Wood Smoke and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Wood Smoke and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Wood smoke pollution is blanketing our nation with its caustic fumes, depriving citizens of their property rights to use and enjoy their property smoke-free. And it is not just a nuisance--it is a severe public health hazard. Asthma is epidemic and is the number one reason for school absenteeism. How can it be that while tobacco smoke is now banished from most bars and restaurants, nothing is being done about wood smoke? It is chemically similar to tobacco smoke, but is far more concentrated and travels farther. Yet despite indoor smoking bans, our public officials are not protecting public health. They are "selling out" to lobbyists from the wood burning industry, rather than upholding our basic right to breathe clean air.

Wood smoke is implicated not only in asthma attacks and heart attacks, but in premature death in people of all ages. It is especially harmful to children and those with heart or lung disease and other disabilities such as autism and diabetes. Wood smoke, in fact, when it interferes with the ability of citizens with disabilities to use public spaces, may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This civil rights legislation guarantees people with disabilities, such as asthma, "access" to public spaces, including city parks, streets and sidewalks. An Iowa District Court in 2003, in fact, ordered the town of Mallard to stop allowing wood burning, because wood smoke presented a "physical barrier" to a small child with severe asthma that prevented her from using public spaces.

Therefore it is up to us, who are the most bothered by wood smoke, to begin a bold new campaign based on why wood smoke violates ADA Guidelines. We must talk it up at every opportunity and let our city governments, mayors, state and national legislators, schools and local health departments know that:

1. Wood smoke presents a physical barrier to people with disabilities like asthma, because it prevents access to public spaces like city streets, parks and sidewalks.
2. That residential wood smoke from outdoor recreational fires, indoor fireplaces and restaurant wood grills are a substantial source of fine particle pollution, which is a health hazard for all citizens.
3. With increasing disabilities, especially in children, it is paramount that cities adopt ADA guidelines that remove wood smoke as a barrier to the use of public spaces by all citizens.
In addition, email the national "Access Board" about the need for eradicating wood smoke barriers for those with disabilities: http://www.access-board.gov/transit/)>http://www.access-board.gov/tran.


To join with others toward this goal, please contact info@takebacktheair.com.
Julie Mellum
President, Take Back the Air www.takebacktheair.com
Minneapolis, MN

Source: The Wood Smoke Activist
January 2011 Newsletter
web site: http://WoodBurnerSmoke.net