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"  Betsy Crumrine decided to sell her house in a residential area near Washington, Pa., this year in large part because of a neighbor with an outdoor wood-burning furnace. Crumrine has asthma and says the smoke--which wasn&amp;#039;t always visible but had a constant odor--bothered her from October through May, when the furnace was in use.  &amp;quot;The smoke permeated the air, depending on the weather conditions,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;I am so sensitive to smoke. It&amp;#039;s one of my [asthmatic] triggers.&amp;quot; The smell of smoke hung on her clothing and the interior of her car; she had to keep the windows and doors of her house shut. Crumrine frequently wore a mask when she went outside.  Crumrine wasn&amp;#039;t the only one the smoke was affecting. The township of her former neighborhood has been working for months to develop an ordinance regulating such furnaces. Supervisors have discussed banning furnaces altogether or only allowing them in agricultural zones. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s going to be a difficult issue to enforce,&amp;quot; said South Strabane Township solicitor Thomas Lonich.  Outdoor wood-fired furnaces, also known as outdoor wood-fired boilers, outdoor wood-burning appliances or outdoor hydronic heaters, are usually freestanding units resembling sheds with short smokestacks, located 30 to 200 feet away from a home, business, barn or greenhouse. The boilers burn wood to heat either water or a mixture of water and antifreeze which is piped underground, circulating through heat exchangers, radiant floor tubing or radiators to heat a building.  For areas with excess wood--from fallen trees or nearby lumber operations--an outdoor wood-fired furnace can be a cheap and efficient way to heat a home. But when furnaces are too close to neighbors, smokestacks are not tall enough or trash is burned in them, the pollution can have detrimental effects on neighbors and communities.  And the problem is growing. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection&amp;#039;s model ordinance for outdoor wood-fired boilers cites stack tests conducted by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) that show average particulate emissions from one outdoor wood-fired boiler are equivalent to the emissions from 205 oil furnaces or as many as 8000 natural gas furnaces.  NESCAUM estimated in 2006 that 155,000 outdoor wood-burning boilers had been sold nationwide since 1990. These outdoor boilers can emit almost 1.5 tons of particulate matter annually, according to the assessment. NESCAUM estimates there could be 500,000 outdoor wood-burning boilers in place nationwide by 2010. Wood-smoke emissions can become a major threat to those who live too close to an improperly managed boiler. Particle pollution can deeply penetrate lungs. Short- and long-term exposure to particulates can result in increased respiratory and cardiac symptoms, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function, chronic bronchitis, and even premature death for people who have heart and lung diseases. Those who are most susceptible make up more than 50 percent of the general population, including children, asthmatics, persons with pre-existing respiratory disease or cardiac problems, older adults and healthy adults who work or exercise outdoors.  Currently, there are no federal standards regulating outdoor wood-fired boilers. A voluntary program run by the Environmental Protection Agency has been created to work with manufacturers to reduce emissions. The first phase of the program was instituted from January 2007 through mid-October 2008, and required manufacturers to develop a boiler that was 70 percent cleaner-burning than unqualified models.  These heaters may include year-round models and are identifiable by an orange tag. Still, the emission level for phase 1 participants in the program may be four to 10 times dirtier than indoor stoves, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The phase 2 partnership agreements beginning Oct. 15, 2008, require manufacturers to produce boilers that are 90 percent cleaner-burning. These boilers are identifiable by a white tag.  According to the department, outdoor wood-fired boilers that do not qualify for the EPA phase 2 voluntary program use rudimentary technology that allows the unit to operate in an idle mode that produces continuous, heavy smoke. They also often have a very short smokestack, which may cause smoky conditions at or near ground level. At the end of the day, regulating and enforcing outdoor burning is a local issue, says Cathy Milbourn, an air-quality spokeswoman for the EPA. &amp;quot;We don&amp;#039;t make recommendations to local communities,&amp;quot; she says.  Ed Larson, who sells outdoor wood-burning boilers in a rural community near Washington, Pa., has seen local sales rising fast. In the last two years, his business, Larson&amp;#039;s Wood Heat, has sold approximately 50 boilers, which typically cost $9000 each. &amp;quot;In this area right now, [sales are] growing at about an average of 30 percent per year,&amp;quot; he says.   Larson lives on a 155-acre farm and claims he has saved 90 percent of his electricity costs since switching to an outdoor wood-fired boiler for heating. He only uses gas for cooking.   When he sells an outdoor wood-fired boiler, he gives the customer a flyer describing clean-burning practices as recommended by the Hearth, Patio &amp;amp;amp; Barbecue Association. The recommendations from the association include reading and following all operating instructions supplied by the manufacturer, only using the listed fuels set forth by the manufacturer and never using trash, plastics, gasoline, rubber, household garbage, leaves, paper products or cardboard. They also ask owners to pay attention to loading times and amounts, avoid using lighter fluids, gasoline or chemicals to start a fire, and to locate the unit with consideration to the prevailing wind direction and comply with applicable state and local codes. The fuel, according to the association, should be seasoned cordwood dried for more than six months, which produces a better fire and more heat.   &amp;quot;Enforcement programs have discovered OWBs burning tires, large bags of refuse and railroad ties,&amp;quot; according to NESCAUM&amp;#039;s 2006 assessment. Wheeler speculates some people may burn garbage not only to dispose of household waste but also because they don&amp;#039;t want to spend money to buy wood. The association is working on a campaign for responsible wood-burning practices.   &amp;quot;The key is burning wood the right way,&amp;quot; Wheeler says. &amp;quot;It is common sense but people have to be reminded to do it responsibly,&amp;quot; she said.  &amp;quot;Consumers should first look into indoor boilers--they&amp;#039;re incredibly efficient,&amp;quot; says John Ackerly, founder of the Alliance for Green Heat, a non-profit that promotes clean wood burning technologies.  &amp;quot;If you really want an outdoor boiler, get a Phase 2 boiler,&amp;quot; Ackerly says. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re not much more expensive, they&amp;#039;ll last longer, they use less wood and you can feel more comfortable putting them closer to a properly line without starting a feud.&amp;quot; Another money-saving tip, suggested by the EPA, is to contact local tree-cutters who will drop wood at one&amp;#039;s home. &amp;quot;This saves them from traveling to the landfill and paying dumping fees. It also reduces landfill dumping. Plus, you&amp;#039;ll end up with some free firewood.&amp;quot;  Owning a chain saw and 109 acres with lots of trees has helped Eugene Cruny save money on wood for his HeatMor furnace, which he&amp;#039;s owned for two years. He doesn&amp;#039;t reside on the 109 acres, but he does live in a neighborhood in a rural area of Washington County, Pa.  He spent $12,200 on his furnace, which included installation. Cruny used to spend about $2500 for fuel for his indoor oil furnace during a typical winter. The outdoor wood-burning furnace cost him about $400 in wood, gas and chain saws, he says, &amp;quot;plus a strong back to cut it all.&amp;quot; His furnace produces less smoke than an indoor fireplace and he hasn&amp;#039;t had any complaints from neighbors. The furnace provides even heating in his home, which is kept at 82 degrees to comfort the ailing brother who is living with him. Yet, Cruny isn&amp;#039;t quick to recommend outdoor wood-burning fireplaces. &amp;quot;I wouldn&amp;#039;t buy another one,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a lot of work.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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