Diana Kruzman is a Midwest Fellow with Grist. Her freelance work has been published in Undark, Earther. The New York Times. The Christian Science Monitor. Vice. Religion News Service. Her reporting focuses on religion, the environment, and urbanism (and their intersections).
This story was originally published by Undark. It was partially possible thanks to the Fund for Environmental Journalism of Society of Environmental Journalists.
Susan Remmers moved in to her home.She had a dream of having a shed in Portland, Oregon. Remmers, a 58year-old woman with mobility disabilities, planned to equip the house with ramps so that it could be wheelchair accessible. She also saw her 2012 purchase as an investment in herself and her future. She noticed grey smoke rising from the chimney of the house she was moving into after a few months. She then experienced sore throats and headaches.
Remmers had no previous history of respiratory problems, but she was experiencing difficulty breathing by 2016. She was certain that the smoke was the cause and she told her neighbor to stop burning wood for heat. He kept going, as did several neighbors in her quiet residential neighborhood at the city’s northeast. Remmers now, almost ten years after moving in to her home, is desperate to leave the place she once considered a sanctuary.
Remmers stated that she has tried to move several times and had to deal with woodsmoke from nearby restaurants to neighbors who were also using wood burning ovens. UndarkShe called her house to tell her that she has three medical-grade filters running almost continuously to control the smoke. She added that it seems there are more things she can do. People need to be aware that there is harm.
Wood burning has been a constant part of American culture, despite increasing electricity and natural gas infrastructure. According to U.S Energy Information Administration 2009 data, 11.5 million American homes (or about 30 million people) used wood as their primary or second heat source. This figure has increased in recent years. Along with rising fuel oil prices. Woodsmoke, despite being subject to stricter air pollution standards like factories and cars, has remained relatively unregulated.
Many people don’t see it as a threat. It doesn’t seem to be a problem for me, certainly not compared to other forms. Chris Lehnen, a Keene resident, New Hampshire resident, said that it doesn’t seem too significant a concern compared with other types of pollution. You know, there are big cities and people who have to deal with smog. It’s got to get worse.
It’s a common myth, according to Brian Moench (a doctor and president at Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment), a non-profit organization that focuses on pollution and public safety. Nothing could be further off the truth.
There is increasing scientific evidence that woodsmoke can cause health problems and contribute to air pollution. Scientists and cities are also working together to address woodsmoke’s environmental justice problem by identifying its impact on low-income residents, and communities of color who are already impacted by other forms. Their research reveals that residential woodburning is not just a rural habit. It can also have far-reaching effects on urban stoves or fireplaces.
However, industry has been opposed to the attempt to regulate residential wood-burning. Uncertain federal guidance has not helped: The Environmental Protection Agency In the middle of a controversyIts process for determining safety of wood-burning appliances to consumers. Some states have spent millions to replace wood stoves with older models. Undark found that this could still be dangerous for human health. Agencies and advocates trying to eliminate residential wood heating are competing with others who view wood as an essential part of the countrys fuel mix. They believe that any reductions or improvement in pollution is progress.
Residents like Remmers have little recourse. She stated that air is everywhere, and that we can’t control the air we breathe. It is criminal, in my opinion, to allow people to poison themselves or their neighbors to stay warm.
Wood burning releases a host of benefits.of gases and particles. Fine particulate matter is the most tightly controlled. or PM2.5The particles are 2.5 microns in size or smaller, and are small enough to be considered as part of the smallest possible particle sizes. Get into the bloodstreamYou can even get into your brain through your lungs. Woodsmoke may also contain carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxides, carcinogenic substances like polycyclic aroma hydrocarbons, or PAHs or volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Wood stoves and fireplaces can even spew toxic metals depending on the type of wood used. mercury arsenic.
These chemicals can have serious health effects, both for short-term and long-term. Inhaling woodsmoke Increases the riskAccording to the EPA, there is a risk of developing asthma, lung disease, or chronic bronchitis. Fine particulate matter from wood-burning stoves can also cause respiratory problems. immune responseThis can increase the risk of a severe respiratory infection.COVID-19. In the long-term, woodsmoke compound can have carcinogenic side effects that go beyond lung carcinoma; researchers at the National Institutes of Health discovered this in 2017. FoundIndoor wood-smoke polluting increases breast cancer risk
Children are at greatest risk, as are people who are older, pregnant or have preexisting conditions. An article from 2015 The journal Environmental Health PerspectivesThe US has approximately 4.8 Million vulnerable people living in homes that have high levels of particulate matter from wood stoves. However, a 2022 study showed that even low levels can lead to PM2.5 contamination. Older Americans can be harmed by this..
Woodsmoke is the most harmful type of pollutant that an average person inhales. Moench also runs a group called Doctors and Scientists Against Wood Smoke Pollution. You can see that virtually any particulate of pollution inhaled can be distributed and end up in any body organ.
Wood burning has many health benefits. However, it is difficult to determine the exact cause of the effects. Researchers from North Carolina, Boston, and North Carolina found that wood burning can cause respiratory ailments such as cancer. Residential combustion causes 10,000 deaths in the USEach year, mainly due to woodsmoke.
I find it criminal that people are put in a position to poison themselves and others to stay warm.
Susan Remmers, Portland resident
Woodsmoke exposure doesn’t always occur in a uniform way. Moench said that fireplaces and open hearths offer the greatest direct exposure. Wood-burning stoves also emit pollutants when they’re opened for refueling as well as through leaks. It also matters what kind of wood is burned. Cordwood, which people cut themselves or buy in bundles at the grocery shop, emits more smoke, especially when it’s damp. Wood pellets made from heated, compressed sawdust, however, release less particulate matter. According to the EPA.
The larger community is also affected. Wood stoves, fireplaces, and outdoor wood boilers, which heat water, emit smoke through chimneys and vents, and contribute to the ambient air pollution. Outdoor fire pits can release soot directly in the air, which can be blowing towards a nearby house by a gust. These sources create a wintertime cloud, especially when combined. during inversion eventsThis is when cold air sinks to the valley floor and traps woodsmoke in a neighborhood or town. That’s what it looks like. Smoke can enter your homeThrough windows and gaps in insulation, as well under doors, making people dependent upon their neighbors for their air.
According to the EPAs 2017, woodsmoke from residential combustion contributes approximately 6 percent of all fine particle matter emissions nationwide. National Emissions Inventory. However, this number can vary depending on the time of the year and where it is located. Communities in the Northeast, Northwest and Mountain West have the highest levels of pollution, especially in winter. The largest source of wintertime particulate material in urban centers such as the Twin Cities is residential wood burning Bay AreaCalifornia has a lot of wood-burning residents, even though they are not the main source of heat. Montana’s rural townsIn these areas, wood burning is more important than ever. According to the EPA, between 11 percent and 93 per cent of PM2.5 emissions are generated in western states each winter according to the EPA. Wood is often used in residential areas..
Even within a single city, the effects of woodsmoke might not be equally distributed. Air pollution, including PM2.5, is a problem across the country. Unfairly harmsCommunities of color and low-income communities A 2021 National studyOn the basis of racial disparities, PM2.5 exposure was not a major factor. However, the research only looked at ambient air quality and not indoor pollution. On the other side, however, a StudyVancouver, Canada – A study of urban woodsmoke from 2004 to 2005 showed that lower-income areas had lower woodsmoke PM2.5 levels and that residents inhaled a smaller amount of the particles. This is likely due to lower-income housing.
Robin Evans-Agnew, a community health expert at the University of Washington Tacoma, stated that city-wide and countywide data don’t show the full picture of woodsmokes’ disproportionate effects. Woodsmokes damage can often be hyperlocalized, as citywide air monitoring is not able to capture how it drifts or lingers in a specific neighborhood. Even though they aren’t experiencing as much pollution from diesel emissions or industrial pollution, communities already heavily affected by woodsmoke polluting feel its effects more.
Evans-Agnew explained that if I live in a low income area in an urban community, I will get just as much woodsmoke exposure than my wealthier neighbor, who has better access and more doctors who can help them with specific woodsmoke-related diseases.
While ResearchThe Energy Information Administration reports that while higher-income households tend to burn more wood, lower-income households tend to use more wood. This indicates that people who have more money can afford to burn more expensive fuels, but are more comfortable using wood stoves and fireplaces to create ambience. This is especially true in rural and tribal communities like the Navajo Nation where indoor air pollution is high. Respiratory infections are a leading cause in young children.
However, most of the work to reduce woodsmoke pollution is done in cities. Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality considers that woodsmoke is an environmental justice issue in Portland. The biggest source of air toxicantsfor the Hispanic or Latino population.
This disparity is evident in Cully, a neighborhood in Northeast Portland that is largely low-income and close to Remmers’ home. It is also one of the most diverse areas in a majority-White community. Oriana Magnera is the energy and climate policy coordinator at Verde, a nonprofit local organization that promotes environmental health. Verde has asked the state to fund programs to replace wood stoves by electric heat pumps, especially for low-income families.
Magnera claims that the neighborhood is already polluted by industrial sources and that residents suffer from asthma. Magnera stated that woodsmoke can have a devastating impact on a community already struggling with multiple intersecting issues and compounding problems.
These disparities can be explored further hereSome communities are turning towards citizen science and focused monitoring programs. Evans-Agnew provided air monitors for teenagers in Tacoma, Washington, 2015, according to a 2015 report. track pollution levelsThey can measure the air quality of their homes, rather than relying upon ambient air quality data for entire towns or areas. Researchers like Nora Travissan, an environmental scientist at Keene State College, have outfitted homes with PurpleAir monitors. These sensors are small and inexpensive and provide real-time data on air quality to their homes. digital map.
More data is needed as more states recognize the negative effects of residential wood burning on indoor and outdoors air quality. Voluntary programs that offer financial incentives for older wood stoves to be replaced with cleaner-burning stovesHad been implementedAccording to the nonprofit Alliance for Green Heat (2016 data), there were at least 34 states or cities that had received this service, while the federal government offers a 26 per cent. Tax creditFor homeowners who choose to install more efficient biomass heating systems. Many states and air quality agencies as well as EPA promote education programs that explain how to burn wood correctly and reduce emissions.
Some cities have taken stronger measures, including banning wood-burning appliances from new homes and imposing burn bans in cases of high air pollution. However, officials are often limited in their ability to do anything if the air quality is too dangerous to meet federal standards. This is called non-attainment.
Fairbanks, Alaska, was designated a “non-attainment” area in 2009. This was because PM2.5 concentrations exceeded the federal 24-hour limit. According to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation wood stoves and weather patterns that hold smoke in check were the major sources. Officials responded with a more aggressive approach than other municipalities. Fairbanks North Star Borough started a voluntary wood stove replacement program that provided funding to people who needed it.
In October 2020, the government required that all stoves older 25 years must be removed from the nonattainment area by 2024. If they are not meeting strict standards for PM2.5 emissions, then the stoves must be replaced. 3,216 stoves were replaced since 2010, the first year that data was collected following the voluntary changeout program. While most of these stoves were older wood heating appliances, in recent years they have shifted almost entirely to gas- and oil-powered models. Fairbanks is still not attained and was given the dubious moniker Most polluted CityIn the category of particle pollution in the American Lung Associations’ 2021 State of the Air reportbut it has seen a reduction of air pollution levels of about half, according to Cindy Heil (a program manager at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation).
Other programs have had mixed results. The Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association, which represents the wood stove industry and the state of Montana, spent more than $2.5 million to swap out EPA-certified wood stoves for Libby, a small town of approximately 2,700.
In the beginning, researchers at University of Montana Concentrations of particulate matter were found to be high.After the program replaced approximately 1,200 stoves, the toxic chemicals dropped by as much at 64% and 20 percent respectively. But follow-up studiesThe results showed that the quality of indoor air was very variable in homes, with some seeing no changes. Libby remains on EPA’s Non-Attainment List for Particulate Pollution.
Regulators believe that part of the problem is that many of these programs were focused on replacing polluting old wood stoves with newer, marginally better ones. The EPA created standards for wood burning appliances in 1988 but did not update them until 2015. Incentives like Montanas were outdated within a few year. The EPA also mandated stricter measures for 2020. Stoves could only release a maximum 2.5g of particle pollution an hour. Despite opposition from Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association, who lobbied for the government to delay the guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the policy was adopted.
However, even the most modern stoves may not meet the EPA’s current benchmarks. A March 2021 reportNortheast States for Coordinated Air Use Management or NESCAUM is a non-profit alliance of air quality agencies in Northeastern US. There were serious flaws in EPAs certification processThis was based on laboratory tests that showed lower emissions than stoves actually released once installed in homes.
The report authors stated that if the EPA certification does not guarantee that new devices are cleaner than their predecessors, then this may result in no health benefits and a waste of scarce resources. Stoves that still emit significant amounts of pollution can be continued to be installed under the program. Once installed, these units will continue to emit pollution for decades to follow.
The report placed many state environmental agencies in a difficult position. According to documents UndarkOnly five states offered financial incentives to replace older wood or pellet stoves with EPA-certified models, according to public records requests. Idaho, New York, Massachusetts and Vermont spent more than $13.8million since 2014 on 9,531 stoves. More than half of these stoves may not meet the EPA’s current emissions limit. Maryland and Montana spent $3.9million on tax breaks, rebates, and rebates for wood stoves, respectively, since 2012. They did not disclose details about the specific models funded. Based on additional testing, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation created its own list of low emission stoves and requested that the EPA fix its certification process.
Nick Czarnecki from Fairbanks North Star Borough was an air quality official. He said that the process made us question the value of a changeout program if you’re just installing a new wood stove in these circumstances.
The EPA stated in an emailed statement that it is working closely with NESCAUM on the evaluation of test methods the organization has in order for EPA standards to be adapted. The agency will no longer accept two types test methods, but stoves that have been certified using those methods will be allowed to remain in homes.
According to the statement, the Agency is working to improve testing, certification, and enforce to ensure that wood-burning devices that are inefficient or obsolete are replaced as quickly as possible to reduce particle pollution in communities that use it for heat.
For many air quality regulators, advocates,It is not the right thing to try to reduce wood stove emissions. While reducing emissions in the immediate term is beneficial, a more long-term solution would eliminate all wood stoves, according to Laura Kate Bender, the national assistant vice President for healthy air at American Lung Association.
Bender stated that the science is showing us that there is no safe level for particle pollution exposure. There is no safe level of particle pollution.
According to this logic, some agencies have stopped pushing for new wood stoves and are funding a transition towards alternative heat sources. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality requires that uncertified stoves are removed from homes when they are sold. It suggests that people replace wood stoves by heat pumps.
Wood is also important for cultural and economic reasons, especially in places that have historically relied upon forests for fuel.
After a series of meetings in Portland Multnomah County on woodsmoke pollution in the summer and autumn of 2021, a group of local, state, and county organizations recommended the county. Reduce the use of wood stoves that are not EPA-certified. In addition to doing this, last month, officials in OregonissuedMultnomah Countys fourth-ever burn ban, and announced that bans could be instituted year-round, rather than just in the fall and winter.
John Wasiutynski is the director of Multnomah County Office of Sustainability. He convened the group. We’re not going to clean the air by promoting slightly better heating.
John Ackerly, president and CEO of the Alliance for Green Heat, an organization that promotes efficiency in residential wood heating. He sees a future for new systems such as automatic wood boilers. These boilers burn wood pellets with no homeowner intervention, which reduces the potential for greenhouse gas emissions. He noted that wood is a cultural and economic necessity, particularly in areas that have historically relied upon forests for fuel.
The Northeastern US has seen a decline in low-grade wood demand in recent years, which has led to the closures of sawmills and the demise of local economies. However, Joe Short, vice president at the Northern Forest Center, a nonprofit that works in rural communities development and conservation in Maine and New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, believes that manufacturing pellets would be a boon for these communities.
Short says that heating solutions are better suited for specific applications. Short says that wood is a good heating solution for many applications. It’s also something we can use right now while we work to make our grid more renewable.
Advanced boilers can be expensive and out of reach of most people’s budget without financial aid from the state governments. Environmental agencies will need to decide whether to invest in alternative heating or transitional fuels like wood pellets. Most of them will have to decide whether to get rid of uncertified wood stoves or discourage people from burning them for recreation. Many are unaware of the negative health effects of woodsmoke.
According to Traviss, a Keene researcher on air pollution, people are just kind of like it. But it’s wood. How terrible can it be?
Correction: In an earlier version of this article, it stated that Multnomah County had issued its 3rd ever burn ban last month. It was the fourth. Update: Robin Evans-Agnew’s base is now at the University of Washington’s Tacoma campus.
