000!
• $4,000 for eligible low-income applicants that go from a wood burning fireplace to a gas insert; or,
• $2,000 for standard incentive applicants that go from a wood burning fireplace to a gas insert."
July 2018. Clean Air Human Rights Bill read in House of Lords "A Bill to establish the right to breathe clean air; to require the Secretary of State to achieve and maintain clean air in England and Wales; to involve Public Health England in setting and reviewing pollutants and their limits; to enhance the powers, duties and functions of the Environment Agency, the Committee on Climate Change, local authorities (including port authorities), the Civil Aviation Authority, Highways England, Historic England and Natural England in relation to air pollution; to establish a Citizens' Commission for Clean Air with powers to institute or intervene in legal proceedings; to require the Secretary of State and the relevant national authorities to apply environmental principles in carrying out their duties under this Act and the clean air enactments; and for connected purposes."
July 2018. Scottish study links air pollution spikes to hospital admissions Air pollution has been 'clearly linked' to spikes in breathing problem-related admissions to hospitals and visits to GPs, researchers in Scotland have claimed. Researchers at the University of Dundee studied nearly 15 years of data for air pollution levels in Dundee, Perth and the surrounding area and matched it to medical records of 450 patients who suffer from bronchiectasis, a long-term chronic condition similar to COPD. Commenting on the findings, Professor James Chalmers, GSK/British Lung Foundation Professor of Respiratory Research in the School of Medicine at Dundee, said the study demonstrated a clear correlation between air pollution and visits to the health services. The study was funded by the British Lung Foundation and is published in the European Respiratory Journal.
June 2018. Asthmatics warned about poor air quality from fog & lack of wind in Melbourne. A lack of wind and heavy fog in Melbourne has led emissions from wood heaters and other pollution sources to linger in the air, with authorities to advise those with asthma to take extra caution.
The state's environmental authority has warned that elevated levels of PM2.5 particles - tiny pollution particles 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair generally found in wood smoke - have reduced the air quality in the city.
"[It] may be unhealthy for sensitive groups... including people over 65, children 14 years and younger, pregnant women and those with existing heart or lung conditions," the Environmental Protection Agency said.
"These people should reduce prolonged or heavy physical activity and, where possible, limit the time spent outdoors."
University of Melbourne professor and expert in air quality control Peter Rayner said the PM2.5 particles are a completely different to those which were detected during the thunderstorm asthma tragedy.
"Those were really small pollen particles, from a different source, and they were in crazy high concentration. Those numbers were off the scale."
He said PM2.5 particles usually come from wood smoke and can be worrying due to their size. "They can get very deep into your lungs."
Professor Rayner said the poor air quality warning should raise questions about the use of wood heaters in concentrated urban areas.
"Probably the biggest acute source for these things locally is people using wood heaters. In lots of cities of people around the world can't turn them on in these conditions. It's enough to ask the question, is wood heating in big cities really a good way of keeping warm in these conditions?" he said.
Also: ABC News: Melbourne's 'fog' is actually particulate pollution and Any exposure of particulate matter air pollution harmful, researchers warn
June 2018. Air pollution increases risk of type 2 diabetes. Around one in seven cases of the disease were directly caused by air pollution around the world in 2016 - about 3.2 million cases in total. Rsearchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, looked at data from 1.7 million US veterans who were followed for eight and a half years. They found the risk of developing type 2 diabetes went up 10 per cent for every 10 microgram per cubic metre increase in fine particulate matter in the air. The link was considered to be 'significant' even for low levels of air pollution which are considered to be safe. See also: Air pollution contributes significantly to diabetes globally. Even low pollution levels can pose health risk. Town promises to do more to tackle air pollution, now linked to diabetes.
June 2018. Wood-fire stoves can cause dementia. "We have seen that people who live in areas where wood-fire stoves are common run a greater risk of being affected, and that also goes for people who live next to someone who uses wood-fire stoves," said Anna Oudin, a researcher in occupational and environmental medicine at Umea University's department of public health and clinical medicine. "The risk for residents living in areas with the highest rate of smoke from wood fires to be hit by dementia, or dementia-related diseases, was 30% higher compared to other residents in the town of Umea. "In households that had their own wood-fire stoves the risk was 70% higher."
Journal paper: Association between air pollution from residential wood burning and dementia incidence in a longitudinal study in Northern Sweden.
June 2018. New Scientist. We really must stop burning wood. Air pollution expert Gary Fuller, King's College London, says: "Having a neighbour with a wood burner is like having 8 trucks sitting in your street with the engines idling all night....Oh, if you think that burning wood is at least better for the climate, you are wrong. In most cases, sticking with gas central heating and properly insulating your home is less harmful in global warming terms than switching to a wood burner"
Australians are waking up to the fact that modern efficient heater-air-conditioners that deliver 5 times as much heat to the home as it uses in electric power (and can run on 100% green power) are a lot more affordable and have lower running costs than gas or buying firewood.
June 2018. Campfire Evolution: propane is safer, easier, cheaper and healthier than wood Campers need not despair. Propane fire pits with lava rocks are not only safer to use, but healthier on the lungs, and far less expensive than the little bundles of firewood sold in campgrounds. Fire pits connect to standard 20-pound propane tanks and are widely allowed at campgrounds, even during campfire bans. They can be so safe that you can put your hand underneath them, even when lit, without burning yourself, thereby reducing the risk of igniting dry grasses or wood debris underneath.
May 2018. Sydney smoke: Why the city is blanketed, and whether it's dangerous the air has been so bad that NSW Ambulance paramedics said they had responded to a huge increase in cases involving asthma and breathing difficulties.
By 2.30pm paramedics were called to 53 cases in 47 suburbs across Sydney — a 75 per cent increase on the same time last week, when paramedics responded to 30 cases involving asthma or breathing problems.
Almost a third of the cases related to young children, NSW Ambulance said. "Paediatric cases don't normally make up one third of our workload on a daily basis," Inspector Giles Buchannan said - see Sydney's air quality worse than Beijing
Wood smoke is the largest source of the fine particles that penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
Data from the Centre for Air pollution, energy and health Research (CAR) shows hazard reduction burns and bushfires were linked to almost 200 premature deaths and more than 1,200 hospitalisations in Sydney over a 12-year period.
Long-term exposure to PM2.5 particles — those smaller than 2.5 micrometres — also causes 520 premature deaths each year in Sydney, according to the NSW Environment Protection Authority.
CAR has recommended health risks be factored into managing fires and has called for better collaboration between health, environment and fire authorities.
Asthma Australia senior manager Anthony Flynn said fire protection measures must balance with health requirements. "Air quality is one area where people don't have a choice," Mr Flynn said. "So, those responsible for creating poor air need to assume the cost and consequences of their actions and invest in whatever they can to help asthma sufferers stay out of trouble. "As a community it's important to stop bushfires, but it's also important to reduce the hazard for people with asthma and breathing difficulties."
May 2018. ACCC chair says electricity price spike due to network charges, not carbon tax or renewables. The timing of the carbon tax was "unfortunate" because it coincided with soaring electricity network costs that have underpinned increases to household bills. If voters had known this years ago, we might have been able to constrain the gold plating of the grid and now be enjoying more affordable renewable power.
May 2018. Burning issue: Are wood-burning stoves going to get the chop? Millions of households with open fires and wood-burning stoves could face curbs on their use after the government unveiled plans to clean up the UK's air quality ... It's a brave person who spends thousands on a wood-burning stove in London.
See also: Consultation proposes reducing pollutants, including particulates from wood burners and ammonia from farms – but does little to tackle diesel emissions.
Biomass: another renewables plan that's gone up in smoke. "Everyone knew — or ought to have known — about diesel, too. I mean, the fact that the process of burning diesel generates about 20 times more lung-infesting sooty particulates than does the burning of petrol. Indeed, the threat to health from exposure to diesel exhaust had been known from at least the 1950s. But in 2001 the then chancellor, Gordon Brown, promulgated a system of incentivising the use of diesel via vehicle tax, as part of the CO2 emission reduction campaign (diesel cars are more fuel-efficient than petrol ones. The result of the tax incentives was that the proportion of cars on our roads using diesel nearly trebled in a decade) ... The government will conduct a cross-departmental review into the role of biomass in future policy for low carbon energy and heat, focusing on the air quality impacts. But why ever has it taken so long?"
Most-polluting wood burners could be banned in an effort to improve air quality. The government is planning to bring in tougher regulations on household wood burners and fires in a bit to cut UK air pollution. New legislation will mean that only cleaner fuels and stoves will be sold for domestic heating, under the proposals being put out for consultation.
Councils will also be given new powers to bring in "clean air zones" by limiting what people can burn or bringing in "no-burn days". The clean air strategy is intended to cut the cost of air pollution to society by £1bn a year by 2020, and by £2.5bn a year by 2030. It also aims to halve the number of people living in areas where tiny particles known PM2.5 are above safe levels set by the World Health Organisation.
These tiny particles can be breathed into the lungs and get into the bloodstream, causing health problems including heart disease, strokes and lung cancer. Officials say almost two-fifths of PM2.5 comes from domestic wood burners and open fires, which just 7.5 per cent of homes have.
May 2018. BMJ Open: daily woodsmoke exposure greater than 4 ug/m3 increases the risk of heart failure. In Tasmania's two major cites of Hobart and Launceston, air pollution is mainly associated with wood-burning for winter heating.
Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of hospitalisation and rehospitalisation for adults aged over 65 years. In multivariable analyses of air pollution and heart failure in Hobart and Launceston, PM2.5 significantly predicted HF incidence (RR=1.12 (1.01–1.24)). Stratified analyses showed that PM2.5 was associated with readmissions among patients not taking beta-blockers but not among those taking beta-blockers (pinteraction=0.011).
Conclusions PM2.5 predicted HF incidence, independent of other environmental factors. A possible threshold of PM2.5=4 µg/m3 is far below the daily Australian national standard of 25 µg/m3.
In Israel, a study published in 2013 found that a 10 μg/m3 increase in long-term PM2.5 exposure was associated with a 50% increase in multiple recurrences of cardiovascular events (MI, heart failure and stroke).
May 2018. Skin responsible for greater exposure to carcinogens in barbecue smoke than lungs. Researchers divided volunteers into groups at an outdoor barbecue to provide them with varying degrees of exposure to the food and the smoke. After analyzing urine samples from the volunteers, the researchers concluded that, as expected, diet accounted for the largest amount of PAH exposure. However, the skin was the second-highest exposure route, followed by inhalation. They say oils in barbecue fumes likely enhance skin uptake of PAHs. The team also found that while clothes may reduce skin exposure to PAHs over the short term, once clothing is saturated with barbecue smoke, the skin can take in considerable amounts of PAHs from them. They suggest washing clothes soon after leaving a grilling area to reduce exposure.
May 2018. Air pollution worse inside London classrooms than outside. Children in London schools are being exposed to higher levels of damaging air pollution inside the classroom than outside, putting them at risk of lifelong health problems, a new study has revealed. Young children – who are more vulnerable to airborne pollutants than adults – are breathing in fine particle pollution (PM10 and the even smaller PM2.5) at levels which are higher than the annual World Health Organisation guidelines of 10μg/m3 and 20μg/m3 respectively
May 2018. Turnbull government 'knew for years' about network rorts. Lily D'Ambrosio, Victoria's energy, environment and climate change minister, said: "The Commonwealth has known for years that consumers were being ripped off by power companies but they did nothing about it," Ms D'Ambrosio told Fairfax Media on Tuesday.
"We welcome [the AER's] investigation - we called for it," she said. "If the Turnbull government hadn't dragged their feet, it would have happened a long time ago."
May 2018. Fuel reduction a smokescreen for logging burns. When the Environmental Protection Authority observed "very poor" air quality across multiple air monitoring stations, logging burns increased the levels of pollution in addition to the smoke originating from fuel reduction burns.
May 2018.
Why Wood Burning Stoves Are Bad For You And The Environment.
"They created over a third of all the particle pollution in London in 2016." ... After two decades of being shunned as a negligible source of pollution, the rise of wood burners and fire pits has taken many academics by surprise explains Dr Gary Fuller who runs Kings College's London Air Quality Network. "One thing that has crept in under the radar is wood burning," says Fuller. "If you go back to the 1950s and 60s it was acknowledged that London had a solid fuel air pollution problem but then we thought that had gone away. However the return to home wood burning that we've seen since the turn of the century is really making quite an impact in London."
May 2018. Most-polluting wood burners could be banned in effort to improve UK air Quality. "The clean air strategy is intended to cut the cost of air pollution to society by £1bn a year by 2020, and by £2.5bn a year by 2030.
"It also aims to halve the number of people living in areas where tiny particles known PM2.5 are above safe levels set by the World Health Organisation.
"These tiny particles can be breathed into the lungs and get into the bloodstream, causing health problems including heart disease, strokes and lung cancer.
"Officials say almost two-fifths of PM2.5 comes from domestic wood burners and open fires, which just 7.5 per cent of homes have."
May 2018. Air officials enthusiastic about winter air quality improvement — with a caveat "This program continues to be one of the most cost-effective means of reducing air pollution where and when it matters most, in valley neighborhoods during the winter season," he said. "Every year we see more families taking advantage of the district's grant program to switch from a dirty wood burning device to a cleaner device, most often a gas device — or simply choosing not to use a wood burning device."
"These daily decisions result in cleaner air for everyone in the valley, he said. "Based on recent analysis, and even considering the high PM values seen this past winter due to wildfire smoke and poor dispersion, the Bakersfield area's air quality this past winter season was 38 percent better than it would have been without the district's residential wood burning rule in place," Sheikh said.
May 2018. Air pollution during pregnancy tied to high blood pressure in kids Each 5 ug/m3 increase in PM 2.5 exposure in the womb was associated with a 3.39 percentile increase in what's known as systolic blood pressure, the "top number" that represents the pressure blood exerts against artery walls when the heart beats. "We believe that when pregnant women breathe air with high levels of fine particulate matter, it causes an inflammatory response that alters genetic expression and fetal growth and development, on the pathway to high blood pressure in childhood," said study co-author Noel Mueller of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.
In-womb air pollution exposure associated with higher blood pressure in childhood Children exposed to higher levels of air pollution during the third trimester of their mother's pregnancy had a higher risk of elevated blood pressure in childhood, according to an articles published in the American Heart Association's journal Hypertension. Researchers examined 1,293 mothers and their children who were part of the large, ongoing Boston (USA) Birth Cohort study. Blood pressure was measured at each childhood physical examination at 3- to 9- years old. "Ours is one of the first studies to show breathing polluted air during pregnancy may have a direct negative influence on the cardiovascular health of the offspring during childhood," said Noel T. Mueller, Ph.D., M.P.H., senior author of the study and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. "High blood pressure during childhood often leads to high blood pressure in adulthood and hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease."
May 2018. Premature birth rates drop in california after coal and oil plants shut down. A study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found that the rate of premature births dropped from 7 to 5.1 percent after the plants were shuttered, between 2001 and 2011. "The ah-ha moment was probably just seeing what a large, estimated effect size we got," said lead author Joan Casey, who is a post-doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley. "We were pretty shocked by it—to the point that we did many, many additional analyses to try to make it go away, and didn't succeed."
May 2018. Renew Economy: Queensland's Mackay Regional Council's $1.97 million PV system will save $16.89 million on electricity bills over next 20 years – even after maintenance and replacement inverters.
May 2018. Leichhardt's solar car-park shade to return 14% with 7-year payback. "Sydney suburb of Leichhardt is joining the retail sector-wide shift to solar, with plans to install a 430kW rooftop PV system on a purpose built carpark shading structure.
The $1.2 million solar system is expected to supply 40 per cent of the facility's energy demand, and slash its reliance on an already constrained grid.
Local Government Super, which owns the shopping centre, says expects the return on investment from the PV system will be somewhere around 14 per cent per annum, with a payback period of just over seven years.
May 2018. Renew Economy: Frydenberg chooses not to challenge Jones, although the facts are well known. "This government has no better argument to pursue a rapid change than the plunging cost of wind and solar, and the reshaping of the grid with battery and other storage, and smart technologies like demand management.
"The government knows this. Its advisors know this. But they don't tell that to Jones, or the "millions" that listen to his program, and nor do they take on the right wing of their own party.
"Instead, they choose to ignore climate action, demonise renewables, describe ambitious wind and solar targets as reckless, warn that a rapid transition will cause the lights to go out, and push projects like Snowy 2.0 that make no sense without a lot more renewables."
The burning issue heating up ahead of winter. "
According to the Environmental Protection Agency wood smoke contains a variety of harmful chemicals, including fine particles, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons, benzene, xylene and formaldehyde.
"The EPA says up to 85 per cent of winter fine particle pollution comes from wood heaters in some areas of NSW. Orange could be in this category....
"Fine particle pollution such as is derived from wood smoke accounts for 3000 deaths per year. Most affected are infants and young children, people suffering from respiratory and heart complaints and the frail and elderly. It must be stressed, however, that wood smoke pollution is bad for everyone
Air quality impacted by wood-fire heater smoke in Tasmania
One wood-fire chimney can pollute an entire neighbourhood if it is not used correctly, a senior researcher says ... there are a lot of problems associated with heating wood. Dr Johnston said, in terms of local air quality, wood-fire heaters are the most polluting source of home heating known to humanity. Dr Johnston said she would always promote an alternative heating source if it was available.
Moving away from wood-fire heating required several strategies, but three that might be relevant to Northern Tasmania include subsidies for technology like pellets, cheaper electricity prices and tax breaks for efficient heating, Dr Johnston said.
May 2018. Emitting excessive wood smoke could see residents fined $1590. Under updated state pollution control laws, Tasmanians could be slapped with a $1590 fine if they emit smoke that is visible for more than 10 minutes.
The law is enforced by councils and applies to a range of heaters, fireplaces, barbecues, hot water heating appliances and cooking appliances.
City of Launceston general manager Michael Stretton said the council takes an educational approach to managing wood smoke complaints.
"Where we can identify individual properties that are the subject of complaints, we discuss the issue with the owners and provide some educational material on efficient use of wood heaters," he said.
"In some circumstances, it has been necessary to issue caution notices to address some complaints."
May 2018. EarthSense maps give homeowners insight into air pollution levels UK: Homebuyers in the UK can for the first time access detailed information on a property's exposure to air pollution. A partnership between EarthSense, the air quality measuring specialist, and environmental risk analyst Future Climate Info (FCI) will see air quality data included in environmental reports requested by conveyancers and solicitors during the property buying process ... FCI environmental reports, included in search packs provided by solicitors and conveyancers, will now give a clear index rating from 0 (a generally clean environment with very low chance of Nitrogen Dioxide – NO2 – levels exceeding annual legal limits) to 6 (polluted environments with major implications for human health).
April 2018. Prolonged exposure to air pollution leads to genetic changes in rat brains. Prolonged exposure to particulate matter in air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin triggered inflammation and the appearance of cancer-related genes in the brains of rats, a Cedars-Sinai study has found. The study found that coarse particulate matter in the region's air pollution found its way into bodily systems in two ways: inhaled through the lungs, where trace metals and other materials enter the bloodstream and then the brain; and through the nose, where the materials are absorbed more directly into the brain. Reference: Coarse particulate matter (PM2.5–10) in Los Angeles Basin air induces expression of inflammation and cancer biomarkers in rat brains. Scientific Reports, 2018; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23885-3
April 2018. Air pollution is causing crime in London, claim LSE scientists. "Higher levels of air pollution cause an increase in crime," Dr Sefi Roth, an expert in environmental economics at LSE who co-authored the report, stated to The Independent.
"We analysed data on air pollution and more than 1.8 million crimes over two years in London – we link that with data on air pollution, and we use various statistical techniques to ensure our results are robust."
Previous experiments have shown that increased levels of particulate matter in the air lead to increased blood levels of stress hormones such as cortisol.The authors therefore suggest that behavioural changes resulting from increased stress hormone levels may in turn lead to an increased likelihood a person will commit a crime.
Air pollution increases crime in cities – here's how "It now believed that exposure to air pollutants can cause inflammation in the brain. What's more, fine particulate matter is harmful to developing brains, because it can damage brain and neural networks and influence behaviour."
April 2018. Wood burners add to air pollution. Frank Kelly, professor of environmental health at King's College London, said research by his department had found that emissions from burning coal and wood in the capital had been underestimated. "As traffic emissions increasingly are brought under control, these domestic emissions, if not decreased, will dominate," he said
April 2018. Greens call for taskforce on Armidale Region's high child mortality rates. Being listed as the area with the highest childhood mortality rates in NSW should be enough to make Armidale Regional Council look for solutions ... We need to understand the relative contributions of our high air pollution levels, disadvantage and poor housing," Cr Robinson said.
April 2018. Armidale Region has highest child mortality in NSW. A report in April 2018 by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that from 2011-2015 Armidale Region had the highest rate of child mortality in NSW. Poverty, low school engagement and overcrowded housing exacerbate the problem.
But so does air pollution. The "Growing up in New Zealand" study found that every additional modern woodstove per hectare increased by 7% the risk children under 3 would need hospital emergency treatment (for all causes except accidents). With to 10 woodstoves per hectare emitting smoke that's often trapped the valley, Armidale's woodsmoke pollution has a significant impact on health and was estimated to cause 38% of visits to GP for respiratory complaints in winter.
The NSW Asthma Foundation warned that: wood smoke emissions in winter pose a bigger immediate health danger in built-up urban areas than cars or cigarettes. Australian Lung Foundation spokesman Dr James Markos said that real-life emissions from new wood-heaters have little relationship to measurements from a perfectly operated test model under laboratory conditions. .
The chief medical officer of NSW said that wood heaters are so detrimental to health she supports banning and phasing them out in built-up urban areas. A review by the New Scientist in 2017 concluded that log-burning stoves are harming our health and speeding up global warming
Woodsmoke contains the same and very similar chemicals to cigarette smoke, and was found to cause 12 to 30 times as many tumours in mice and mutations in bacteria as the same amount of cigarette smoke.
Studies in Canada found that just 5 ug/m3 of increased PM2.5 pollution increased heart attacks by 19% when the pollution was mainly from wood burning. Armidale's woodsmoke often increases PM2.5 pollution by 5 times this amount.
Heart attacks and strokes are the tip of the iceberg. The PM2.5 and toxic chemicals in woodsmoke also increase the risk of lung diseases, cancers, Alzheimer's, cot deaths, still and premature births, genetic damage in babies, stunted lung development, reduced IQ in children and behavioural problems such as anxiety, attention deficit and autism.
Tackling woodsmoke pollution has been shown to save many lives. When Launceston residents understood the health effects of woodsmoke, the proportion of households using wood heating fell dramatically from 66% to 30% and average particulate air pollution during winter fell by 40%. The result was 28% fewer deaths in winter from respiratory disease and 20% fewer deaths from cardiovascular disease. As well as having the highest child mortality rates in NSW, Armidale region is part of New England North West, where male life expectancy is 3.7 years less than the average for Sydney.
High pollution continues in Armidale because many residents listen to propaganda from vested interests. In previous years, similar propaganda techniques were used by the tobacco and asbestos industries.
Local sustainability charity Starfish offered to help fix the problem by coordinating a demonstration project to show that non-polluting heating can be affordable and environmentally friendly. The cost would be less than the consultancy fees for the controversial designs and plans for traffic in the Armidale Mall that sparked outrage.
Despite the obvious need, administrator Tiley did not put any of the $15 million amalgamation money towards clean, healthier air. Perhaps being known as the region with the highest childhood mortality rates in NSW will encourage the current council to think twice about priorities, and make better health, environmentally-friendly, sustainable heating, and statistics that don't discourage new residents a higher priority that extravagant infrastructure.
Brief exposure to tiny air pollution particles triggers childhood lung infections
Even the briefest increase in airborne fine particulate matter PM2.5, pollution-causing particles that are about 3 percent of the diameter of human hair, is associated with the development of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in young children, according to newly published research. Increases in PM2.5 levels also led to increased doctor visits for these lung infections.
The groundbreaking study, "Short-Term Elevation of Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Acute Lower Respiratory Infection," is the largest to date on this health concern, involving more than 100,000 patients.
The research team found ALRI associated with elevated levels of PM2.5 in both children and adults -- even in newborns and toddlers up to age two, who represented 77% (112,467) of those who had an ALRI diagnosis.
This study was performed in a location where the average daily PM2.5 level is lower than places like Los Angeles and New York. "Overall, it took about 2-3 weeks for the ALRI hospitalizations or clinic visits to occur in this study after the rapid rise in PM2.5 had been observed," said Dr. Horne.
In an analysis of death rates among the study population, 17 children ages 0-2, nine children ages 3-17 and 81 adults (18+) died within 30 days of diagnosis with ALRI.
In theorizing about the connection between PM2.5 and ALRI, Dr. Horne said: "The air pollution itself may make the human body more susceptible to infection or may impair the body's ability to fight off the infectious agents. It may be that PM2.5 causes damage to the airway so that a virus can successfully cause an infection or that PM2.5 impairs the immune response so that the body mounts a less effective response in fighting off the infection.
Journal Paper: Short-term Elevation of Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Acute Lower Respiratory Infection
See Also: Utah study: Even slight bump in pollution affects young lungs
On winter days with PM2.5 above 20 ug/m3, the largest single source of PM2.5 pollution in Utah is woodsmoke.
Even the briefest exposure to air pollution can trigger an acute respiratory infection in young children
April 2018. Maternal inflammation linked to baby's brain development "Growing evidence supports a link between chronic inflammation during pregnancy and poor neurological outcomes for offspring, including an increased likelihood of a number of cognitive and psychiatric conditions such as ADHD, major depression and schizophrenia.
"Moreover, it is known that certain markers of inflammation, like the protein interleukin-6, are expressed throughout the developing brain. But precisely how inflammation influences foetal brain development is unclear.
"In an effort to learn more, researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University, in collaboration with researchers in Berlin and California, collected blood samples from 84 expectant mothers during each trimester of their pregnancies, and then tested the blood samples for levels interleukin-6.
"When the infants were four weeks old, they underwent MRI scans to determine their brain connectivity patterns.
"The researchers discovered that variations in levels of interleukin-6 during pregnancy were directly associated with small differences in neural connectivity patterns in the infants' brains, suggesting that inflammation levels during pregnancy are linked with changes in neural communication in newborns."
April 2018. The American Lung Association (ALA) warns of the health concern from residential wood burning because of the high concentration of inhaled smoke exposure, particularly in sensitive groups such as newborns, infants, children and lung-compromised individuals.
Wood smoke from woodstoves and residential burning is a major contributor to south Lincoln County's air quality conditions, particularly during fall and winter when wood burning is at its peak.
Smoke is composed of many small carbon particles. These pieces of organic matter from smoke, along with dust and other particles, become suspended in the air and are referred to as particulate matter. Because of their small size, these particles can become deeply embedded in the lungs, damaging small blood vessels, airways and the heart.
According to the ALA, burning wood produces emissions that are harmful to human health.
Wood smoke also produces fine particle pollution by releasing carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and chemicals such as formaldehyde that contribute significantly to climate change pollution.
ALA states that short-term wood smoke exposure can affect people with lung disease, causing coughing, wheezing, asthma attacks and acute bronchitis, and may increase susceptibility to respiratory infection.
Long-term exposures can lead to reduced lung function, heart attacks, lung cancer and even premature death ...
Please be responsible and considerate when burning (waste) this season for the young, the old and the sick around you who may be greatly impacted from the smoke you create. If you decide not to burn but have wood and yard clean up to dispose of, the Lincoln County Landfill accepts all yard debris from your cleanup projects, free of charge.
April 2018. New York State: Bethlehem business ordered to shut down polluting wood boiler Daniel Blair, owner of Blair Excavating and Contractors, agreed to take down the boiler used to heat his facility at 682 Elm Ave. by May 15 and not to resell the boiler to anyone else in New York, according to DEC order.
DEC regional officials agreed to suspend a $3,000 fine against Blair as long as the boiler is removed. State inspectors tested the boiler on Feb. 9 in response to complaints of excessive smoke, said DEC spokesman Rick Georgeson.
...As complaints about such boilers grew, DEC in 2010 set stricter pollution limits on wood boilers sold in the state. But it did allow dealers to sell off their inventories of non-compliant boilers, a move opposed by some environmental groups.
Still, owners of boilers that exceed state opacity limits can be cited by DEC for the violation.
April 2018. Cosy and deadly. Wood-burning stoves are in fashion but cause serious pollution. "Unlike, say, a coal-fired power station, domestic wood-fires discharge pollutants straight into populated areas, and they do so at times of day when people are at home. Unlike other fuels, wood is untaxed in Denmark. Wood-burning increased 2.5 times in 2000 to 2015. Green-minded Europeans keen to change behaviour in poor countries might first sniff the air closer to home."
Air pollution (at levels well below current standards) linked to brain alterations and cognitive impairment in children.
Exposure to fine particles during fetal life was associated with a thinner outer layer of the brain, called the cortex, in several regions. The study showed that these brain abnormalities contribute in part to difficulty with inhibitory control—the ability to regulate self-control over temptations and impulsive behavior—which is related to mental health problems such as addictive behavior and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
The study used a population-based cohort in the Netherlands, which enrolled pregnant women and followed the children from fetal life onward. Dr. Guxens and colleagues assessed air pollution levels at home during the fetal life of 783 children. The data were collected by air pollution monitoring campaigns, and included levels of nitrogen dioxide (a prominent air pollutant caused by traffic and cigarette smoking), coarse particles, and fine particles.
Brain imaging performed when the children were between 6 and 10 years old revealed abnormalities in the thickness of the brain cortex of the precuneus and rostral middle frontal region. Despite the relationship between these brain structure alterations and fine particle exposure, the average residential levels of fine particles in the study were well below the current acceptable limit set by the EU.
March 2018. Genetic study of Quebec residents finds air pollution trumps ancestry. "Air pollution leaves its mark on the human body, not just in the throats and lungs of those who breathe it in, but in their very DNA, a newly published Canadian study has found. The work provides a unique window into how environmental exposures can switch various genes on or off, creating a gene expression signature that may interact with or override other inherited factors and even offer an early signal of future health problems."
March 2018. Dutch lobby group calls for action on polluting wood-burning stoves. The government should discourage the use of wood-burning stoves in the Netherlands because of the impact on health and air quality, a group made up of local councils, research institutes and local health councils said on Tuesday ... some organisations, such as environmental group Milieudefensie and Amsterdam city council want a total ban, broadcaster RTL said.
March 2018. Guardian Pollutionwatch: Cold snap worsens particle load of air Particle pollution increases as the wind slows down and chilly weather prompts the lighting of more wood fires ... Normally wood smoke is measured during the evenings, but many people choose to keep warm in that cold period in front of a wood fire at home during the day. Wood smoke particles were measured throughout day-time hours across southern England from 1 March into the weekend.
Over a timescale of hours and days wood smoke can undergo chemical reactions and produce more particle pollution. There is evidence that this added to the air pollution over England. A change of wind direction bought milder and fresher air on 4 March.
March 2018. Bad Air Day – Is Wood Smoke Choking Out The PNW? When Clive Powsey moved from the outskirts of Toronto, Ontario, to Cumberland, British Columbia, he thought he was leaving his exercise-induced asthma behind for a "clean-air paradise." On first whiff, it made sense. The small town sits between rainforest-covered mountains and the open waters of the Strait of Georgia. But by the first winter in his new home, Powsey was hacking worse than he ever had out east.
In the spring his lungs cleared up, but every fall the congestion returned. Thinking the wood stove in his studio was the culprit, he stopped using it. His asthma got worse. He started getting pneumonia. Then one fall he went to Vancouver for a week and his lungs cleared up. "I thought, 'Oh my god. The air quality in Vancouver is better than Cumberland,'" he says. Powsey started looking for proof, and what he found is shocking. The air-clogging culprit is not some industrial polluter, in fact there aren't any. Rather, it's Powsey's neighbours doing something that's entwined in the island lifestyle and our DNA: burning firewood.
February 2018. Defra seeks views on wood and coal emissions. A call for evidence on the use of coal and other solid fuels used for heating homes has today (30 January) been launched for a 4-week period by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
"...domestic burning of house coal, smokeless solid fuels and wood are believed to be the single largest contributors of particulate matter (PM) emissions. These accounted for around 40% of total UK PM2.5 emissions in 2015, according to Defra. ... "We must be mindful that pollution is about more than just transport. Poor air quality affects public health, the economy, and the environment, which is why we are determined to do more. However, if we make the switch to burning cleaner domestic fuel, we can continue to enjoy burning wood and smokeless coal in stoves and fires in our homes."
February 2018. Brussels to make public transport free on high air pollution days. The new rules will also see car speed limits cut and wood-burning stoves banned in a drive to improve air quality in the city
February 2018. Is your wood stove choking you? How indoor fires are suffocating cities Cars and trucks get more attention but nationally, domestic wood burning is the largest single source of PM2.5. According to one analysis of government data, it produces more than twice as much as all road traffic. While concerns about diesel vehicles focus largely on the nitrogen dioxide they produce, the evidence tying particulates to death and disease is even more powerful.
According to Leigh Crilley, an atmospheric chemist at the University of Birmingham, wood smoke also carries more carcinogens than diesel or petrol exhaust.
The increasing popularity of wood fires, scientists warn, threatens to erase any progress big cities might achieve in reducing pollution from traffic. "It's overtaking the gains we're making," Crilley said. ....
One study from 2014 found that wood smoke was adding more particle pollution to London's air than the first two phases of the city's low-emission zone were expected to remove. In London and Birmingham, King's College researchers reported wood accounted for up to 31% of locally produced particulates. And across Europe, wood burning is worsening pollution in capitals such as Paris, Berlin and Lisbon. ...
"We have yet another stupid decision," says Birkett. "In the same way they myopically pursued diesel, they have also myopically pursued wood burning".
February 2018. 'Scary' new evidence suggests Utah's bad air may be harmful to babies in utero. Dr Blagev, director of the Schmidt Chest Clinic at Intermountain Medical Center in Utah, where a high proportion of wintertime pollution is woodsmoke explains: "Some effects are really well studied and we are really sure that the air pollution contributes to let's say low birth weight - or increased mortality. Multiple studies point to a connection between bad air days and lifelong health problems for babies conceived and or born during periods of pollution.
Doctors for years have told us to avoid bad air especially if you have asthma, but now all women in Utah may need to think about changing their habits during their childbearing years.
Research from around the world is stacking up pin-pointing pollution-related issues that can alter the long-term health of their babies. Expectant moms have been asked to put down cigarettes and alcohol, watch their diets and be careful of medications. The latest recommendation coming from OBGYN's? Stay inside if the air isn't clean.
February 2018. Exposure to Air Pollution Could Reduce IQ Levels Long Term Researchers at the University of Southern California and UCLA Center for Health Policy Research tracked more than 1,300 pre-teens living in neighborhoods across Los Angeles and surrounding counties over a 12-year period. They tested the teens' IQ levels at ages 9 to 11, and in young adulthood between ages 18 to 20. The scientists then used EPA data to retroactively calculate air pollution levels around the homes where the teens lived. They focused on fine-particle pollution, which comes from cars, power plants and other sources. These particles are about 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair, and can pass into the lungs and blood stream.
For every increase of 2.5 micrograms per cubic meter in the fine-particle pollution level surrounding the teens' homes, their performance IQ score dropped 1 point, the researchers found.
... Lower IQ is tied to reduced-earning power over a person's lifetime, as well as poorer mental and physical health, Wang said. This has an effect for society as a whole, she said. Just a 1-point drop in IQ level among a portion of the population can result in billions of dollars in losses to the U.S. economy, previous studies have estimated.
Teen Exposure to Air Pollution Could Reduce IQ Levels Long Term Living in a polluted area as a pre-teen and teenager may have long-lasting, detrimental effects on a person's ability to reason and problem solve, a new study suggests.
February 2018. No safe level of air pollution, Utah doctors declare at rally to release annual report "Even low levels of pollution put the state's youngest residents at risk of sudden infant death syndrome and other maladies, according to an annual research review by concerned Utah doctors.
"The doctors, most members of the advocacy group Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, gathered at the state Capitol on Saturday to release their annual report on nation-wide research investigating the possible health effects of Utah's air pollution.
"Particles have been measured in the human blood stream after just 15 minutes of exposure to air pollution, Moench said, and they have been observed to remain there for as long as three months. So January's pollution, he said, is still impacting Utahns in April when the air has cleared.
"One recent study demonstrated that infants who are exposed to small particulate pollution are 2-3 times more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome, Matthew Peterson, a reproductive endocrinologist, told members of the public on Saturday. About 20 percent of pre-term births may also be attributed to air pollution, Peterson said."
"Particles in the blood stream trigger inflammation, Moench said, which in turn increases the likelihood of heart attack and stroke. Their presence is also linked to the development of cancer, especially breast, bladder and lung cancers. Other studies, Moench said, have found particulates lodged in people's brains and linked air pollution to autism and Alzheimer's. Air pollution may also decrease children's focus and memory retention in school, Moench said.
"But it's not just the very young or the very old who are at risk. Moench pointed to another recent study that found particulate pollution caused elevated blood pressure and increased the production of stress hormones in young adults.
"Air pollution may also affect our genes. Courtney Henley, an anesthesiologist at LDS Hospital, highlighted research that suggested air pollution damaged genetic materials in developing infants exposed while they were in the womb. These children were at greater risk of developing heart disease, thyroid disfunction, obesity, diabetes and even osteoporosis later in life, she said."
February 2018. Polluted Air May Pollute Our Morality A combination of archival and experimental studies indicates that exposure to air pollution, either physically or mentally, is linked with unethical behavior such as crime and cheating. In one study, the researchers examined air pollution and crime data for 9,360 US cities collected over a 9-year period. See also: Air Pollution Leads to More Violence
Increased air pollution linked to bad teenage behavior Tiny, toxic particles creep into developing brains, cause inflammation and may damage brain pathways responsible for emotion and decisions. The study followed 682 children in Greater Los Angeles for nine years starting when they were 9, and linked higher levels of air pollution to increased teenage delinquency. The results are a reminder of the importance of clean air and the need for more foliage in urban spaces. The insidious effects are compounded by poor parent-child relationships and parental mental and social distress, researchers report. Acute Air Pollution Exposure and Risk of Suicide Completion
February 2018. Stanford study shows wood smoke can harm the brain "We're finding in young adults that there may be an increased risk of psychiatric problems like depression," said Stanford pediatrics professor Eric Zee. And in kids and teens, "it also affects grades and test scores and things like that."
Zee said the tiny particles from smoke can inflame the lungs, and in turn cause inflammation all over the body, including in the brain. The study found regular exposure to smoke can speed up the brain's aging process, even in kids.
"With neurological problems in growth and development and in one's later years," said Zee.
For the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the study adds more fuel to the fire behind the years-long campaign to snuff out wood burning, especially on Spare the Air days.... "That's the importance of this study," he said. "That it isn't just sensitive individuals. It's all of us."
"If we just think before we burn, that could really change our neighborhoods," Ho said.
Burning wood is illegal during winter Spare the Air alerts, but the district offers incentives all year round to get rid of your fireplace, or convert it to gas.
"Don't have a fire in your fireplace," at your next holiday party, said Stevenson. "Turn on your TV on that yule log, right?"
Podcast: Dr. Eric Zee who specializes in pulmonary medicine at Stanford Children's Health, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital explains how wood burning affects children.
February 2018. Hey, SoCal, don't toss another log onto the fire until you read this It's been cold, with temperatures dipping into the 40s and below — that's practically near blizzard conditions for Southern California. So what's the harm in stoking the fireplace with a blazing log?
Plenty, alas. That's why health officials are begging Southern California residents to take the "Check-Before-You-Burn" pledge — between Nov. 1 and Feb. 28, when atmospheric conditions conspire to make air quality particularly bad.
January 2018. BMJ: for heart attacks and strokes, just one cigarette a day half as damaging as smoking twenty A review in the British Medical Journal shows that smoking 1 cigarette a day the increased risk of heart attacks by about half as much as smoking 20 cigarettes a day and strokes by about a third as much. An editorial elaborates: "The substantial risk of CHD associated with "low" exposure to tobacco smoke first came to light in the 1990s. Despite much lower levels of smoke exposure than active smoking, in a seminal meta-analysis in the BMJ, Law and colleagues calculated a 30% increase in CHD risk among people who had never smoked but were exposed to second-hand smoke (19 studies) and a 39% increase in CHD risk among smokers smoking one cigarette a day (five studies)."
Recent research shows that the health damage from "low" exposures to PM2.5 pollution is similar. A Canadian study reported that a 10 ug/m3 increase in annual PM2.5 exposure increase the risk of deaths from ischemic heart disease by 30%. Another Canadian study investigated the effect of air pollution and discovered a much greater increase in hospital admissions for heart attacks when the particles came from burning wood for winter heating. On such days, a 10 ug/m3 increase 3-day mean PM2.5 pollution increased heart attack admissions in those aged 65 and over by 38%.
Based on a relative risk of CHD from smoking 20 cigarette a day of 2.5 and current smoking rate of 15.8% of UK adults, the effect of smoking-related CHD is (2.5 - 1)*0.158 = a 24% increase in CHD in the population as a whole, less than the 30% increase in deaths deaths from ischemic heart disease for a 10 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure or the 38% increase in hospital admissions for heart attacks for a 10 ug/m3 increase in 3-day PM2.5 associated with home wood burning.
January 2018. Low level air pollution costs the economy billions of dollars in lost productivity At air pollution levels well below current regulatory standards in the United States, Graff Zivin says they've found impacts of air pollution on agricultural, manufacturing, and call centre work productivity. There is also a new line of research where evidence is showing that exposure to low level air pollution to the fetus or in the first year of life when the brain is still developing, can have lasting negative cognitive impacts. "There are a range of studies now that have shown that even a short amount of exposure to modest levels of pollution in utero and the first year of life leads to demonstrable impacts on intellectual performance on standardized tests in middle school, in high school," says Graff Zivin. "We also find from other studies that we even see the imprints of that exposure 30 years later on the earnings of workers."
January 2018. $800,000 in rebates to replace fireplaces snapped up in 15 hours by Bay Area homeowners The air district offered rebates of $750 to decommission and seal off a wood burning fireplace, $1,000 to switch to a natural-gas fireplace insert, and $3,500 to switch to an electric heat pump. "People recognize the value and convenience of switching from wood-burning to natural gas that protects you and your family from the health impacts of wood smoke," said Ralph Borrmann, an air quality district spokesman.
The Bay area does not permit the installation of wood stoves in new homes and sellers of an existing homes with wood-burning fireplaces are required to give buyers a disclosure statement warning of the health risks of wood smoke. In addition wood burning is not allowed on 'Spare the Air' days - a total of 17 days to February 2018.
Spare the Air, Bay Area - facebook post: "Exposure to wood smoke—like cigarette smoke—has been linked to serious respiratory illnesses and even increased risk of heart attacks."
January 2018. Large heat pump project set for north London. "Four hundred flats over eight tower blocks in the London borough of Enfield will be retrofitted with Shoebox heat pumps manufactured by Kensa Contracting's sister company Kensa Heat Pumps, and connected to the largest collection of district arrays of its kind.
"Specification Online reports that the project is planned for completion in October 2018, with the heating upgrade resulting in residents' energy bills reducing by 30-50%."
January 2018. Wood heating sparks smog warning in Gatineau, Maniwaki, Ottawa Environment Canada has issued a warning, blaming wood burning for particulates.
According to the agency, wood heating is the most common cause of winter smog warnings in Quebec due to the prevalence of wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. Burning wood generates more pollutants than industrial activities and transportation, according to the statement.
Residents are being advised to avoid intense physical activity outdoors until the warning is lifted and try to avoid using fireplaces and wood-burning stoves if possible.
January 2018. The Effects Of Air Pollution On Human Health "Air pollution is almost as deadly as tobacco. In 2016, it was linked to the deaths of 6.1 million people, according the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. "And it might harm you even before you take your first breath.
Exposure to high levels of air pollution during pregnancy has been linked to miscarriages as well as premature birth, autism spectrum disorder and asthma in children.
"Air pollution may damage children's brain development, and pneumonia, which kills almost 1 million children under the age of 5 every year, is associated with air pollution. Children who breathe in higher levels of pollutants also face a greater risk of short-term respiratory infections and lung damage.
"Other conditions associated with high levels of air pollution include emphysema and chronic bronchitis, as well as lung cancer.
"Pollutants can affect cardiovascular health by hardening the arteries and increase the risk of heart attack and strokes, and there is even emerging evidence that air pollution may be linked to mental health conditions and degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia."
December 2017. Want to enjoy the fire and avoid the smoke? Choose a cleaner burn option! The Lung Association of Saskatchewan is concerned about the lung health of all Saskatoon residents. We urge Saskatoon City Council to implement a bylaw prohibiting the activity of backyard wood burning fire pits and new construction indoor wood burning fire places.
Homeowners should have the option to choose anything that is cleaner in terms of air quality. There are some alternatives to wood-burning fire pits including natural gas, propane and ethanol/gel fire pits. These options are better because they do not require the use of wood, thereby eliminating the harmful effects of wood smoke on health.
December 2017. Exposure to air pollution just before or after conception raises risk of birth defects. Women exposed to air pollution just prior to conception or during the first month of pregnancy face an increased risk of their children being born with birth defects, such as cleft lip or palate or abnormal hearts. "The most susceptible time of exposure appears to be the one month before and after conception," says Emily DeFranco, DO, a physician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and senior author of the study. "Public health efforts should continue to highlight the importance of minimizing population-level exposure to harmful particulate matter in the air."
December 2017. Air pollution has more dire effects: It can lead to lower IQ in children. Indian times article citing research in the USA that "women exposed to air pollution during preconception period or one month after the conception have increased risk of their children being born with birth defects like cleft lip or palate or abnormal hearts ...The birth certificate data was used from the Ohio Department of Health and particulate matter data from the US Environmental Protection Agency's 57 monitoring stations throughout Ohio to study the impact of air pollutant."
Dr Praveen Gupta , Director Neurology, Fortis Gurgaon, said, "With the current scenario, the situation is getting worse. Air Pollution has adverse effect on children, it causes irritability, suffocation, decreased attention and concentration leading to poor performance. The pollutants through their blood travels to different parts of the body including brain, which causes decrease in IQ level and other related problems."
December 2017. Largest-ever study of 22 million US deaths shows no safe level of PM2.5 or Ozone Pollution. A study on short-term air pollution followed work published by some of the same researchers in June showing that multiple years of exposure to air pollution—even at levels well below the "safe" level mandated by the US government—increased premature deaths in the country. That research concluded that if the level of PM2.5 could be lowered by just 1 ug/m3 nationwide, roughly 12,000 premature deaths would be avoided every year. And if ozone levels could be lowered by just 1 part per billion, another 1,900 premature deaths would be avoided annually.
The new study considered short-term effects of PM2.5 pollution on over 22 million deaths. The vast majority (95.2%) of deaths occurred on days with less than 25 ug/m2 PM2.5 pollution, well below the current US standard of 35 ug/m3. For O3, 93.4% of deaths were on days with ozone concentrations less than 60 ppb - the current us standard for O3 is a maximum of 70 ppb over 8 hours.
The graph (left, click to enlarge) shows the estimated relationships between mortality and PM2.5 and O3 pollution. Results for concentrations below about 20 ug/m3 PM2.5 and from 30-55 ppm O3 are pretty precise, but those for higher levels of PM2.5 pollution or outside 30-55 ppm O3 are less precise, because of the small proportion of days in these categories.
The strudy authors concluded: "In the US Medicare population from 2000-2012, shortterm exposures toPM2.5 and warm-season ozone were significantly associated with increased risk of mortality. This risk occurred at levels below current national air quality standards, suggesting that these standards may need to be reevaluated."
'Safe' levels? Small amounts of air pollution linked to more death for senior citizens. Elderly people have a higher risk of dying after short-term exposure to particulate air pollution and ozone, according to a new study from Harvard. The levels of pollution linked to premature deaths were below current U.S. health standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency—and the impacts were disproportionately worse for the poor, women and black people.
The study is the "most comprehensive study of short-term exposure to pollution and mortality to date," said senior author of the study, Francesca Dominici, a professor of biostatistics and co-director of the Harvard Data Science Initiative.
"We wanted to know if air pollution at levels well below safety standards set by the EPA is possibly increasing mortality," she said. "The answer is yes."
Dominici and colleagues looked at daily levels of particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter (PM 2.5) and ozone across the U.S. They compared the levels with deaths from people on Medicare from 2000 to 2012.
For each 10 microgram per cubic meter daily increase in PM2.5 (all year round) and each 10 parts per billion daily increase in ozone (measured during warm months), the daily mortality rate increased by 1.05 percent and 0.51 percent, respectively. During the study time, about 22 million people in the Medicare population died.
The risk was the same across the country: "No matter where you live—in cities, in the suburbs, or in rural areas—as long as you breathe air pollution, you are at risk," said lead author Qian Di, a PhD student in Harvard's Department of Environmental Health
December 2017. Roaring Christmas fire threatened by pollution fears "The problem has increased in recent years, as traditional fires have come back into fashion — especially in affluent neighbourhoods.
Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, wrote to Mr Gove in September seeking powers to ban wood-burning stoves in some neighbourhoods, as part of wider proposals to improve air quality in the capital.
Researchers at King's College London found that during a period of heavy smog last January, half the toxic emissions in some parts of the city came from burning wood.
The UK government has already focused on voluntary measures, such as a certification scheme to identify and promote dried wood to consumers.
"We are raising consumer awareness about the impact of burning wood on health and working with industry to help reduce harmful emissions," a government spokesman said, adding that the government's clean air strategy, addressing all sources of air pollution, would be published in 2018."
Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, is to launch a consultation in the New Year which will examine pollutants caused by wet wood and smoky coal. Its findings will feed into the Government's clean air strategy, which is being published in the Autumn.
Wood-burning stoves face crack down amid health warnings. "A source told The Telegraph that the consultation will be "very open" and rather than recommending specific policies will invite submissions about the problem. However, there has been growing concern over their environmental impact. Researchers at King's College London have found that wood-burning in the capital accounts for up to 31 per cent of the city's particulate pollution, up from 10 per cent in the past.
The tiny particles, known as PM2.5, are the most harmful type of air pollution and exacerbate lung and heart conditions because the particles pass into the lungs and bloodstream.
A 2016 Government survey found that 7.5 per cent of homes burned wood, comprising 30 per cent of particle emissions - far more than the amount from diesel cars. It estimated wood burning was responsible for as much as 25 per cent of London's pollution.
November 2017. Address air quality issues now There is no lower limit at which the air quality will not cause health problems. That's the message Island Health's medical officer Paul Hasselback told the Regional District Board at its inaugural regular meeting in Nanaimo Tuesday, Nov. 14., 2017
Hasselback was invited by the RDN board to discuss further the health issues that arise from smoke from wood-burning appliances and wood stoves, and actions the regional district should take.
A Health Canada study has shown ambient fine particulate air pollution, or PM2.5, resulting from wood burning in the winter has strong adverse associations with cardiovascular health.
It affects multiple organs and causes both acute and chronic health effects such as lung cancer, congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, and stroke.
"So anything that we can do collectively to improve the quality of air, will reduce poor health outcomes," Hasselback explained. "I say that because generally, the air quality in the regional district is actually pretty good."
Hasselback pointed out that about 40 per cent of the population is in some sort of elevated risk group that makes the likelihood of developing a poor outcome higher. He wants the regional district to take preventative actions now.
Parksville mayor and director Marc Lefebvre said after reading all the literature about the harmful health effects of smoke, "I put on my layman's glasses and I sincerely believe, looking at all these issues cropping up, I think we should ban woodstoves and fireplaces."
November 2017. Air Pollution Has Now Been Linked To More Cancers Around The Body Now though a new large-scale study carried out by the Barcelona Institute of Global Health and supported by the American Cancer Society has found there could be associations between air pollutants and kidney, bladder and colorectal cancer.
November 2017. Your mental health could be harmed by the air you breathe. "The higher the level of particulates in the air, a new study shows, the greater the indications of psychological distress. .. Every increase in pollution of 5 micrograms per cubic meter had the same effect as a 1.5-year loss in education."
Air pollution outdoors can make you worse at your desk job. Steffen Meyer and Michaela Pagel took data on stock trades made by more than 100,000 private investors in Germany from 2003 to 2015 and paired the information with data on air quality, weather and traffic from the closest of more than 1,600 monitoring stations.
The researchers found that a modest increase in outdoor PM10 — 12 micrograms of the pollutant per cubic meter — reduced investors' propensity to trade by nearly 10%. They characterized that effect as "large and significant," akin to the decrease in trading observed on a nice sunny day versus a cloudy one.
It's worth pointing out that a 12-microgram increase in PM10 is not a whole lot — on any given day in Germany, levels of the pollutant usually fluctuate between zero and 40 micrograms, and often more than that.
"The negative effects of pollution on white-collar work productivity are much more severe than previously thought."
November 2017. Woodsmoke-affected community told: "More air pollution means shorter lives"
"Poor air quality is a contributor to poor health," said Michael Brauer, a professor at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia.
"I don't want to give you the impression that, if there is air pollution, everyone is dropping dead," said Brauer. "That is not the case."
"If you live in a polluted community as opposed to a cleaner city you won't live as long. If you live in a more polluted neighbourhood you will die sooner." Brauer said that there isn't a specific air pollution disease, but that it leads to poorer outcomes for many diseases.
Sarah Henderson, a senior scientist and epidemiologist at the BC Centre for Disease Control, described why wood smoke is toxic. She said that fine particulate matter, tiny solids that are the result of incomplete combustion, are able to travel deep into our lungs.
The very fine particles classified as PM 2.5 are the most concern said Henderson, because there size triggers an immune response that can have serious consequences."The particles go deep into your lungs and your body attacks them. It senses a foreign invader like a virus. Unfortunately they can't kill it, so the white blood cells keep attacking them and it leads to a state of sustained inflammation," she said.
This sustained inflammation can be deadly depending on a person's health.Henderson said that on very smoky days it can lead some people to have a heart attack or a stroke. "When you live in a smoky community it puts the whole population at risk of developing things like heart disease," she said.
"When you think of other sources of pollution, motor vehicles and industry, we brought those under really tight control," she said. "A car today emits 3% of what a car 20 years ago could emit. "What we haven't done is controlled emissions from residential wood stoves."
November 2017. Campaigners delighted after Stoke Prior wood burner firm Flog-a-Log told to go. Neighbours of a wood burner firm which made their lives "living hell" have proclaimed victory after its bosses were told to cease operations within six months. Stoke Prior firm Flog-a-Log began installation of a biomass boiler system and 14 flues in January 2016 without approval, and had retrospective planning permission refused. The company appealed, but an investigation by the Planning Inspectorate has now upheld the decision.
Nick Arkell, 55, who lives opposite the site, said: "The site had created a living hell for local residents with polluting fumes filling many nearby homes and the effects of the pollution felt at far greater distances deep into the village. Residents are absolutely delighted with the outcome and wish to thank the many parties that pulled together to bring about this tremendous result. Residents whose lives had previously been destroyed can now look forward to breathing clean air once again."
November 2017. Women should watch out for chronic bronchitis, lung experts say. "Treatment involves quitting smoking, certain medications (mainly corticosteroids for treating inflammation), regular physical exercise, oxygen therapy in the most severe cases, and avoiding exposure to substances that can lead to the disease (wood or charcoal smoke from cooking, etc.)."
October 2017. Extreme air pollution in Ireland caused by 'burning of solid fuel' There should be no cause for complacency in Europe or Ireland over the findings of the Lancet medical journal's major study of the global health impacts of pollution, which shows air pollution as the single biggest cause of deaths.
Prof Colin O'Dowd, director of NUIG's Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies said: "even in developed western-world cities [including Dublin] with well-developed air pollution policies, there are regular occurrences of extreme air pollution events not too dissimilar to those encountered in developing megacities (eg Beijing)".
These "extreme air pollution events are driven by burning of solid residential fuel (namely, peat, wood and biomass) and even though less than 4 per cent solid fuel is consumed, this accounts disproportionately for 70 per cent of the pollution".
Diesel accounted for far less pollutants in the form of particulate matter than might be expected – at between 5 and 10 per cent. He added: "The major concern is that these fuels are promoted as being 'green' or 'low-carbon' in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, but are devastating in terms of air pollution... and their consumption is predicted to increase significantly, thus turning back the clock in terms of clean air policy in the developed world."
October 2017. New $$ available to turn wood stoves into gas "cited wood smoke's "significant" role in particulate emissions, noting that one wood-burning stove emits the equivalent of 90 sport utility vehicles over its lifetime. Changing from wood to gas eliminates 95 percent of the associated emissions, according to UCAIR....
"Because of the Wasatch Front's new classification of "serious" nonattainment for meeting the 24-hour federal threshold for winter pollution, the Utah Division of Air Quality increased its fines for violators of the no-burn rule.
"First time offenders who violate the rule on mandatory action days will receive a fine of $150, with additional penalties of $299 for subsequent violations."
October 2017. The Times: dangers of wood-burning fires in cities "Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has called for wood-burning fires to be banned in parts of the capital with poor air quality (News, September 29).
"Clean wood burning is a myth. Log fires give off microscopic soot, which is often blamed on diesel engines. However, a domestic wood burner produces more particulate matter than 18 new diesel cars or one truck. Pollution figures are far worse for burning wood in open fires, which is illegal in cities.
"Domestic wood burning is Britain's largest source of particle pollution and it produces more than twice the level of that produced by traffic. In cold weather on weekday evenings and weekends in London that results in between a quarter and a third of all fine-particle air pollution being created by domestic wood fires.
"The tiny particles of soot from wood fires may be invisible, but they can be deadly. The particles are inhaled deep into the lungs and can cause serious diseases. Children exposed to these pollutants are more likely to grow up with reduced lung function and develop asthma. The particles pass from the lungs into the bloodstream, lodge in arteries and aggravate heart problems. They are believed to pass into the brain, and this has been linked to dementia and Parkinson's disease."
Revealed: every Londoner breathing dangerous levels of toxic air particle "The mayor's office said approximately half of PM2.5 in London is from sources outside the city. However, the main sources of PM2.5 emissions in London are from tyre and brake wear, construction and wood burning."
October 2017. Extreme air pollution in Ireland caused by 'burning of solid fuel' Prof O'Dowd confirmed "extraordinary levels of air pollution" exceeding WHO guidelines were found in Dublin during one in five winter days last year. These occurred at night due to domestic heating activity, while daytime air pollution levels (mainly from traffic), reached less than 10 per cent of night time peaks.
These "extreme air pollution events are driven by burning of solid residential fuel (namely, peat, wood and biomass) and even though less than 4 per cent solid fuel is consumed, this accounts disproportionately for 70 per cent of the pollution". Diesel accounted for far less pollutants in the form of particulate matter than might be expected – at between 5 and 10 per cent.
He added: "The major concern is that these fuels are promoted as being 'green' or 'low-carbon' in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, but are devastating in terms of air pollution... and their consumption is predicted to increase significantly, thus turning back the clock in terms of clean air policy in the developed world."
It's also completely misleading to promote log-burning stoves as climate friendly. A New Scientist review concluded that log-burning stoves are harming our health and speeding up global warming
October 2017. Air pollution blamed for 500,000 early deaths in Europe in 2014. "By far the biggest killer was PM2.5, the soup of tiny particles measuring 2.5 micrometres across or less. These claimed an estimated 428,000 premature deaths across the 41 European countries tracked in 2014. The main source, contributing 57 per cent of PM2.5 emissions in 2015, was domestic wood burning, especially in eastern Europe."
October 2017. Prenatal Air Pollution and Newborns' Predisposition to Accelerated Biological Aging Telomere length at birth has been related to life expectancy. For a 5-μg/m3 increase in residential PM2.5 exposure during pregnancy, cord blood telomeres were 9% shorter and placental telomeres 13% shorter. An association between prenatal air pollution exposure and telomere length at birth could provide new insights in the environmental influence on molecular longevity. Telomere length is a marker of biological aging that may provide a cellular memory of exposures to oxidative stress and inflammation.
October 2017. Burning driftwood makes dangerous smoke. The lung association says it best: "Never burn wood that has been taken from salt water. Chlorine combines with the smoke to produce dioxins and furans, which are dangerous carcinogens."
October 2017. London air has dangerous levels of toxic particles Londoners are breathing in air that exceeds global guidelines for one of the most dangerous toxic particles, it has been revealed. New figures released by London Mayor Sadiq Khan show every area in the capital exceeds World Health Organisation (WHO) limits for PM2.5.
PM2.5 are toxic air particles which can increase the likelihood of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.Mr Khan said it was "sickening" that not one London area met WHO standards. "This research is another damning indictment of the toxic air that all Londoners are forced to breathe every day", he said.
The findings of the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory show nearly 95% of the capital's population live in areas that exceed the guidelines by 50% or more.
On 23 October, the Mayor's new T-Charge will come into force to remove older, more polluting vehicles from central London."I am doing everything in my powers to significantly reduce NOx emissions by introducing the T-Charge to drive down the number of dirty vehicles polluting our roads and our lungs and implementing an Ultra Low Emission Zone with even tighter standards", he said.
"I also urge the government to devolve powers to me so I can get on with tackling the dangerous toxic air particles - known as PM2.5 - that we know come from construction sites and wood burning stoves. It's measures like these that we need to get on with now to protect our children and our children's children."
'Unhealthy' PM2.5 levels in evidence across London. "The Mayor also signed London up to the UN Environment and WHO 'Breathe Life' campaign, the first 'mega-city', committing to meeting the 10 μg/m3 WHO PM2.5 limit by 2030 – cementing the pledge set out in the London Environment Strategy published in August". A map of PM2.5 concentrations by location across London is available and a report on PM2.5 noting that nearly 95 percent of the capital's population live in areas of London that exceed the WHO PM2.5 guideline limit by 50% or more.
October 2017. Air Pollution Tied to Kidney Disease. "PM 2.5 particles are small enough to enter the bloodstream where they make their way to the kidneys, which are especially prone to injury from pollutants.
"The scientists calculate that "unhealthy" pollution levels lead to an annual increase of 44,793 cases of chronic kidney disease, and 2,438 cases of end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis. Even levels below those considered "safe" increased risk."
October 2017. Air in 44 UK cities and towns too dangerous to breathe, UN pollution report Out of 51 UK cities and towns listed in an air quality database, 44 fail the WHO's test for fine sooty particles smaller than 2.5 microns across that have been linked to heart disease and premature death.
Exposure to the particles, known as PM2.5s, should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic metre of air, according to the health organisation. But in numerous British population centres annual average levels are higher, sometimes by a significant degree, it is claimed. Glasgow emerged as one of the polluted cities, with a PM2.5s concentration of 16 micrograms per cubic metre. London and Leeds both had 15 micrograms of the particles in every cubic metre-sized parcel of air, Cardiff and Birmingham 14, and Manchester 13.
Perhaps surprisingly, the seaside resort of Eastbourne and port city of Southampton equalled London's exposure level, while the dreaming spires of Oxford were surrounded by air as polluted by fine particles as Cardiff.
October 2017. COMEAP report on NO2 mortality due in 2017. "The evidence was pushing us to think that NO2 has some independent effect, but we weren't sure of the size of that and we weren't sure if it was really NO2 or something else," Professor Kelly told the conference.
Perhaps the best option would be to devote about two thirds of our resources fighting PM2.5 because we know it's extremely dangerous and that there's no safe level of PM2.5 pollution, and the remaining third on NO2 because we don't know how dangerous it is - estimates of premature deaths from NO2 range from 23%-50% of pollution-related deaths.
September 2017. Del Mar asks for ban on wood-burning fireplaces "It's not the overall air quality that matters as much as the fireplace next door, said Rick Ehrenfeld, a former Del Mar planning commissioner and review board member.
"If I'm sitting next to someone who's smoking a cigarette, I don't care what the overall air quality is," Ehrenfeld said.
"A ban on wood-burning fireplaces in new residential construction will eventually eliminate them in all homes, he said."
September 2017. Air pollution: London Mayor Sadiq Khan calls for ban on wood-burning stoves. "Khan said: "Non-transport sources contribute half of the deadly emissions in London, so we need a hard-hitting plan of action to combat them similar to moves I am taking to reduce pollution from road vehicles.
"With more than 400 schools located in areas exceeding legal pollution levels, and such significant health impacts on our most vulnerable communities, we cannot wait any longer, and I am calling on government to provide the capital with the necessary powers to effectively tackle harmful emissions from a variety of sources."
The mayor has asked the environment department to amend the Clean Air Act to allow for the creation of zero-emission zones where the burning of solid fuel is not allowed from 2025 onwards."
Ban wood-burning stoves? Not in my back flue! "How could they ever have believed that diesel was a clean fuel? Some people don't have the sense they were born with.
"Except, of course, that the whole wood-burning myth comes under this category too. In order to embrace the harmless naked flame idea, one had merely blithely to suppress common sense. Global anti-poverty and justice campaigners, for example, have been highlighting the damage to health caused to women who cook over open fires for decades. Cooking on an open fire has been likened to smoking 400 cigarettes an hour and is linked, research suggests, to four million premature deaths each year.
"How anyone ever believed that directing all this filth into the air outside our homes made all that danger go away is the actual mystery here."
September 2017. NSW EPA Clean Air Stakeholder Survey - more respondents concerned about wood smoke (61%) than any other source of pollution, including transport and fuels (48%), coal mining (46%) or power stations (38%). • The document lists research and opportunities for improving air quality, including:
• Phase out/ban wood heaters
• Use mobile, low-cost sensors to target local emission sources (eg, using particle counters)
• Map local wood smoke pollution hot spots
• Fund replacement of wood heaters with cleaner alternatives (especially where financial hardship)
• Give Councils powers to deal with wood smoke more effectively
• Explore new public awareness approaches for wood smoke
• Concern about the upcoming EPA wood smoke campaign message, "If you can smell it you are already breathing it", based on difficulties it raises for Local Government as responsible for regulation but with limited powers, and the additional concern it may cause communities about their local air quality.
• Return to the "Don't light up tonight" advice for wood heaters when inversions or extremely still conditions are expected.
• Require heaters to be removed before houses are offered for sale and/or do not allow new wood heaters to be installed.
• Research in Tasmania and New Zealand shows that stricter "standards" based on the current AS4013 test do not result in any significant pollution reduction as standards do not represent real-life operation.
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
exposed to air pollution breathed in by their mothers developed smaller heads and shorter bodies.
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...."
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.
As equally dangerous as the exhaust fumes from diesel vehicles, are the soot particles produced by wood-burners and 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 aged 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, 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.
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."
The study was of 14 children and adolescents living in Fresno, Calif, claimed to be the second-most polluted city in the United States. Although the authors attributed the pollution to traffic, a study of the sources of Fresno's pollution (see graph, left) found that in winter wood smoke was the largest single source of airborne organic particles, and no doubt also PAH.
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."
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.
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.
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
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.
April 2017. American Lung Association's "Terrible 10" health risks from breathing polluted air.
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. ..."
"..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
More than a million homes in Britain now have a wood burning stove with 175,000 new ones installed every year.
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.
The CVRD released an air shed protective strategy in 2015, 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.
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.
October 2016. New fireplace rules kick in with start of Winter Spare the Air season.
"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.
WHAT if all Londoners, no matter how young or frail, smoked for at least six years? In effect, they already do. The city's air pollution exacts an equivalent toll on each resident, cutting short the lives of nearly 10,000 people each year and damaging the lungs, hearts and brains of children.
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.
Groups set to sue over polluted Fairbanks air.
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:
"... The diseases that are more closely associated with air pollution are the same set of diseases related to smoking. Smoking is basically sticking burning biomass in your mouth and what you have is burning biomass in people's stoves ...
"... Yet the cleanest stove is never clean enough, according to air pollution standards. If you are on a mountain top all by yourself, the smoke goes down with the wind and nobody gets affected but most of us don't live by ourselves anymore. A lot of things that we could do when we lived by ourselves, we can't anymore with the population densities that we have. Now, we also understand the health effects wood smoke provokes, while 60 years ago we didn't. Sixty years ago we didn't know about cigarettes, and now we do. Things change. People can't just do what they used to do without understanding that there are consequences. Health consequences in this case."
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. www.cantechletter.com/2016/01/air-pollution-and-autoimmune-disease-linked-says-canadian-study A new Canadian study suggests a link between air pollution and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Researchers analyzed demographic data from Alberta and Quebec over roughly a 20 year period to search for correlations between ambient pollution levels in certain areas of each province and medical records of people in those areas suffering from autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The results confirmed a correlation.
"Our data suggest that fine particulate (PM2.5) exposure may be associated with an increased risk of systemic autoimmune diseases (SARDs)," the study's authors write.
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.
PM2.5 measurements (graph, left) show that the NSWEPA-funded woodsmoke program in Muswellbrook (a mining town supplying coal to power stations that generate enough electricity for 3.25 million homes) has not reduced PM2.5 pollution. Although only a few hundred houses are believed to use woodheating, chemical fingerprinting showed that woodsmoke was the major source (62%) of Muswellbrook's PM2.5. Health-hazardous PM2.5 are still substantially higher during the wood heating season. The EPA-funded program has clearly not persuaded wood-heater uses to switch to non-polluting heating or operate their wood heaters more carefully. The valuable lessons learned in Launceston are being forgotten - that the only effective way to reduce woodsmoke pollution is to switch to non-polluting heating; trying to persuade people to operate heaters correctly has little benefit.
Muswellbrook had 3 exceedances of the PM2.5 standard, all in winter:
14/6/15 31.2,
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)
Comparison of measured PM2.5 in Armidale and Muswellbrook, 2010-2105 (click to enlarge).
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
BAAQMD reminds that this means a ban on burning wood, manufactured fire logs or any other solid fuel, both indoors and outdoors for 24 hours. Air quality managers say the light winds will contribute to poor air quality in the Bay Area, especially in the Santa Clara Valley.
"Air pollution from wood smoke is one of the greatest health threats to Bay Area residents during the winter months," said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District. "Just one burning fireplace can create unhealthy air for an entire neighborhood. It is important that the public refrain from burning, especially during these weather conditions that allow wood smoke to build up."
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."
November 2015. Health leaders warn people about risk of wood burning in Utah
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.
October 2015. Double global warming whammy from domestic wood heating and diesel particles.
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."
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.
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."
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:
Particulate Air Pollution Linked To Increased Mortality Rates, Even At Low Concentrations.
"Most of the country is either meeting the EPA standards now, or is expected to meet them in a few years as new power plant controls kick in," noted professor of environmental epidemiology, Joel Schwartz, in a recent press release. "This study shows that is not enough. We need to go after coal plants that still aren't using scrubbers to clean their emissions, as well as other sources of particles like traffic and wood smoke."
For every 10 ug/m3 of annual PM2.5 exposure, mortality increased by 7-9% and by 2.14^% for every 10 ug/m3 increase in exposure on the current of previous day. When the analysis was limited to people in areas that satisfied the current WHO guideline of 10 ug/m3, death rates were estimated to increase by 9.3% per 10 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure. Similarly, the increase in mortality on days complying with the US PM2.5 daily air quality standard remained unchanged at 2.14% per 10 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure on the current and previous day.
Long-term PM2.5 Exposure and Neurological Hospital Admissions in the Northeastern United States. For every 1 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure, researchers found the risk of dementia increased by 8%, the risk of Alzheimer's disease increased by 15% and the risk of Parkinson's diseases increased by 8%.
Prospective Study of Ambient Particulate Matter Exposure and Risk of Pulmonary Embolism in the Nurses' Health Study Cohort. "Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the most serious manifestation of venous thromboembolism and a leading cause of sudden death. Several studies have suggested associations of venous thromboembolism with short-term particulate matter (PM) exposure". In this study, an increase of 10 u/m3 PM2.5 exposure in the previous month increased the risk of PM2.5 increased by 22% for after adjusting for known risk factors and PM2.5–10.
Vehicular Traffic-Related Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure and Breast Cancer Incidence: The Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project (LIBCSP) . "Conclusions: In our population-based study, we observed positive associations between vehicular traffic-related B[a]P exposure and breast cancer incidence among women." In Australia, domestic wood heaters emit many times more B[a]P-equivalent PAH than traffic.
Holding Your Breath in India. "Before coming to Delhi, Bram had had a couple of breathing episodes that doctors assured us he would most likely outgrow. Now he has full-blown asthma and must take powerful daily medications ...There is a growing expatriate literature, mostly out of China, describing the horrors of air pollution, the dangers to children and the increasingly desperate measures taken for protection. These accounts mostly end with the writers deciding to remain despite the horrors. Not this one. We are moving back to Washington this week.
World Health Assembly closes, passing resolutions on air pollution and epilepsy. Delegates at the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution to address the health impacts of air pollution – the world's largest single environmental health risk. Every year 4.3 million deaths occur from exposure to indoor air pollution and 3.7 million deaths are attributable to outdoor air pollution ...At the Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly, WHO will propose a road map for an enhanced global response by the health sector that reduces the adverse health effects of air pollution.
Burning driftwood makes dangerous smoke. "Re: "Beach fires a safe and fun tradition," letter, June 2.
Fond memories of beach fires? How romantic. How dangerous!
The letter-writer is obviously unaware of the dangers of burning salt-contaminated wood. Highly persistent and carcinogenic dioxins and furans are produced when materials containing chlorine, such as salt-laden driftwood, are burned by incomplete combustion.
I encourage anyone who is thinking of using salt contaminated driftwood as a fuel for beach fires, fireplaces or anything else to go to sources such as the Mother Earth News article dated March 30, 2009, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment website or the B.C. Lung Association website.
The lung association says it best: "Never burn wood that has been taken from salt water. Chlorine combines with the smoke to produce dioxins and furans, which are dangerous carcinogens."
Kel Hicke, Saanich
May 2015. Regulatory action puts wood smoke pollution in the spotlight. Article by Tracey Gant, Sierra Club, explaining that EPA-certified wood stoves aren't the answer to woodsmoke pollution. "In a home that uses a fireplace for ambience, a gas log set reduces air pollution with minimal energy use. In a home that uses a woodstove for heat, technological innovations have created a compelling alternative: electric ductless mini-split heat pumps. Ductless heat pumps are more energy efficient than heating with natural gas or other fuels. They produce no local emissions, and their low energy usage makes them ideal for running off of solar panels, allowing for net-zero-energy-use homes. And that's the kind of house anyone could feel proud to call home.
The Sierra Club supports the efforts of the Air District to transition away from wood-burning devices that cause unhealthy and dangerous air pollution
Sierra Club Wants Action on Air. The Sierra Club and Physicians for Social Responsibility sued the EPA in Federal Court on Wednesday, under the Clean Air Act Wednesday, 20 May 2015 under the Clean Air Act. "It's important that the EPA does its job on time because these plans are one of the only ways that areas can clean up their air. Folks are frustrated, and the environmental groups have filed suit to make sure the EPA is pushing along on this road map for clean air in Los Angeles."
May 2015. Pittwater council to allow new heaters with real-life emissions of 6.7 grams PM2.5 per kilogram of firewood and estimated health costs of $6,000 per year.
May 2015. Decade-long study wins Heinz Award after findings include link between air pollution, obesity. Dr. Perera's research tracked the pre- and post-natal health of 720 mother-child pairs in New York City.
She found that in addition to causing infant mortality, low birth weight, allergies, asthma, slower brain development and respiratory illnesses, there is also a correlation between exposure to air pollutants and childhood obesity.
Dr. Perera, who founded and is the director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, said Pittsburgh's air quality remains a serious public health problem for regional residents, and noted that the region is the sixth worst nationally for airborne particle pollution.
"We are concerned about pre-natal exposures because they can cause greater absorption and retention of toxics in the developing child," she said. "Because such children have immature biological defenses against exposures, chronic diseases that affect someone later in life can be seeded."
She was joined at the Wednesday event by Philip Johnson, Heinz Endowments director for science and environment, who said the region's industrial and mobile sources, along with residential woodburning, are producing some of the most polluted air in the nation.
May 2015. Wood Smoke Harms Your Lungs. Updated article for the Australian Lung Foundation, by Dr James Markos, Respiratory Physician, Launceston General Hospital and Lung Foundation Australia State Chair Tasmania. "We should all try to keep our air clean and one important way to achieve this is by not burning wood."
May 2015. Young trees targeted as firewood warning issued. As the government also warned Canberrans against the illegal collection of firewood, they reported 400 young trees on public land had been vandalised or stolen this financial year.
April 2015. Long-term exposure to air pollution may harm your brain Fine particle air pollution – smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) – may be the most common and hazardous type of air pollution. It comes from burning wood or coal, car exhaust and other sources.
"Long-term exposure to air pollution showed harmful effects on the brain in this study, even at low levels, particularly with older people and even those who are relatively healthy,"
During 1995-2005, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the effect of long-term exposure to air pollution on markers of brain structure. They found a 2 microgram per cubic meter of air (μg/m3) increase in PM2.5, a range commonly observed across a metropolitan region, was associated with a 0.32 percent smaller total cerebral brain volume and a 46 percent higher risk of covert brain infarcts, a type of silent stroke.
"Fine particulate matter affects more people than any other pollutant, with chronic exposure causing the most deaths from serious disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)."
Air pollution could increase risk of dementia The study, published in the journal Stroke, found that small increases in air pollution – an increase of only two microgram per cubic meter of air, to levels commonly found in cities, was sufficient to increase the risks ... Professor of Neurology Dr Sudha Seshadri at Boston University School of Medicine said: "On average participants who lived in more polluted areas had the brain volume of someone a year older than participants who lived in less polluted areas. "They also had a 46 per cent higher risk of silent strokes. This is concerning since we know that silent strokes increase the risk of overt strokes and of developing dementia, walking problems and depression."
April 2015. Clean Air Society Australia New Zealand submission: Working Towards a National Clean Air Agreement Discussion Paper. CASANZ's submission includes the following discussion on woodsmoke:
Summary: CASANZ strongly supports the reduction and control of emissions from domestic solid fuel heaters. The apparent inability of even compliant heaters to be operated without affecting neighbouring air quality has led to a call from some members for serious consideration to be given to banning their sale and operation, at least in some areas.
Main Text: WOODSMOKE: CASANZ notes and supports the emphasis on finalising measures relating to fine particle issues, particularly in relation to wood smoke. Some estimates put the adverse health costs of residential wood smoke at $8 billion for NSW alone and about $20-24 billion nationally. We support the action proposed for the Agreement to implement lower emission standards for new wood heaters. However, there is also need to take action on existing non-compliant heaters, which would otherwise remain a problem for potentially a long time.
The problem with emissions from domestic wood heaters is complex. Clearly, design of the heater is an important aspect of emissions performance. Other important aspects include operation and maintenance of the heater, quality of the fuel, enforcement of standards, and enforcement of heater operation requirements. Further, CASANZ notes that heater emissions measured under "real world" operating conditions can be several times higher than those measured under the standards measurement protocol.
There are obviously jurisdictional issues relating to standards, measurement protocols, and controls which could need to be formalised in some form of agreement or memorandum of understanding. There clearly remains a resourcing issue at both the local government and state level, particularly in enforcement, that should be addressed, and the related issue with open fire places.
Despite standards having been applied over several decades, air pollution problems from domestic wood heating remain. CASANZ's view is that action to ban domestic solid fuel burning for domestic heating should be seriously considered, particularly where the meteorology is such that people will be adversely affected.
This would involve prohibition on sale of new heaters, phase-out of the operation of existing heaters, and modification of residential building codes in relation to open fire places. From a regulatory viewpoint, this would be highly efficient and cost effective method of reducing particle pollution from domestic woodheaters. Clearly, philosophical and political aspects would need addressed for implementation, but conceptually this is straight forward, and operation simple to enforce. A similar approach operates in some places overseas for example Christchurch in New Zealand, and Montreal in Canada.
April 2015. Moench: Air pollution's effect on pregnant women and newborns is undeniable. "Hundreds of studies have been published confirming air pollution as a threat to the viability of a pregnancy and to the healthy development of the human embryo. Air pollution triggers the same harmful inflammatory cascade, and disease outcomes, as you would expect from diluted cigarette smoke. That's no surprise because chemically it is very similar. All organs can be affected, including what most people might consider their favorite ones — heart, lungs, brain and, in the case of a pregnant mother, the placenta and fetus."
March 2015. Burnt food smoke risk to unborn babies: Fumes found to disrupt development of part of brain linked to intelligence and behaviour
March 2015. Cleaner air means healthier kids As air quality has improved in the notoriously smoggy Los Angeles area, so has the health of children's lungs, according to a long-running study of 2,120 children published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.
March 2015. Salt Lake Tribune: Moench: Wood burning is a killer, and Utah needs to admit it.
Op-ed: It's up to voters to ensure Utah's air quality improves
March 2015. Essential viewing! Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment release their 30-sec video -For your own health stop burning wood.
March 2015. NSW EPA Consultation on allowing local councils to restrict the installation of new wood heaters. Their proposals are better than nothing, but they will only reduce health costs by $2 billion, when not allowing new heaters and requiring existing ones to be removed when houses are sold would reduce health costs by at least $6 billion.
March 2015. Steamboat, Colorado: Wood smoke has been drastically reduced here by converting vacation condominiums to cleaner burning gas fireplaces and prohibiting wood-burning stoves and fireplaces in new homes.
March 2015. Fresno Bee: New wood-burning rules: Less smoke, possibly more confusion. The San Joaquin Valley's air was cleaner this winter — maybe because it was a little stormier, foggier and breezier. Or maybe some people avoided their fireplaces because they were confused by the new wood-burning rules.
March 2015. Northern Ireland study highlights smoky coal pollution. Levels of the harmful carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) continue to be a problem in Northern Ireland, with all sites that monitor the pollutant reporting breaches of the UK limit in 2013.
March 2015. Bathurst Council losing smoke pollution battle. DESPITE the very best efforts of Bathurst Regional Council, it appears efforts to reduce local air pollution from smoky fireplaces is proving an impossible battle to win.The number of new wood heaters being installed in existing or new houses far outnumbers those being removed. "Due to the increased uptake of new woodheaters, the NSW EPA has indicated that the (woodsmoke-reduction) funding into the future will not continue in its current guise."
Feb 2015. Ten Things You Need to Know if You Burn Wood Josh Schlossberg's informative article reproduced in the Harvard Square Edition. Respiratory Problems - Carcinogenic - Toxic Chemicals - Worse Than Cigarettes - Exceeds Federal Standards - Smoke Enters Homes - EPA Stoves Not Much Better - Doctors Want Ban - Taxpayer Subsidized - Alternatives to Burning
16 Reason To Ban Wood Burning. Thompson Rivers University's Environmental Sustainability page reinforces the UPHE message: "Following an interesting article posted by Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment the Kamloops Moms for Clean Air shared a post that highlighted 16 Reasons to Ban Wood Burning. We found the post to be very interesting and thought we'd post it on our blog to help spread the valuable information."
Feb 2015 Exposure to small particle pollution linked to heart-disease death Data from about 8,000 women living in the Sacramento metropolitan area were used in a major study that linked death from heart disease to exposure to soot found in car exhaust, cooking smoke and diesel pollution. The OEHHA study is one of the first to look at the long-term effects of ultrafine particles – tiny particles that are a thousand times smaller than the width of a human hair, and tiny enough to pass through lung tissue and into the bloodstream.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article11184728.html#storylink=cpy
Feb 2015. Wood Stove Smoke Is Killing Us. Winter cold has set in, and smoke curls skyward from my neighbor's chimney. Once, I would have found that charming. No longer.
Now I know that his smoke is making me sick. For starters, wood smoke causes heart disease, irregular heartbeat, lung cancer, and emphysema. I'm not alone in waking up to these hazards: Cities from Paris to Montreal to Tacoma are responding with restrictions aimed at wood-burning.
Feb 2015. Hundreds of Utahns in 4 cities rally for clean air. "Wood-burning happens in neighborhoods. That's where the homes are and that's where we live," Carrie Marsh, of Bountiful, said. "It's in our house. It's in our clothes. There's really no escaping it." .. "I'm concerned about bad air, yes," he said. "For my health and my kids' health, there's nothing more important."
Feb 2015. Ozone, Particulate Matter, and Newly Diagnosed Alzheimer's Disease: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan "These findings suggest long-term exposure to O3 and PM2.5 above the current US EPA standards are associated with increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease."
Feb 2015. Chilean research: Health effects of air pollution worse in cities where woodsmoke is the main source of pollution than cities with multiple sources of pollution. "These results demonstrate that there is greater risk when people are exposed to air polluted with wood smoke."
Feb 2015. ABC Catalyst, Lead Astray. "there this compelling increase in crime rates from 1960 to 1990. The rate of violent crime in the United States quadrupled over this period. And right around the early to mid-1990s the violent crime rate began to tumble. And it fell suddenly, rapidly and unexpectedly.
"Among all the possible explanations came a seemingly absurd proposition that the late-20 century crime wave was not so much a factor of changing economics, drug use or police tactics...
"..but the mass-scale exposure of young children to one specific element... ..lead. From leaded petrol emissions." ...
"Perhaps the biggest crime associated with lead is that it was known to have serious toxic effects long before it was added to petrol"
This is yet another example of why, when there is clear evidence of the harmful effects of air pollution, it is inadvisable to all that pollution to continue when there are affordable alternatives that are much cleaner.
Jan 2015. Why your fireplace is ruining the environment. Air districts in California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and in China and Greece are asking the public not to burn wood. While it may seem a low-tech solution, it is a less expensive way to cut air emissions, said Philip Fine, SCAQMD assistant deputy executive officer ..
All the attention given to PM2.5 in the last several years is a result of success controlling other pollutants from factories, refineries, paints/coatings and automobiles, he said, but still not meeting clean air standards. "We've spent 50 years trying to control air emissions from every source, but this one (domestic wood burning) has gone unregulated," Lyou said.
Jan 2015. Canadian Medical Association Journal. Where there's smoke there's respiratory risk. Experts say both doctors and the public should be more aware of the associated potential health hazard.
Jan 2015 Pollutionwatch: Please don't keep the home fires burning Article in the Guardian by UK research scientist Gary Fuller
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.
See also: Wood-burning stoves in pollution shock. A new study shows that Birmingham – and nine other UK cities – suffered an increase of up to 13 per cent in air pollution because of the stampede to buy wood-burning stoves.
Jan 2015. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment give 17 reasons to ban wood burning: 1. All 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 like starting up your own toxic incinerator ...
Jan 2015. Wood-burning stoves in pollution shock. Trendy families in the Midlands are fuelling air pollution by buying WOOD-BURNING STOVES. The fad is supposed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by using the 'greenest' of all fuels.But scientists have discovered that burning wood in stoves, boilers and open fires is as bad as having a car with older-generation 'dirty' diesel engines.
"Even modest domestic wood-burning may lead to particulate exposures comparable to those from traffic sources. We need to manage urban emissions to ensure that increased wood-burning does not offset schemes to reduce traffic pollution."
"Air pollution is one of the greatest public health issues of modern times, causing some 60,000 premature deaths a year in the UK, half of them attributable to particulates."
Jan 2015. Wood-burning a toxic air pollutant. Residents are making effort to carpool and politicians are pushing for stricter regulations, but something they are doing inside could be causing more damage.
"Wood burning is a bigger issue than any of us have known, here in Utah specifically," said Erin Mendenhall, Breathe Utah. "Wood burning is accounting for as much direct PM2.5 as our cars and trucks are." Dr. Brian Moench with the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment says that wood smoke and industrial admissions are the most toxic types of air pollution, which can have an impact on our health.
"People should understand that when they are burning wood in their own home, they are not only creating a toxic environment for their own family, but because those particles are exceedingly small, they seep seamlessly into neighbors' homes and affect the health of your neighbors as well," Moench said.
Dec 2014. A paper published in Nature by Julia Schmale and colleagues urges: Air pollution: Clean up our skies Improve air quality and mitigate climate-change .
Dec 2014. Yet another study linking autism to PM2.5 pollution Prof Frank Kelly, the director of the environmental research group at King's College London, discussed the links between air pollution and autism: "I think if it was this study by itself I wouldn't take much notice, but it's now the fifth that has come to the same conclusion."
Another new study in Israel provides new evidence linking high exposure to air pollution to an increased risk of congenital malformations.
Dec 2014. Submissions on Australia's Ambient Air Quality NEPM show overwhelming public support for stricter air pollution standards - PM2.5 standards of 6 ug/m3 (annual) and 20 ug/m3 (daily max); PM10 standards of 40 ug/m3 (daily max) and 20 ug/m3 (annual average). Many submissions called for the standards to be adopted immediately. An annual PM2.5 standard of 6ug/m3 would save 700 lives per year - every day of avoided delay would prevent about 2 more premature deaths.
Dec 2014. Wood burning fires to be completely banned in Paris. Wood burning has already been banned in Paris since 2007 as the main source of heating, but has been tolerated for occasional use .... The complete prohibition is a direct result of trying to reduce the concentration of fine particles levels in Paris (PM10 particles of diameter less than 10 microns). Wood burning currently contributes 23% of the PM10 levels in the Ile-de-France department, the same as vehicles.
Dec 2014. State considers banning wood burning from November 1 to March 15 ... "wood burning emits particulate pollution at a far greater rate than equivalent amounts of energy expended in modern automobile engines, industrial plants and other contributors to the infamous annual inversion in Utah's most populous Northern Valleys."
State seeks input on proposed wood smoke ban An outright prohibition on wood burning during the notorious inversion season (from November to March) along the Wasatch Front and in Cache Valley is under consideration by Utah pollution regulators ..
Nov 2014. Peer-reviewed article in Air Quality and Climate Change - Woodsmoke: Regulatory failure is damaging public health
Nov 2014. CABI Review - Human health consequences of reducing emissions of climate altering pollutants
Nov 2014. Parliamentary Speech by Nick McKim (Greens member of theTasmanian House of Assembly) on Woodsmoke. "New houses ought to be required to be designed to be energy-efficient, including properly insulated, so that heating requirements in those houses are lower than older houses. We need a situation where in new houses in Tasmania it ought not be possible to install a wood heater because of the impact that wood heaters have on human health."
Nov 2014. Biomass Monitor - Ten Things You Need to Know if You Burn Wood - Respiratory Problems - Carcinogenic - Toxic Chemicals - Worse Than Cigarettes - Exceeds Federal Standards - Smoke Enters Homes - EPA Stoves Not Much Better - Doctors Want Ban - Taxpayer Subsidized - Alternatives to Burning
Nov 2014. Melbourne councils band together to buy 100GWh of clean energy direct. A group of Melbourne councils are banding together to bypass the renewable policies of the state and federal governments.
Nov 2014. Childhood brain tumours linked with parents' activities. An AUSTRALIA-wide case-control study has found men who refuel their cars more than four times per month or use a closed wood heater before their child's birth may increase the risk of their offspring developing brain tumours.
Nov 2014. American Lung Association in California Cautions Against Wood-Burning and Urges Cleaner Alternatives for Winter Heat: 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).
"Breathing particle pollution – or soot –can shorten life and send those most at risk to the emergency room," said Kari Nadeau, MD, PhD, researcher and volunteer physician for the American Lung Association in California. "Wood smoke particles are so small, they can bypass the airway defenses and enter directly into the lung and bloodstream and can cause damage to cells, and lead to lung disease and heart attacks."
"As with any pollution, children are especially at risk. Their lungs do not fully form until the age of 18 and exposure to higher levels of wood smoke can lead to reduced lung function and risk of future lung disease. For children with asthma, breathing wood smoke can lead to serious asthma attacks and breathing emergencies."
Sept 2014. NEPC Consultation on proposed PM2.5 and PM10 standards. Everyone concerned about the health effects of air pollution should comment before the 10 Oct closing date. Residents of capital cities (and Morwell) should consider consider attending a public meeting: attending a public meeting (see RH column for locations).
The true net benefits of adopting the economically feasible measures are at least $24 billion, not the claimed $.8.8 billion.
Measures that would generate an estimated $15 billion in net benefits (from woodsmoke-control) were omitted from the economic analysis, implying that the NEPC did not consider all economically feasible measures.
There is no safe level of PM2.5 pollution. Adopting all economically feasible measures (including the woodsmoke-control measures recommended by the NSW Asthma Foundation) would allow stricter limits of 6 μg/m3 annual average PM2.5 and 20 μg/m3 daily average, saving about 700 lives per year. On average, every day bureaucratic delay results in another 2 unnecessary premature deaths.
Sept 2014. Visiting Doctor Warns of Smoke Dangers: A Utah based doctor is warning Fairbanks residents about the dangers of smoky air. As KUAC's Dan Bross reports, Doctor Brian Moench (MENCH), who scheduled to speak in Fairbanks tomorrow (Sat.), cites medical research and his own experience in a Salt Lake City hospital, to paint a dire picture of the health impacts of fine particulate pollution.
Sept 2014. ABC NSW 7:30 Report interview with NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay saying that, for PM2.5 (the most hazardous air pollutant), over 50% of PM2.5 comes from open fires (and domestic wood heating), but only 7% from cars and trucks.
Sept 2014. Dr. Brian Moench, M.D., President of Utah Physician's for a Healthy Environment gives an excellent overview of the health and environmental hazards of wood smoke pollution.
July 2014. State's top doctor says we should consider banning wood fire heaters NSW Chief Medical Officer Kerry Chant says wood heaters are so detrimental to health she supported banning and phasing them out in built-up urban areas as an option to control wood smoke.
July 2014. Wood smoke warning issued to asthmatics "Wood heaters produce more pollution than either tobacco or motor vehicles during the winter months, according to the Asthma Foundation NSW.
"Foundation CEO Michele Goldman said the average new wood heater in cold areas emitted as much pollution as 370 new diesel SUVs each travelling 20,000 km per year.
"The NSW Government has passed responsibility for this urgent and pressing health concern to ill-equipped local councils when it has a number of cost neutral options that could dramatically reduce winter pollution levels and drastically reduce the health bill," Ms Goldman said.
July 2014 Daughter of carbon monoxide poisoning victims pleads for wood heater awareness: "They were such senseless deaths." According to the Firewood Association of Australia, even in a correctly operated wood heater or fireplace, some of the combustion gases will condense on the inside of the flue or chimney as a black tar-like substance called creosote.
June 2014 Asthma Foundation NSW Calls For Action on Wood Heater I
In previous submissions to the NSW Government on the wood heaters issue, Asthma Foundation made three key recommendations that together would reduce wood smoke health costs by 75%:
Licensing fees to cover the cost of wood smoke-reduction programs with assistance for people whose health or lifestyle has been affected by wood smoke.
June 2014 Wood fire heaters: the hidden killer Article in the SMH and Age by Heath Gilmore. "The air pollution from wood fire heaters now poses a bigger immediate health danger to Sydneysiders than cars or cigarettes.
"Health experts say the growth in wood fire heaters and the resulting smoke accounts for more than 60 per cent of Sydney's winter air pollution, triggering complications among asthmatics, emphysema and chronic bronchitis sufferers.
"Asthma Foundation CEO Michele Goldman said Australians should be alarmed by the dangers posed by wood fire heaters ....Ms Goldman said the Standards Australia committee had so far had failed to take into consideration the concerns of health groups . She said the committee was dominated by the wood fire heating sector and industry groups with no medical experts among its membership.
Australian Lung Foundation spokesman Dr James Markos said wood fire heaters should be banned from urban areas. He said real-life emissions from new wood-heaters had little relationship to measurements from a perfectly operated test model under laboratory conditions. "There is no safe level of wood fire smoke in urban areas," he said.
Note that only 4.3% of Sydney households use wood as the main form of heating. It takes only a small proportion of households with woodheaters to cause a major pollution problem.
June 2014 Smoke from a poorly maintained wood fire flue has been determined as the cause of a couple's death last August. "A coroner's report has shown that the tragic death of an elderly Cowra couple in August last year was the result of carbon monoxide poisoning." ... According to the report the deaths, which occurred in the lounge room of the Hanna Street home .... were the result of carbon monoxide from a poorly maintained wood heater."
June 2014 Autism and schizophrenia linked to air pollution A study by the University of Rochester Medical Center looked at the impacts of air pollution on mice, finding that exposure in early life produces harmful changes in their brains, including an enlargement of part of the brain that is seen in humans who have autism and schizophrenia. The peer-reviewed article explains that mice were exposed to ultrafine pollution of < 0.1 microns. About 50% of woodsmoke particles are less than 0.3 microns and a large proportion of these would be less than 0.1 microns, so breathing woodsmoke at the levels experienced in many residential areas is likely to have a significantly increase the risk of being affected by these problems. Other research has linked exposure to woodsmoke or PAH (the main toxins in woodsmoke) to genetic damage in babies, reduced IQ when children start school and behavioural problems such as anxiety or attention deficit.
May 2014 Notice of Intention to Vary the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure The NEPC gives notice that it intends to make a variation to the Ambient Air Quality NEPM in relation to the standards for particles. This variation will reflect latest scientific understanding and will allow for an adequate level of health protection against the impacts of particle air pollution for the Australian community.
May 2014 Air Pollution Is Lowering The IQs-And Earning Potential--Of New York City Children
"Prenatal exposure to pollution correlated with developmental delays at age 3, fewer IQ points at age 5, and behavior problems at 7-years-old ... when they factored in the well-documented relationship between IQ and future earnings, the researchers calculated that if the city decreased PAH pollution by a quarter, each child could earn an additional $3,382 on average." See also the peer-reviewed journal paper.
May 2014 Four Ways Pollution Harms Kids the Most
1. Weakening Lungs.
2. Enabling Debilitating Muscular Disease
3. Boosting Asthma
4. Decreasing Intelligence
May 2014 A Latrobe Valley resident believes they have been exposed to hazardous chemicals, after using ex-railway sleepers as firewood, which are highly toxic when burnt.
Last week Mr Symons burnt some of the sleepers in his indoor wood heater before his family began complaining of sore throats and eyes.
"We just used the sleepers, we didn't use anything else and for five hours our eyes were burning, our throats were burning," Mr Symons said.
"After Mr Symons' wife searched the internet for information, she was shocked to find the sleepers were toxic if burnt and even contained fragments of asbestos originating from asbestos-made train brakes.
May 2014 Clearing the air - Why Australia urgently needs effective national air pollution laws
World Health Organization Review of evidence on health aspects of air pollution – REVIHAAP Project "The scientific conclusions ... about the evidence for a causal link between PM2.5 and adverse health outcomes in human beings have been confirmed and strengthened".
"The current state of scientific knowledge, supported by a large body of new studies, shows a wide range of adverse effects on health associated with exposure to PM2.5 ... The data strongly suggest that these effects: have no threshold within the ambient range studied; follow a mostly linear concentration–response function; and are likely to occur at fairly low levels, close to PM2.5 background concentrations."
As well as confirming the adverse health effects (including cardiovascular disease) from PM2.5 exposure, the WHO report noted that:
4. significantly more insight has been gained into physiological effects and plausible biological mechanisms that link short- and long-term PM2.5 exposure with mortality and morbidity, as observed in epidemiological, clinical and toxicological studies;
5. additional studies linking long-term exposure to PM2.5 to several new health outcomes, including atherosclerosis, adverse birth outcomes and childhood respiratory disease; and
6. emerging evidence that also suggests possible links between long-term PM2.5 exposure and neurodevelopment and cognitive function, as well as other chronic disease conditions, such as diabetes.
April 2014 Simon Corbell urges Canberrans to swap wood heaters for gas systems With the ACT's hottest summer on record just finished, the government has turned its attention to winter and begun another crackdown on Canberra's wood heaters.
April 2014.Home Firewood Burning responsible for 42% of PM2.5 emissions in Canada in 2011, compared to 8.8% for transportation (road, rail, air marine).
April 2014. 9 minute video of a talk by Dr Brian Moench, President, Utah Physicians for a healthy Environment on health & woodsmoke pollution. Anyone considering a wood heater should see this!
See also the follow-up video What about Woodburning Stoves - where Dr Monech reveals that he is appearing as an expert witness in a lawsuit where a neighbour is suing another neighbour because of the health consequences they have been subjected to because of the neighbour's wood-burning stove. "People can be personally exposed to 100 times more air pollution if your neighbour is burning wood. That's a really powerful effect."
April 2014. Increased PM2.5 exposure of 4.1 ug/m3 during pregnancy increased risk of autism spectrum disorder by 39%. For exposure during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, the increase was about 60%.
These results were from the Harvard University Nurses Health Study. With wintertime (June, July, August) PM2.5 measurements averaging 31.8 ug/m3 in one Armidale residential area, a 60% increase in risk per 4.13 ug/m3 of exposure during the third trimester would imply a 4.6-fold increase in risk for babies born at the end of winter. See also the ABC Health Report: Pollution and autism spectrum disorder (7 April 2014).
March 2014. Report highlights emissions impact of London wood burning. According to the report, the annual mean concentration of PM10 from wood burning was 1.1 micrograms per cubic metre, which it states is 'considerably greater' than the predicted city-wide mean PM10 reduction of 0.17 from the first two phases of the Low Emission Zone, introduced to reduce PM10 from traffic sources.
February 2014. Wood fireplaces spiked emergency visits, emissions: report
Wood-burning fireplaces are suspected of driving a spike in particulate matter emissions and emergency room visits for respiratory problems in Richmond, according to a Metro Vancouver report.
The regional authority's air monitoring stations detected a spike with particulate emissions in Richmond in late November, according to the report.
At the same time, Vancouver Coastal Health noticed a jump in emergency room visits "due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease," bronchitis, asthma and other lung conditions. Though authorities can't be certain, the wood burning is considered a "significant contributor" to the visits and emissions spike.
January 2014. Utah's First Wood Smoke Campaign
Breathe Utah is beginning a pilot program designed to help sole-source households convert from wood burning (and other solid fuels) for heat, to natural gas. UCAIR (Utah Clean Air Partnership) is underwriting the cost of a limited number of conversions through a new grant to Breathe Utah, entitled WSAP: Wood Smoke Abatement Program. See also: How does Utah's bad air hurt our health?
October 2013. Air pollution a leading cause of cancer
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) cited data indicating that 223,000 deaths from lung cancer worldwide resulted from air pollution in 2010, and said there was also convincing evidence it increases the risk of bladder cancer.
"Our task was to evaluate the air everyone breathes rather than focus on specific air pollutants," deputy head Dana Loomis said in a statement. "The results from the reviewed studies point in the same direction: the risk of developing lung cancer is significantly increased in people exposed to air pollution."
October 2013. Small minority who burn wood are responsible for much of our pollution
"If you are not a smoker, burning wood is probably the greatest threat to your health as anything that you do. But it is also a threat to your neighbors' health, as inappropriate as blowing cigarette smoke in the face of the passenger in the seat next to you. More than likely your neighbors are less than enthusiastic about sacrificing their health for your freedom to burn wood. A civilized society would suggest they shouldn't have to." Brian Moench, a doctor, is president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.
See also: Physicians group targets fireplaces and fuel burning stoves
SALT LAKE CITY — Just as smoking cigarettes in an enclosed public place is harmful and no longer legal, a group of physicians said burning wood or coal in a fireplace or stove is a practice that has come and should go — especially in regions where Utah struggles with air quality. "It is long overdue that we consider putting wood smoke into the community airshed as inappropriate," said Dr. Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.
October 2013. Utah doctors call for year-round ban on burning wood.
"Dr. Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, said it's a necessary action. "We don't have a lot of options," he said. "We can accept our air pollution is not solvable, we can stop driving all our cars, we can tell industry to shut down, or we can stop burning wood."
Research done during a winter inversion period shows that wood burning in stoves, fireplaces, and grills produce as much particulate pollution as all of the cars we have on the roads. The findings also show the toxic chemicals in wood smoke is just as bad, if not worse, than second-hand cigarette smoke. The research also shows that prenatal exposure to wood smoke can impact the health of the baby and generations to come.
Doctors said, in addition to the poor carbon footprint, the health hazards from wood smoke are severe.
"The particles from wood smoke are so small that you really can't escape them, no matter what building you go into or what home or whatever," Moench said. "It seeps almost seamlessly in virtually every edifice that we have. The second thing is, because it's so small, it then gets breathed deeply into the lungs and then gets distributed throughout the body. The third thing is wood smoke has attached to it some of the most toxic chemicals that there are."
The accompanying video reports that there are about 270 homes relying on wood heating - yet woodsmoke is causing as much pollution as all Salt Latk City's cars! See also: Utah Doctors Prioritize Health: Propose Elimination of Wood Stoves
September 2013. Oil Industry and Household Stoves Speed Arctic Thaw. Gas flaring by the oil industry and smoke from residential burning contributes more black carbon pollution to Arctic than previously thought -- potentially speeding the melting of Arctic sea ice and contributing to the fast rate of warming in the region.
The new study, published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics by researchers at IIASA and in Norway, Finland, and Russia, finds that gas flaring from oil extraction in the Arctic accounts for 42% of the black carbon concentrations in the Arctic ..
The researchers also found that residential combustion emissions play a greater role in black carbon pollution than previously estimated, after they incorporated seasonal differences in emissions into the model ...
The warming effect of black carbon on ice and snow has been suggested as one factor contributing to the relatively fast warming of the Arctic compared to the rest of the world. Arctic sea ice has declined faster than climate models predict, hitting new record lows in 2007 and 2012. See our Greenhouse Gas page for information about the severe impact of melting permafrost on the Earth's climate.
August 2013. Wood-burning stoves and fireplaces to be phased out in Montreal by 2021.
Josée Duplessis, head of Montreal's executive committee, said "We know now that heating with wood has a direct impact on the quality of air and, as a consequence, the health of Montrealers. It is not a myth but a well-documented phenomenon. City and health officials explained that wood burning leads to smog days during winter, premature deaths, hospital admissions and problems for the very young".
Norman King, an epidemiologist with the Montreal Public Health Board's urban environment and health section, said that about 1,000 Montrealers a year have their lives cut short by months or years because of fine particulate matter pollution.
City counsellor Alan DeSousa explained "at first people didn't know about the health impacts that these fine particles have, especially on those with respiratory diseases." Now that people understand the harm caused by breathing woodsmoke, phasing out this major source of pollution has much greater public support.
August 2013. ABC Radio PM Wood-fired heater rules deemed too lax.
TOM NIGHTINGALE: In winter, the southerly winds would trap chimney smoke in between houses in Sydney's north shore suburbs where Mark and his family used to live, and the smoke from a neighbour's heater was obvious.
MARK: Really, we could smell it in our bedclothes, we could smell it inside our house. At least two of our five children get quite bad asthma, and the others get it mildly, and one of them in fact had to go onto oral steroids because their asthma got so bad with it.
TOM NIGHTINGALE: After unsuccessfully raising it with his neighbour, Mark and his wife also tried the local council and then the neighbour again. But nothing changed.
MARK: We would not infrequently go out on to our back veranda and there would be visible smoke within the house. You could smell it quite easily. At night time, both my wife and I but also our children had very irritated eyes and we were coughing, to the point where it made it really rather unpleasant to sleep.
TOM NIGHTINGALE: The family has now moved house for other reasons, but Mark says the rules for wood-fired heaters are nowhere near good enough, and not properly enforced.
MARK: I think it's very toothless. I think it's actually a significant risk for councils, because of the risks such as we experienced.
If our child was admitted to a hospital, that I think is a big risk for councils that they need to take on board.
August 2013. American Lung Association Infographic (left). The ALA recommends driving less, cleaning up dirty diesel vehicles, using less electricity, not burning wood or trash, cleaning up harmful gasoline emissions and dirty power stations. This info-graphic confirms the ALA's position, that they "strongly recommends using cleaner, less toxic sources of heat. Converting a wood-burning fireplace or stove to use either natural gas or propane will eliminate exposure to the dangerous toxins wood burning generates including dioxin, arsenic and formaldehyde"
August 2013. Senate Inquiry: Impacts on health of air quality in Australia.
Committee disturbed by woodsmoke's disproportionate contribution to urban air pollution
Improved woodheater standards ... 1% of the cost of meeting air quality targets, 66% of the benefit
"The committee was disturbed by the disproportionate contribution made by wood smoke to urban air pollution, given the relatively small number of households using it as a heating source."
"In Sydney, improving wood heater pollution standards to 1g/kg would represent 1% of the cost of meeting the air quality targets of the NEPM, while representing 66%of the necessary abatement in PM10 levels."
6.43 The committee recommends that Australian Governments immediately adopt minimum efficiency and maximum emission standards for all newly installed wood heaters in Australia.
With such large benefits for a relatively small cost, the best way to protect public health would be to base emission standards on the health cost of woodsmoke pollution. Not allowing the installation of new heaters until they have passed a strict health-based standard is the best and most cost-effective way to protect public health.
AHHA's claims to the Senate Inquiry found to be untrue
The Senate Inquiry also confirmed that the failure to strengthen national woodheater standards "was the result of a failure of the technical committee to reach consensus within the meaning of Standards Australia's rules, which according to the minutes supplied to the committee was a result of opposition from industry representatives." Like many other claims made by the AHHA, this claim to the Senate Inquiry was found to be untrue.
August 2013. Carbon, silicon in airborne particulates increase risk of death in US cities. "For decades, scientists have been trying to unravel why more people die of heart attacks, asthma and other health problems whenever fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, increases. Particulates are a mix of substances emitted by sources of combustion, including cars, trucks, industrial plants and wood burning. ... The researchers from Johns Hopkins, Harvard and Yale universities used air pollution and mortality data from all causes of death, except accidents, between 2000 and 2005. Seven compounds that, together, typically make up 79 to 85 percent of PM2.5 mass were analyzed. ... With a typical, day-to-day increase in pollutant levels, deaths rose by 0.39 percent for organic carbon, 0.22 percent for elemental carbon, 0.17 percent for silicon and 0.16 for sodium. The researchers found "little evidence" of variation by season or region." These results confirm the major threat to public health resulting from the disproportionate amount PM2.5 emissions of Australian wood heaters, much of which consists of organic carbon.
25 July 2013. Dr Karl, Science on JJJ - Podcast segment: Why people in urban areas should not use woodheaters (right click the link to save and listen to the mp3 file on your computer).
June 2013. NSW EPA graph showing the sources of PM2.5 in Sydney (where approximately 5% of households use wood as the main form of heating).
PM2.5 - tiny particles so small they behave like gases and infiltrate homes even when all doors and windows are shut, and penetrate the deepest recesses of our lungs, are considered the most health-hazardous air pollutant, responsible for 10 to 20 times as many premature deaths as the next worst pollutant, ozone.
There is no safe level of PM2.5 pollution. The World Health Organisation's "Review of evidence on health aspects of air pollution notes that "In the absence of a threshold … health benefits will result from any reduction of PM2.5 concentrations whether or not the current levels are above or below the limit values."
The NSW EPA graph below shows that a small proportion of households using wood heaters is responsible for the lion's share of emissions of the most health-hazardous air pollutant - PM2.5. In 2006, a study of the health effects of particulate pollution led to press reports that Sydney's polluted air is contributing to the deaths of up to 1,400 people a year. At the time, a member of the Upper House commented: "But no one has yet given us a breakdown on where the pollution comes from - cars, airports and industrial plants." The wood heater lobby successfully diverted attention away from the real cause.
With the real cause clearly shown in the NSW EPA graph, it's time for people who care about their health to demand action. The NSW Woodsmoke control options report showed that 3 simple measures - a moratorium on the installations of new heaters, a requirement to remove wood heaters before houses are sold and licencing fees could reduce the $8 billion health cost of woodsmoke in NSW by at least $6 billion. The UN Environment Program and World Meteorological Association also recommended phasing out log-burning heaters to reduce climate change as well as improve health.
Now that the major source of health-hazardous PM2.5 emissions is only too clear, everyone who cares about their health should demand immediate action to implement the 3 effective woodsmoke-control measures and save $6 billion in health costs.
May 2013. BBC Documentary on air pollution. Half hour BBC documentary on air pollution - mainly cars but there are some clear messages in relation to woodsmoke.
1) The dangers of PM2.5 pollution were demonstrated by measuring arterial stiffness in a volunteer who had experienced low pollution levels, then after just 1 hour exposed to high levels of PM2.5 from diesels - an important lesson for everyone to know and understand.
2) Much of the problem was created because, despite everything we knew about the dangers of PM2.5 pollution, diesels were sold as 'green cars'. Governments encouraged people to buy them by handing out tax incentives!!!
The parallels with woodsmoke are only too obvious. The diesel tax incentives were a big mistake that has caused many premature deaths and substantial health problems. To save ourselves a lot of suffering, ill-health and significant costs of remediation, we should stop installing new wood heaters now, and introduce programs to get rid of the existing ones.
April 2013. Michigan firefighters seek workers' comp for cancer. In May 2009, then 36-year-old Sterling Heights firefighter Chris Slezak, went to his doctor on a Monday because he felt out of shape and worn out. By that Friday, Slezak, who was active and healthy his entire life, got his first round of chemotherapy for leukemia. Slezak, whose leukemia is now in remission, said he believes it was caused by 16 years of battling burning, smoke-filled structures.
April 2013. Air pollution linked to heart disease. Exposure to polluted air increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by speeding up the hardening of the arteries, according to new research.
United States researchers took ultrasound measurements of the blood vessels of more than 5000 people and examined PM2.5 levels at each person's house. In findings published in PLOS Medicine on Wednesday, the researchers concluded that higher concentrations of fine particles in the air were linked to a faster thickening of the inner two layers of the common carotid artery, a blood vessel that provides blood to the head, neck and brain.
Senator Di Natale said the number of Australians who died from air pollution each year was more than twice the national road toll. The director general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Kandeh Yumkella recently said that globally, air pollution was causing more deaths than AIDS and malaria combined.
The Australian Medical Association has told the Senate inquiry that Australia's rules do not protect human health. AMA federal president Steve Hambleton told the inquiry fine particles – which are released into the air from sources such as coal mining and the burning of petrol and wood – were particularly dangerous because they were so small they could lodge deep in the lungs.
April 2013. Federal Government Consultation on New Woodheater Regulations. After many years of delays, the Federal Government has released a consultation regulation impact statement (CRIS) on proposed woodheater regulations.
The CRIS admits that woodheaters are a major source of particulate (PM) air pollution - estimated at 40,000 tonnes per year, and roughly 4 times the National Pollutant Inventory estimate of PM pollution from motor vehicles.
It also shows that the health costs of every new heater installed in urban areas areas amount to many thousands of dollars per year. Despite the fact that there can be no possible benefits to justify these extraordinary health costs, the best the Government could come u[ with is to introduce the regulations adopted by NZ in 2005 by 2018.
A draft AAQG response to the woodheater CRIS asks why the estimated health cost of thousands of dollars per heater per year were enough to consider not allowing new wood heaters until a satisfactory health-based standard had been developed. Anyone interested in the health effects of woodsmoke should try to find time to comment on the proposals.
There will be public meetings to provide an overview of the consultation RIS and how to make submissions - scheduled for Sydney, Canberra (Tuggeranong), Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Armidale, Launceston and Wagga - dates to be announced.
April 2013. Wood heater link to heart, lung diseases
Hundreds of thousands of Australians are endangering their health by the regular use of wood heaters at home.
About 1 million homes regularly use wood-burning heaters, despite links to heart and lung disease. Health and environment experts are calling on the federal government to better regulate their use.
In a submission to a Senate inquiry into the impact of air quality on health, a Launceston lung specialist, James Markos, said there was no safe threshold for the fine particle pollution that resulted from wood-burning heaters, just as there was no safe threshold for exposure to tobacco smoke.
Along with irritating existing conditions such as asthma and emphysema, studies had found that prolonged exposure to wood smoke was an ''important environmental risk factor'' in fatal heart or lung disease or lung cancer, he said.
March 2013. A fireplace pollutes the air as much as 1,000 cars. "The increase in the excise duty on heating fuel has forced a large number of Greek households to find alternative solutions, the most popular being the fireplace. According to studies, however, the burning of wood greatly increases air pollution." ... "the concentration of airborne particles on cold nights without wind reached very high levels". The highest among them were in the Thiseio region in the centre of Athens, where they reached 100 micrograms per cubic metre and in the centre of Patras with more than 200 micrograms per cubic metre. The experts make a comparison with the annual average concentrations of PM2.5 in the European Union, which is 20 ug per cubic metre.
February 2013. Utah doctors: Wait - or get out of Utah's bad air - to conceive
In Utah, where particle pollution tends be higher during winter months for various reasons, such as "more frequent and severe temperature inversions; more space heating, including wood burning" a group of Utah doctors are advising prospective parents to wait until the inversion season is over before trying to conceive. "A growing body of research is linking air pollution to negative birth outcomes, most often prematurity, low birth weight and restricted growth in the womb. .... Low birth weight is linked to problems in later childhood, including impaired intellectual ability, elevated blood pressure, diabetes and obesity."
February 2013. US EPA Green Heart Month The US EPA is raising awareness of heart disease and its link to air pollution and other environmental factors.
January 2013. Niles council in favor of ban on outdoor wood boilers Should Niles residents be allowed to use outdoor wood boilers within the city's residential areas? The consensus from the Niles City Council, speaking on the topic during a committee meeting of the whole Monday evening, was no....
"I can't understand why anybody would want to have the wood fires because you could actually really kill your neighbors," said councilman Scott Clark. "The smoke isn't the problem — the particulate matter is the problem."
Diane Powers, of the city's building safety division, said ... she's received about 20 inquiries into installing outdoor wood boilers over the past five years. She's denied each request without pushback.
January 2013. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment declares polluted air a public emergency - reduce speed limits, make mass transit free, cut industrial production by 50%, ban wood burning
"More than one hundred members of the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment held a press conference at the Utah Capitol on Wednesday, delivering a letter in which they say Utah's air is dangerous.
"They say their patients are dying prematurely and pregnant women are having complications, and that the dirty air is having an impact on everyone, one way or another. "Some women who are pregnant right now are going to miscarry, some women who are pregnant right now are going to develop preeclampsia and a few more babies are going to be born prematurely because of these five days in this bad month," said Dr. Kurtly Jones, doctor of reproductive medicine.
"But the risk isn't just for the pregnant, elderly or certain high-risk people, it's hurting everyone, so much that it should be considered a public health emergency.
"The UPHE delivered a letter to the Governor's Office offering a list of suggestions. The list suggests such actions as reducing highway speed limits to 55 mph, making mass transit free for the remainder of the winter season, requiring industrial polluters to cut production by 50 percent and completely prohibiting wood burning.
January 2013. Climate change: Soot's role 'underestimated' says study "Scientists say that particles from diesel engines and wood burning could be having twice as much warming effect as assessed in past estimates. They say it ranks second only to carbon dioxide as the most important climate warming agent .... This new study concludes the dark particles are having a warming effect approximately two thirds that of carbon dioxide, and greater than methane." "Reducing emissions from diesel engines and domestic wood and coal fires is a no-brainer as there are tandem health and climate benefits," said Professor Piers Forster from the University of Leeds.
"If we did everything we could to reduce these emissions we could buy ourselves up to half a degree less warming, or a couple of decades of respite," he added."
January 2013. Switch out of wood-burning stoves saves lives
The Australian, 9 January 2013.
"REDUCING the use of wood-burning stoves in Launceston led to a sharp fall in deaths from respiratory diseases and heart failure, a study published today says. "The paper, published by the British Medical Journal, highlights the pollution risks from inefficient biomass burning, used by billions of people for heating and cooking.
"University of Tasmania researchers looked at what happened when the city implemented a scheme to reduce pollution from wood smoke.
"It launched a campaign to educate residents about the risks of smoke from wood-burning stoves and offered help to replace these with electric ones.
"From 2001 to 2004, the number of households that used wood-burning stoves fell from 66 to 30 per cent. Atmospheric pollution from air particulates during winter fell by 40 per cent.
"Deaths among men fell by 11.4 per cent, particularly from cardiovascular causes, which saw a decline of 17.9 per cent, and from respiratory causes, which retreated by 22.8 per cent ..."
January 2013. Launceston's $2 million woodsmoke-reduction program halved wood heater use and reduced wintertime deaths from cardiovasular diseases by 20% and respiratory deaths by 28%. With such tremendous benefits from reducing wood heater use to 30%, how many people would like to see another 20-28% reduction in cardiovascular and respiratory deaths by persuading the remaining 30% of households to convert to non-polluting heating? Who wouldn't value the benefits of a 20-28% reduction in cardiovascular and respiratory deaths at much more than the cost of converting the remaining 30% of households to non-polluting heating?
Study highlights: "The interventions dramatically accelerated a general trend towards using electric rather than wood heaters. Following the interventions wood heater prevalence fell from 66 per cent to 30 per cent of all households and the three month average particulate air pollution during winter was reduced by 40 per cent.
"The difference between deaths in 1994-2001 and 2001-2007 were statistically significant in men: differences of 11.4 per cent for all-cause mortality; 17.9 per cent for cardiovascular and 22.8 per cent for respiratory.
"Results taken during the winter months (June – August) for males and females combined showed even higher reductions: cardiovascular 20 per cent; respiratory 28 per cent."
So, halving wood heater use reduced wintertime deaths from cardiovasular diseases by 20% and respiratory deaths by 28%, with total deaths per year in males falling by 17.9% for cardiovascular, 22.8% for respiratory. With such tremendous benefits from reducing wood heater use to 30%, who wouldn't want to see another 20-28% reduction in cardiovascular and respiratory deaths by persuading the remaining 30% of households to convert to non-polluting heating?
November 2012. PM2.5 pollution reduces cognitive function in older adults. A study by the US EPA measured cognitive function by a series of tests assessing word recall, knowledge, language, and orientation in of 14,793 subjectsaged 50 and oever. A 10 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 was associated with a 0.36 point drop in cognitive function score, roughtly equal to three years of aging.
November 2012. NSW Government Consultation on Woodsmoke Control Options.
Respond by 30 Nov 2012 - email woodsmoke.reduction@epa.nsw.gov.au or fill in the on-line form at: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/woodsmoke/WoodSmokeOptions.htm
Briefing paper (prepared in conjunction with Cate Faehrman, MLC
Background paper, explaining the importance of setting a health-based standard for wood heaters
The latest NSW emissions inventory (2008 data) estimates that wood heaters, used by less than 4% of households in Sydney are responsible 51% of all Sydney's all man-made PM2.5 emissions. Wood heaters therefore contribute a substantial proportion of the 643 to 1446 premature deaths attributed to particle pollution each year in Sydney.
The EPA discussion paper is an opportunity to introduce much-needed controls to reduce the health impact of wood heater pollution in urban areas. A briefing paper has been prepared in co-operation with Cate Faehrman, MLC, including background information and some suggested responses to the discussion paper questions.
Everyone concerned about woodsmoke should consider making their views known to balance the misleading information put out by the AHHA on behalf of the Australian wood heating industry.
Background paper, explaining why the current geneneration of wood heaters, which have estimated health costs of $4436 per year in Sydney (and $1562 per year in rural areas) is totally unacceptable. The best option is therefore to adopt the policy that is successfully reducing woodsmoke in Christchurch, NZ. Christcurch's emissions limit is 1.0 g/kg, with new heaters allowed only as replacements for existing, more polluting, wood heaters.
Instead of carrying out the same deceptive practices as the tobacco industry, the Australian Wood heating industry and its representatives (the AHHA) should immediately work on introducing develop technology (e.g. gas boosted ignition and sensors to boost the airflow or switch on the gas booster when the temperature falls below what is needed to burn up the smoke pollution). This would allow people to install and use wood heaters without damaging the health of the community.
Link to older news stories
Air pollution is an invisible killer that lurks all around us, preying on the young and old. Learn how it slips unnoticed past our body's defenses causing deaths from heart attack, strokes, lung disease and cancer. Help breathe life back into our cities and take action to protect our health and climate.
World Health Organization 90 sec air pollution video
UNICEF - the impact of air pollution on children's brain development and health
NSW EPA 30-sec animation
Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment - 30-sec video - essential viewing!
For your own health stop burning wood
Winter Spare the Air 30-second video - also essential viewing!
SF Bay Area 'Spare the Air'
Woodsmoke Pollution and your health - video of woodsmoke pollution in Canberra and Armidale and advice from Dr Jim Markos, Australian Lung Foundation
Study links wood smoke to senior heart attacks Video (2 mins), Canadian BC News, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017
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.
During the 20 month study wood heater emissions were responsible for 77% of the man-made PM pollution in Geeveston, compared to 11% from smoke plumes from forestry burns, 4% from waste combustion and 8% from other sources.
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.
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
NZ is reviewing its National Environmental Standard (NES) on air quality. Papers, discussion documents and an online submission form are available at http://www.mfe.govt.nz/news/2010-06-09-air-quality-review.html NB the deadline for submissions is Friday, 9 July.
Green Party spokesperson on Resource Management, David Clendon, commented:
"The Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand (HAPINZ) report estimated that 1,100 Kiwis die prematurely each year because of air pollution, and many more children and adults suffer from debilitating asthma and respiratory illness.
"Air pollution is estimated to cost our economy over $1 billion a year. Clean air is essential to our economic and environmental wellbeing. Delaying and lowering standards costs us more in the long run."
Anyone who agrees with these sentiments should use the online submission form to argue against delaying and lowering the standards. The online material includes a report by the Technical Advisory Group which cites the conclusions of UK Air Quality Expert Group publication in 2005: "Particulate matter can affect our health. The available evidence suggests that it is the fine components of PM10, which have a diameter of 2.5 μm or less and are formed by combustion, that are the main cause of the harmful effects of particulate matter."
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.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl