Wood
Smoke: The Other Cigarette
by Take Back the Air
MCS
Many states are enacting legislation against secondhand tobacco smoke, but
they continue to overlook recreational wood burning. Wood smoke, a big source of air
pollution, is as deadly as vehicle exhaust and has many of the same
toxicants as cigarette smoke.1,2,3 It is
a major health hazard that often goes unrecognized, even by concerned
environmentalists.
Recreational wood burning in
outdoor fire pits, restaurants, and fireplaces across
the nation has created a growing and urgent need to reduce fine
particulate air pollution. Fine particulate air pollution enters deep
into mammalian lungs and cannot be cleared.4
Wood smoke is far more concentrated than tobacco smoke and contains many of the same toxic, cancer-causing chemicals.1 It also travels farther distances. According to the EPA, it stays chemically
active in the body forty times longer than tobacco smoke.5
Urban outdoor air across the nation has become so
infused with faint or heavy wood smoke that we don’t seem to notice it much
anymore. We have habituated to it. However, when we pay attention,
an unmistakably rank, smoky and even sweetish wood smoke smell often fills the
air. When the odor is detectable, arsenic, formaldehyde, dioxins, flourohydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and a
host of other harmful chemicals are entering our lungs and
stressing our immune system.1,2,3 Whether it is noticed or not, the evidence of harm is present in the contribution to soaring childhood asthma rates, birth
defects, deaths from asthma attacks and heart attacks, and sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS).2,5,6
Wood
smoke is comprised of fine particulates, many of which are carcinogenic, such
as benzene, toluene, formaldehyde and polyaromatic
hydrocarbons.1,3 It invades our water and food supply with
persistent organic compounds that do not break down but remain for years,
causing a host of health problems. Wood smoke has been implicated in
global warming, because it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. Carbon
emissions and dioxins are released into the air when wood is burned. Burning wood is one of the sootiest, unclean
and least energy-efficient forms of energy.1
The pervasiveness of wood smoke has become a
major livability and air quality problem. Everyone is at risk from wood
smoke exposure. Children, the elderly,
and individuals with asthma, allergies, or heart disease are in the
highest-risk categories according to the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).5,6
EPA scientists estimated that over 4,700
premature deaths occur each year in just nine
Burning Issues is an online nonprofit
organization (www.burningissues.org) that provides scientific
and educational information on the hazards of wood smoke. There are
viable alternatives to wood burning, including gas fireplaces and
handsome new electric fireplaces with flames that look real and provide
heat.
Do we have the right to force others who prefer to breathe clean air, to
inhale our wood smoke? Can burning wood be justified for fun, if
there is a chance that it may harm others? There is likely no
justification. Just like smoke-free states have helped people quit
smoking, we need laws to help prevent wood burning. If you can’t
breathe, what else matters?
Please contact your city officials and
legislators to encourage them to address this burgeoning health hazard.
The urgency of wood smoke pollution can not be overstated. The people that sell wood burning equipment
and those who use it are selling and promoting pollution. Please act now
to spread the word about wood smoke and protect the health of your family, your
pets, and the planet!
This standard letter to your state
representatives may be downloaded at:
http://mcs-america.org/woodsmoke.doc
Contact
information for your state representatives may be found at:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
It is recommended that
letters be sent via postal mail. A public service announcement, which
may be sent to media contacts or used in flyers may be
downloaded at:
http://www.mcs-america.org/WoodSmokePSA5BurningIssues.pdf
Take Back the Air
Website:
www.takebacktheair.com
E-mail:
References
1. Cooper J.A., Environmental Impact of Residential
Wood Combustion Emissions and its Implications, Air
Pollution Control Association Journal. 1980 Aug. 30:8,855-861.
2. Failey,
D. The Relationship of Daily Mortality to Suspended Particulates in Santa
Clara County, 1980-1986. Environmental Health Perspectives. 1990;89:159-168.
3.
Zelikoff, JT. Woodsmoke
Emissions: Effects on Host Pulmonary Immune Defense.
4. MacNee, W, Donaldson,
K. Mechanism of lung injury caused by PM10 and ultrafine particles with special reference to COPD. Eur Respir J. 2003; 21:47S-51S
5.
http://www.epa.gov/woodstoves/healtheffects.html
6.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/AIRPAGE.NSF/webpage/Health+Effects+of+Fine+Particles+and+Smoke
7.
8.
http://www.epa.gov/air/interstateairquality/pdfs/cair_final_fact.pdf
Copyrighted © 2008 MCS