By Patricia Houser
For Nature’s Sake
Patricia Houser
When one person’s fireside ambiance, complete with indoor wood stove, results in a smoke-filled plume over the house next door, is there any real harm or is it just bothersome? If there is harm, what responsibilities do individuals, neighborhoods and governments have? How might the whole situation be avoided?
A range of experts, from public health officials to industry representatives, can agree on a few points: If people knew a bit more about wood stoves and followed safe burning protocols there would be fewer noxious plumes.
An overarching concern over this source of residential heat is the potent mix of toxic chemicals and small-particle pollution, called PM2.5, emitted with every burn. Research shows there are no truly safe levels of exposure to PM2.5 pollution, and the American Lung Association tells people to avoid using wood-burning stoves or fireplaces altogether, “unless it is a primary heat source.”
According to experts, those who must use an indoor wood stove should use safe woodburning practices, which starts with the use of an Environmental Protection Agency-certified stove. The US government first set standards for residential indoor wood stoves in 1988, and EPA certified woodstoves today are far less polluting than older models.
The problem is, there’s no nationwide requirement to replace old stoves with new ones, and so 65 percent of wood stoves in US homes are uncertified and inefficient.
For a glimpse of what some communities are doing to address that problem and more on safe woodburning practices, health impacts, and regulations consider the questions and answers below:
1. True/False: If you can smell wood smoke, you’re breathing pollution that is hazardous to your health.
2. Fill in the blank: The PM2.5emissions from one old dirty, inefficient wood stove is equivalent to the PM2.5emission of______ old diesel school buses.
a) one
b) two
c) four
d) six
e) eight
3. Which of the following, if burned in an indoor residential woodstove will cause extra pollution?
a) Wet wood
b) Unseasoned wood
c) Trash
d) Building materials
e) All of the above
4. True/False: The PM2.5 pollution from wood smoke can enter buildings through closed windows.
5. According to the EPA, those most vulnerable to health risks from smoke pollution, include which of the following?
a) People with asthma and other respiratory diseases
b) People with cardiovascular disease
c) Children under 18
d) Pregnant women
e) Older adults
f) Outdoor workers
g) All of the above
6. True/False: Emissions from EPA certified models of wood stoves are 70 percent lower than those manufactured pre-1992.
7. Which of the following policies and laws is enforced within Connecticut’s borders?
a) Residents who participate in state supervised disposal of their old, uncertified woodstove can get a state tax rebate for buying a new, EPA certified model.
b) When a house is sold, all used, uncertified wood burning stoves on the property must be removed and destroyed.
c) It is illegal for a company to sell wood stoves that are not EPA certified.
d) “No person shall sell, offer for sale, or supply any wood which orally, or in writing, is advertised, described, or in any way represented to be ‘seasoned’ or ‘dry’ wood unless the wood has a moisture content of 20 percent or less by weight.”
8. Which of the following public officials is supposed to take the lead in evaluating risks to public health and directing enforcement measures in the case of wood smoke pollution that is a threat to health?
a) The local director of health
b) The director of public works
c) The open space and sustainability manager
d) The head of the department of planning and zoning
Answers:
1. True. This fact is found on the websites for FamiliesforCleanAir.org and the State of Oregon Environmental Council and is supported by research on PM2.5 pollution.
2. e. This fact is cited on the EPA’s “Burnwise” website. The EPA adds, among other things, “Residential wood smoke emits five times more PM2.5pollution than petroleum refineries, cement manufacturers and pulp and paper plants combined.”
3. d. All of the above.
4. True.
5. g. All of the above.
6. True. This widely cited fact is also in the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s online 2024 press release about best wood burning practices.
7. c. Starting in 2020, it became illegal in the US for retailers to sell older, non-EPA certified wood stoves nationwide; this policy is enforced in Connecticut. (People in Connecticut may still inherit or buy, at a garage sale for instance, the older stoves.) Letter a. is a policy from the state of Idaho; b. is a rule in several places, including Mammoth Lakes, California, Washoe County, Nevada and the state of Oregon; and letter d. offers the exact wording of a law from the city of Sacramento, California.
Other government policies on limiting woodstove emissions around the country include subsidies for some and full grants for low-income families to swap out older stoves with newer, cleaner models of indoor wood stoves. In Washington state, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency also sends wood moisture meters to community members – further encouraging residents to only burn dry (20 percent or less moisture) wood.
8. a. The director of health.
When contacted for his input on the subject of smoke pollution from wood stoves, Orange Director of Public Health and Milford-Orange Times columnist Dr. Amir Mohammad agreed “it is an important topic to inform/educate our public.” He also quoted the document, “Response to Wood Burning Complaints in Connecticut,” and a section that begins, “From the start, all local health directors should know they have clear legal authority to enforce a wood smoke complaint when it constitutes a public health nuisance.”While most homeowners in Connecticut do not rely on wood for heat, it is still the largest source of residential PM2.5 pollution in the state in wintertime. We all have a stake in pursuing policies and community conversations on the topic.
For owners of woodstoves, two highly recommended websites are the EPA’s “Best Wood Burning Practices” and the CTDEEP’s “Wood Burning in Connecticut.” Video lessons on best practices and factsheets can also be found at the EPA’s “Brnwisue” website.
There are also experts from the local private sector to learn from: Katherine Hilditch, office manager at Total Chimney Care in Milford, was a helpful resource for this column on the importance of chimney design, maintenance and yearly inspection, a crucial side of safer, cleaner, operation of wood stoves. And Nicholas Vernucci, owner of Fireplace Etc in Milford, described, among other things, federal tax credits one can get with the purchase and installation of certain very low emission wood stoves.
When Vernucci was asked if there is something that woodstove owners should know to help them limit smoky burns, he observed good-naturedly that people would be greatly helped by “reading the manual.”
Patricia Houser, PhD, AICP is a freelance writer and researcher focused on environment and sustainability.