Laws governing wood smoke emissions is long overdue

To the Members of the Connecticut Public Health Committee


Below is another case that has come to the attention of Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI). This man's name is William Kusmit and he is from Seymour, CT. This man, like many others, has tried to keep the smoke out of his home by putting plastic around his windows and doors. But he, as the others, have not realized that wood smoke particles are so small they cannot be kept them out - even in the newer tighter homes. Here is William Kusmit's case.

Nancy Alderman

To whom it may Concern,

I would like to take a moment of your time to share our experience with the problem of woodsmoke from our neighbor's chimney.

One day last year we noticed smoke all around our house with the smell of smoke getting into our home it was like being directly in front of a chimney.

I wrote to the building inspector to see if the neighbor's chimney met the building code.The building inspector left a note on my neighbors door which stated 'woodstove violation chimney height'.

My neighbor came banging on my door asking how I could 'turn him in'. I explained the problem we were having and how the smoke was even getting into our home and his response was that we should 'get new windows'. He later added 2 ft to the chimney to bring it up to code.

However, we continued to experience problems from the chimney exhaust so I asked my neighbor if he would add another 6 ft to this chimney and I would pay for it. He agreed to do this.

As I tried to deal with my neighbor and his smoke - the next thing I knew there was a police officer at my door telling me I could not tell my neighbor how to use his stove. The police officer told me harassment was against the law and if I talked to my neighbor again about the stove I would be arrested.

We continue to experience problems from being in contact with and breathing the exhaust from the chimney. This results in physical symptoms such as causing eyes to burn, congestion, and chest discomfort. The congestion and chest discomfort lasts for several days. I am also concerned about the long term health consequences of being exposed to this smoke.

Those of us with existing health problems are more susceptible to the effects of woodsmoke exposure, but the exhaust from this chimney is so strong no one would be able to tolerate this. I have coronary artery disease and my wife has Multiple Sclerosis.

We follow strict guidelines to try to maintain our health and then are exposed to the toxic elements of woodsmoke which adds to our health problems.

I believe the time for laws governing wood smoke emissions is long overdue. There are many people who are adversely affected by wood smoke. There is a great deal of evidence about the health risks of woodsmoke and we need laws to help people whose health is put in jeopardy because of being exposed to this woodsmoke pollution.

I have done what I can to try to keep the smoke out of the house such as putting plastic over the door going into the garage, sealing windows etc. but of course when we open the front door the smoke comes right into the house. My wife and I have had to wear masks when going from the house to the car because of the strong exhaust fumes.

I feel as though we are being poisoned by the smoke from my neighbors woodstove and there is nothing in Connecticut law to help us.

Thank You.
Sincerely,
William Kusmit
Seymour, CT
--
Nancy Alderman, President
Environment and Human Health, Inc.
1191 Ridge Road
North Haven, CT 06473
(phone) 203-248-6582
(fax) 203-288-7571
http://www.ehhi.org
http://ehhijournal.org/
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Web Master Comment.... Mr. Kusmit is correct. Even though wood smoke emissions violate property rights, harm the environment, are an assault and battery on your family, render your yard and property unlivable, and will physically make you very sick (and slowly kill you), the laws to protect Mr. Kusmit, us, and our families are so few and so weak, it is ironic and disappointing to know our elected officials are doing nothing to help. Connecticut elected officials (and let's also mention this applies to the rest of the U.S.A), the EPA (local and federal), Pollution Control Boards,and other governmental agencies that are suppose to protect us, have closed their eyes, covered their ears, remained mute, and have fallen into a vacuum on this urgent health issue.

The American Cancer Society and American Lung Association (and what about the Asthma and Allergy organizations?) also have been mute to address and/or support the banning of wood burning. Wood smoke causes cancer and is deadly to people with lung problems. Heck, even healthy people are affected by wood smoke. The above organizations silence and their non-action is an insult to all that have supported them in the past.

Please visit this great website for additional information..
http://burningissues.org/car-www/index.html

Letter to New York Times

This is the letter that was sent to the New York Times regarding this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/garden/26firepit.html?ref=garden


Regarding the article by Kimberly Stevens,

The statement "outdoor fireplaces offer an inexpensive and low-maintenance way to extend living and social spaces outdoors, especially at night when the mercury drops." perhaps should have been omitted as it leads to the notion that having an outdoor fireplace shows elegance in your way of living. This may encourage those, that cannot afford what Doug Armstrong and Maureen FitzPatrick have done, to do something along the same idea and use wood as fuel.


Poor air quality and pollution is a serious problem that requires the cooperation and effort of everyone. Just one important contributor to air pollution is often ignored. Residential wood burning produces fine particles and gases that contain a multitude of toxic substances and carcinogens.

Wood smoke is chemically active in the body 40 times longer than tobacco smoke and contains 12 times the amount of carcinogens and is more likely to cause cancer than the same amount of tobacco smoke, according to J. Lewtas-USEPA.



Fireplaces are ineffective in heating a home, and only a few hours of wood burning in a single home can drastically raise fine particle concentrations in dozens of surrounding homes throughout the neighbourhood. None of us are protected from this toxic smoke.

Burning wood and allowing it to foul the air of your neighbors is a rude and unnecessary assault on their senses. It causes many people, especially the young, the elderly and those with respiratory problems to be put in great physical danger.



I’ve had people tell me that they believe wood burning is safe as our forefathers heated that way. My response to them is that our forefathers had no other options. Also, many of them died at a very early age of ‘undetermined’ causes. Today, we know that some of those premature deaths most likely were from inhaling particulate matter, leading to various conditions that can result in death.
Burning wood is a costly and filthy affront to all that are invaded by it. Exposure to the smoke is extremely uncomfortable and causes burning eyes, dry and sore throat, irritation of the nasal passages, cardiovascular system damage, causes some types of cancer and brain damage, headaches, and allergic reactions, among other symptoms.

When smoke is prevalent in the area, people cannot open their windows for fresh air, because there is none. They cannot enjoy their own property due to the stench. Everyone should be able to relax in their own homes without the fear that they are being contaminated by toxic smoke. It is an environmental right of all people.



I can tell you first-hand what it is like when one is forced to deal with a smoke issue, as I have lived through it. Our ordeal began in 2002, when a neighbour began using a wood stove. We finally were forced from our home, by the smoke, for nearly 8 months. We now have an Interlocutory Injunction that was obtained in May of 2005 , after which we returned home to begin the cleanup and sanitization of the entire house. An expensive and exhausting mission.

I can tell you that the stench permeates your entire home, your clothing, your hair, and you can even taste it. Exposure to the smoke was extremely uncomfortable and caused burning eyes, dry throat, irritation of the nasal passages and headaches. When the smoke stopped, so did the symptoms.

There was no relief by opening windows because the acrid smells were like a fog covering our house. Buying expensive air cleaners did nothing to remove the odors.

There was no enjoying the deck and yard as long as the wood burning stove was in operation.

We were fortunate enough to have the means to seek legal help. There were no authorities that were of any help in getting the smoke stopped. What would happen to those that cannot afford legal help? Would they be forced to move out of their homes? Could they afford to do that? Would they be able to sell their home when a potential buyer saw or smelled the smoke? Or, would they have to remain in their homes with their children and become sick? It's a thought that is very disturbing to me.

I think it is high time that all municipalities give some thought to banning all wood burning in residential areas. Some have already begun to do just that! I fail to see how the public interest is served by permitting the unnecessary fouling of the air we all have the need to breathe.

Please do all you can to prevent environmental and health problems for everyone today and for future generations. There are many people currently dealing with wood burners that just will not stop burning until taken to court. This is a lengthy and expensive procedure that punishes, even further, the innocent victim of the wood smoke who has been suffering for some time already with the loss of the enjoyment of their property and the health effects of the smoke that filters into their home.

If laws were in place to ban wood burning the world would be a healthier place for all of us!

For more information, please go to www.woodburnersmoke.net and www.burningissues.org

Shirley Brandie
Canadian Regional Director Clean Air Revival, Inc.
http://burningissues.org
http://woodburnersmoke.net

Wood-burning stoves: Smoke-related complaints, health problems on the rise

Wood-burning stoves: Smoke-related complaints, health problems on the rise

By David Funkhouser | Tribune Newspapers
February 22, 2009

HARTFORD, Conn. — Jodi Blanco said she never got sick until her neighbor installed a wood-burning stove a few years ago.

Now she has been ill for more than a month, she wakes up coughing in her sleep, and her two young children are plagued by breathing problems.

But she can't get anyone to do anything about it, and she's not alone.

"My daughter missed a whole week of school, and my son has a continual runny nose and watery eyes, and he's complaining he doesn't feel good all the time," said Blanco of East Windsor, Conn. "When I open the bay window in front, I can smell the smoke. It's coming in my house, and it's making us sick."

An increasing number of people are firing up wood stoves, furnaces and fireplaces as a hedge against rising heating bills, but wood fuel, steeped in history and romance, has become a health hazard for many.

Even though the number of complaints is growing, the laws regarding wood-burning devices are limited, and there has been little that health and environmental officials can do.

For all the poetry and nostalgia surrounding fireplaces and wood stoves, their smoke is loaded with toxic compounds and particles that have been associated with cancer and severe respiratory problems.

States nationwide are reacting, in some cases banning wood burning entirely on days when air quality is poor. That can happen in the winter when temperature inversions—cold air staying close to the ground below warmer air above—keep polluted air from dispersing.

The worst offenders are outdoor wood furnaces, which typically produce a dirtier smoke than wood and pellet stoves. The units are supposed to be at least 200 feet from other homes and have a smokestack higher than surrounding rooftops, and owners are only supposed to burn clean wood.

John Tarquinio, owner of Fireside Supply in Hebron, Conn., said stove and furnace sales shot up in 2008 when fuel prices spiked. He agreed that misuse can be a problem.

"It needs to be regulated, to be looked at. It needs to be cleaned up," he said.

When Dorothy Alderman and her husband moved to Andover Lake, just a few people among her 100 or so neighbors burned wood, and then only occasionally. A few years ago, that started to change.

"One day, I saw 26 houses with smoke coming out," Alderman said. "It's not just, 'Let's make a fire on the weekend,' it's all the time."

The smoke began to bother her and eventually led to a permanent medical condition, parosmia, in which her sense of smell is so damaged that she cannot stand even slight hints of smoke.

In 2006, after 20 years on the lake, she and her husband decided to move. Now they live in Hebron, which has banned the installation of outdoor wood furnaces.

The Hartford Courant

Wood-Ash-The Unregulated Radwaste!

Burning Issues: A project of Clean Air Revival, Inc.
http://burningissues.org


RADWASTE-Farber-1991
From: Science News: The Weekly Newsmagazine
A Science Service Publication
Volume 140, No.6, August 10. 1991
Wood Ash: The unregulated radwaste

"While cleaning ashes from his fireplace two years ago, Stewart A. Farber mused that if trees filter and store airborne pollutants, they might also harbor fallout from the nuclear weapons tests of the 1950s and 1960s. On a whim, he brought some of his fireplace ash to Yankee Atomic Electric Companies' environmental lab in Boston, Mass., where he manages environmental monitoring. Farber says he was amazed to discover that his sample showed the distinctive cesium and strontium 'signatures' of nuclear fallout-and that the concentration of radioactivity "was easily 100 times greater than anything (our Lab) had ever seen in an environmental sample."

Since then, he has obtained wood-ash radioactivity assays from 16 other scientists across the nation. These 47 data sets, representing trees in 14 states, suggest that fallout in wood ash "is a major source of radioactivity released into the environment," Farber says. With the exception of some very low California readings, all measurements of ash with fallout-cesium exceeded - some by 100 times or more - the levels of radioactive cesium that may be released from nuclear plants (about 100 picocuries per kilogram of sludge). Ash-cesium levels were especially high in the Northeast - probably because naturally high levels of nonradioactive cesium in the soil discourage trees from releasing fallout-derived cesium through their roots, he says.

Industrial wood burning in the United States generates and estimated 900,000 tons of ash each year: residential and utility wood burning generates another 543,000 tons. Already, many companies are recycling this unregulated ash in fertilizers. The irony, Farber says, is that federal regulations require releases from nuclear plants to be disposed of as radioactive waste if they contain even 1 percent of the cesium and strontium levels detected in the ash samples from New England. If ash were subject to the same regulations, he says, its disposal would cost U.S.A. wood burners more than $30 billion annually."