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Hunt, Jeff

From: Patricia Davis <tapestry4@gmail.com>

Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 5:43 PM

To: Hunt, Jeff

Subject: Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-20140744 public comment

To: EPA via Jeff Hunt, EPA 

From: Patricia Davis, Seattle, WA 

RE: Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-2014-0744 

I wish to publically, and with identity (above) comment with regard to subject Docket 

First, I thank the EPA for its diligence and scrutiny of Washington State's problem with regard to wood smoke. 

Secondly, I wish to bring to your attention that an obstacle exists within the Washington State Legislature itself with 

regard to taking seriously the toxicity and multiple health hazards of wood smoke on our health, our hearts, our children 

and our breathing air. Regretfully, some Legislators burn wood themselves and that certainly contaminated getting 

strong legislation accomplished that protects the public. Additional wood stove manufacturers/ wood burning 

interests lobby our Legislature to the deterrent of public health. 

Thirdly: Although residential wood burning is specifically mentioned in subject report - it is important to recognize that 

there is a growing COMMERCIAL RESTAURANT and FOOD TRUCK realm that is burning wood - unabated and

unfiltered and with no intervention possible. 

For example: I have photos of thick, dense smoke coming from wood being burned to make BBQ (Jones BBQ to be 

specific) I tried every method possible to get an intervention: 1) The Fire Dept advised me that BBQ smoke is 

specifically - written specifically - to be without intervention. Commercial wood burning businesses can burn wood hour 

after hour, 'endlessly' every day of the week. It seems odd that homeowners (who are unlikely to ever burn at that 

opacity and duration) need a certified wood burning stove (which I support) but that businesses pollute our breathing air 

at huge, suffering levels with no recourse. 2) I tried a complaint to the Seattle DPD (Dept. of Planning and Development) 

and was told there are no laws on the book to intervene from DPD 3) I tried the Seattle Health Dept. and was given 

the same message - they have a permit (issued by DPD) nothing we can do 4) Went, in person, to Puget Sound Clean 

Air with photos and was told they do not have jurisdiction, per se, to do anything. That a permit was issued to do 

'that'. I asked DPD, Health Dept and PSCA : what about filtration? why would a restaurant with a flat grill be required 

to have a diffuser? and yet a stupendously air polluting restaurant (wood burning pizza, BBQ places, now I even see ads 

for wood burning chicken! Geezz!) 

These commercial wood burning restaurants/ BBQ and food trucks send billows of smoke long long distances. I can be 

travelling down a main street blocks away and smell the stench of smoke from them. I would expect to able to complain 

to 'someone' and get it stopped. Or at a minimum get it filtered to the same emission standards as a residential wood 

burning stove would required. 

CAN THE EPA GET THIS ON THEIR RADAR AND GET FILTRATION DEVICES REQUIRED FOR COMMERCIAL WOOD 

BURNING? (I read on Burning Issues that others places in the USA even use coal - unfiltered - in back yards to fuel 

boilers. Huh? really? Why is that allowed? We have known for years the impact of cigarette smoke on health and 

these types of smoke are profoundly more toxic - as you know with regard to EPA 1991 research on wood smoke. ) This 

need a national intervention with State legislative changes as well. The EPA must be the leader of that journey (based 
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on nothing is getting done in that realm and that 'special interests' like the BBQ industry and wood stove mfg. will harm 

the general public's health in order to make money. Disgusting ! 

Fourth: There are numerous apartment buildings here that were allowed to install wood burning 'stove' in 

manufactured fireplaces. There is ZERO FILTRATION from those chimneys (mostly metal ). It seems reasonable to set a 

date for those to be updated to either have a certified wood burning stove, or removal of existing non-compliant stoves. 

I write this public comment to encourage the EPA to legislate FILTRATION OF ALL 

WOOD AND COAL BURNING DEVICES: PERIOD ! 

Please email this email letter to any and everyone that can help. 

Meanwhile, I am endlessly grateful for the hard work that the EPA does. Many lives have been, and will be, saved from 

your impact. It is a literally thankless job with huge big money pressures. So: as a private citizen let me THANK 

YOU dearly for your intelligence, your research and your determination to fight for the environment. Those are lives 

well lived. 

THANK YOU 

Patricia Davis, Seattle, WA