Burning wood for heat poses risks to people and environment

Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release - October 5, 2009

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Burning wood for heat poses risks to people and environment

OLYMPIA – As temperatures drop and winter closes in, many Washington residents will turn to wood stoves, fireplaces and other wood-burning devices to heat their homes.

Burning wood can be a cheap way to heat your home, if done right. But poor burning habits and old, inefficient devices produce large amounts of wood smoke – one of the most serious air pollution problems in Washington. Wood stoves, fireplaces and other wood-burning devices put out hundreds of times more air pollution than other heating sources such as natural gas or electricity, according to the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).

Fine particles in smoke are so small they can easily get into your lungs. Once there, they can cause heart and breathing problems, and even death. People with asthma and respiratory illnesses, children and older adults are most at risk.

Studies show that people who heat their homes with wood have more breathing problems than those who don’t. Smoke particles also invade neighboring homes. Research shows that children in wood-burning neighborhoods are more likely to have lung and breathing problems.

Ecology and local clean air agencies try to curb wood-smoke pollution using burn bans, education and programs that pay part of the cost of new, cleaner-burning home-heating devices. For example, Ecology recently provided nearly $1 million in grant money to local clean air agencies for such change-out programs.

How burn bans work

When fine particle pollution reaches unsafe levels, Ecology and local clean air agencies can call county-wide burn bans in their jurisdictions. These bans protect people’s health by limiting wood burning in those areas.

The 2008 Washington Legislature approved stricter air quality health standards to match new federal standards adopted in late 2006. The stricter standards better protect human health. This means Ecology will call more burn bans than in the past in its Central and Eastern Washington jurisdictions. (See the list of agencies and their jurisdictions at the end of this release.)

Last winter, Ecology issued burn bans in Chelan, Kittitas, Pend Oreille, Stevens, and Walla Walla counties. You can find information on burn bans here: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/outdoor_woodsmoke/Burn_Ban.htm.

Burn bans are called in stages:

Stage 1 burn bans are called based on weather conditions and rising pollution levels. No burning is allowed in wood-burning fireplaces, uncertified woodstoves or uncertified fireplace inserts, unless it is your only source of heat.
Stage 2 burn bans are called when fine particle pollution levels reach a “trigger value” set by state law. No burning is allowed in any wood-burning fireplace, woodstove or fireplace insert, unless it is your only source of heat.

Violating a burn ban could lead to penalties, including fines.

During Stage 1 and Stage 2 burn bans, all outdoor burning also is banned, even in areas where outdoor burning isn’t permanently banned. The bans include agricultural and forest burning.

Helpful tools for you to use

Ecology’s Air Quality Program has posted useful information about using wood for home heating at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/indoor_woodsmoke/wood_smoke_page.htm. Here are a few examples of what you can find:

Washington’s wood stove and pellet stove standards.
Lists of wood stoves, pellet stoves and fireplaces that meet those standards.
What you can do to reduce wood smoke pollution.
Helpful videos on how to select a wood stove and how to use it correctly.
Sign up to receive e-mail alerts on burn bans.

For more information

WAQA: The Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA) is Ecology’s tool for informing people about the health effects of air pollution. It includes information about ground-level ozone, fine particle pollution and carbon monoxide. It’s very similar to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s national information tool, the Air Quality Index (AQI). Both use color-coded categories to show when air quality is good, moderate or unhealthy. The difference is that WAQA shows the health effects of fine particles at lower levels than the AQI does. In other words, WAQA shows that air quality is unhealthy earlier – when fewer fine particles are in the air. Check https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/Default.htm.

Ecology Central Regional Office: For Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Klickitat, and Okanogan counties. Call 509-575-2490.
Ecology Eastern Regional Office: For Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties. Call 509-329-3400.
Ecology Northwest Regional Office: For San Juan County. Call 425-649-7000.
Benton Clean Air Agency: For Benton County. Call 509-783-1304 or see www.bcaa.net.
Northwest Clean Air Agency: For Island, Whatcom and Skagit counties. Call 360-428-1617 (Skagit) or 800-622-4627 (Island and Whatcom) or see www.nwcleanair.org.
Olympic Region Clean Air Agency: For Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston counties. Call 360-586-1044 or 800-422-5623 or see www.orcaa.org.
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency: For King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties. Call the air quality hotline at 800-595-4341 or see www.pscleanair.org.
Southwest Clean Air Agency: For Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Skamania, and Wahkiakum counties. Call 360-574-3058 or 800-633-0709 (outside Clark County) or see www.swcleanair.org.
Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency: For Spokane County. Call 509-477-4727 or see www.spokanecleanair.org.
Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency: For Yakima County. Call 509-834-2050 or see www.yakimacleanair.org.

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Media Contacts: Seth Preston, Ecology Air Quality communications manager, 360-407-6848; 360-584-5744 cell; spre461@ecy.wa.gov