HINTS TO HELP KEEP YOU SAFE
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Wood smoke can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and a tight feeling in the chest. Wood smoke can reduce lung function and lead to more visits to hospital emergency rooms. For people with asthma, wood smoke can make it hard to breathe, or trigger an attack. Many pollutants in wood smoke are known to cause inflammation and irritation in the lung, and are linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Some chemicals in wood smoke have also been linked to cancer. Some people may feel the effects of wood smoke even at very low concentrations. Children, people with lung diseases and heart conditions, people who work, play sports or exercise outdoors, pregnant women, and seniors may be more affected by wood smoke. Install a Carbon Monoxide Detector in your Home Wood smoke contains a mixture of substances, one of which is Carbon Monoxide (CO). Carbon Monoxide can cause dizziness, fainting, and - at very high concentrations - death. Carbon Monoxide is colourless and odourless, so you can't detect it on your own. To protect you and your family, install at least one carbon monoxide detector on every level of your home. If you live in a neighbourhood where wood-burning is common, keep your windows closed. Take measures to seal areas where drafts occur. Making your home more energy efficient will reduce the amount of air pollution that comes in from outdoors, and could reduce your heating bill as well! Consider investing in an air cleaner. Installing a HEPA air filter in your home reduces the amount of wood smoke and several other air pollutants in your home, resulting in benefits year-round. |
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Dealing with a Wood Smoke Problem
1.
One thing that you must do is to set your mind to the fact that
you must never give up, if you want to rid your life of the stench and
danger of breathing wood smoke. There is no simple way to just wish it
away, hoping that the burner will see what is happening and stop
burning.
2.
One of the first things that you should do is to make the burner
aware that the smoke is coming onto your property and entering your
house. Speak with them in a friendly and calm manner, but be sure to
tell them that it is making your life miserable. I have heard of some
burners who have stopped burning when approached this way. But, be
prepared for just the opposite!
3.
If there is a continuance of the burning after you have spoken
to them, make a phone call to them, again in a calm manner, and repeat
what you told them previously. If they still insist that they are going
to burn, then tell them that you may have to resort to legal action for
the protection of your health and property. This may work. But, again,
be prepared for an angry display of words from them. Stay calm and do
not get into a shouting match. Just insist that you will do what you
have to do.
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So, you have discovered that nothing you have said to
the burner has made any impact. Now what can you do?
1.
Make an appointment with a good lawyer and have a letter
sent to the burner, letting it be known that legal action will
be taken if the burning does not stop. This effort will not cost
you very much and is worth a try.
2.
Begin to log all burning from the residence. Use dates,
time of day, outdoor temperatures and wind direction.
3.
Take note of the type of wood in the woodpile.
4.
Take a good look at the height of the chimney. If you
think that it doesn’t meet code, call the Building Dept and have
them go to check if it is of legal height. Even if the chimney
height is legal, it really doesn’t put a dent in pollution
emissions, it just spreads them farther from the source.
5.
Find out if any other neighbours are being affected by
the smoke emissions, and in what ways they are affected. Keep
notes of their names, addresses, phone numbers, comments etc.
6.
Begin now, to take daily (or more often) photos of the
smoke. Be sure your camera is set to display the date!
7.
Speak with your town council members to see if you can
enlist their help in solving the problem.
8.
Call your nearest Environmental Protection Agency, Board
of Health and as many local politicians that you can.
9.
Calling the press in to do an
article and catch the chimney or OWB smoke in photos. They may
be willing to do an article as a ‘Human Interest’ story or TV
special.
This
may be enough to entice the burners to give up.
10.
Get a doctor’s letter verifying how wood smoke
compromises your health or public health in general.
Photos and videos are extremely important, especially when you make the decision to file for a court order to put an end to the burning. You must make sure that the photos are dated, or they will not be accepted into evidence
For example, in the photo above, it is dated and shows
that the wood pile contains an assortment of wood, mouldings,
treated wood and assorted junk.
This photo is an excellent example of how to show that
the wood being burned may contain dangerous materials that
should not be burned with the resulting release into the air.
Even “clean wood” is exceedingly toxic to human health and the
environment. For example, according to USEPA data, “wood smoke
emits over 9,600% more lead than natural gas!” It also emits
arsenic, formaldehyde, mercury and other toxicants at similarly
high ratios compared to natural gas.
Visual evidence is often hard to
find, such as smoke at night, or recreational burning behind
walled yards, especially when many fires are burning
collectively. But if you can smell wood smoke, you are ingesting
its serious toxicants into your lungs. Remember that there is no
safe level of wood smoke.
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