THEHEALTHEFFECTS OFWOODSMOKEHEALTHISSUES■Although wood smoke conjures up fond memories ofsitting by a cozy fire, it is important to know that thecomponents of wood smoke and cigarette smoke arequite similar, and that many components of both arecarcinogenic. Wood smoke contains fine particulatematter, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxideand various irritant gases such as nitrogen oxides thatcan scar the lungs. Wood smoke also containschemicals known or suspected to be carcinogens, suchas polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) anddioxin.1■Wood smoke interferes with normal lung developmentin infants and children. It also increases children’s riskof lowerrespiratory infections such as bronchitis andpneumonia.2■Wood smoke exposure can depress the immune systemand damage the layer of cells in the lungs that protectand cleanse the airways.3■According to the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), toxic air pollutants are components of woodsmoke. Wood smoke can cause coughs, headaches, eye,and throat irritation in otherwise healthy people.4■For vulnerable populations, such as people withasthma, chronic respiratory disease and those withcardiovascular disease, wood smoke is particularlyharmful — even short exposures can prove dangerous.5■The particles of wood smoke are extremely small andthereforeare not filtered out by the nose or the upperrespiratory system. Instead, these small particles endup deep in the lungs where they remain for months,causing structural damage and chemical changes. Woodsmoke’s carcinogenic chemicals adhere to these tinyparticles, which enter deep into the lungs.6■Recent studies show that fine particles that go deepinto the lungs increase the risk of heart attacks andstrokes. EPA warns that for people with heart disease,short- term exposures have been linked to heartattacks and arrhythmias. If you have heart disease,these tiny particles may cause you to experience chestpain, palpitations, shortness of breath, and fatigue.7EXPOSUREISSUES■The particulate matter in wood smoke is so small thatwindows and doors cannot keep it out— even thenewer energy-efficient weather-tight homes cannotkeep out wood smoke.8■The EPA estimates that a single fireplace operating foran hour and burning 10 pounds of wood will generate4,300 times more PAHs than 30 cigarettes. PAHs arecarcinogenic.9■A study by the University of Washington in Seattleshowed that 50 to 70 percent of the outdoor levels ofwood smoke were entering homes that were notburning wood. EPA did a similar study in Boise, Idaho,with similar results.10WHATOTHERSAREDOING■Iowa’s Supreme Court in 1998 declared that governmentbodies do not have the right to allow burning that resultsin smoke crossing property lines.11■The State of Washington has laws to address neighbors’wood smoke. According to the Puget Sound Clean AirAgency, “generating excessive smoke is not only unneighborly, it’s illegal. Under state regulations, smokefrom a person’s chimney cannot exceed 20 percentopacity for six consecutive minutes. Greater smokedensities could result in fines from air pollution controlofficials. It is always illegal to smoke out your neighbor.Everyone has a right to breathe clean air. If smoke fromyour fire is affecting your neighbors, it is considered anuisance and subject to enforcement action.”12■Many states have restricted the use of wood burning infireplaces and wood-burning stoves on certain highpollution days. Colorado, Utah, Albuquerque, New Mexicoand many towns in California have set up pollutionnumbers to call to find out if you can burn wood.13WHATNEEDS TOBEDONE■There is much we can do to protect the public’s healthfrom wood smoke exposures. Fireplace and wood stovechimneys should be regulated so that they are high enoughto protect neighbors from exposures. Individual townsshould pass zoning regulations to protect public health.State legislatures and state departments of health shouldstrengthen local health departments with specific woodsmoke language so that they can deal on a case-by-casebasis with situations in which people are made sick bytheir neighbors’ smoke. As the State of Washington CleanAir Agency has stated: “It is always illegal to smoke outyour neighbor.”ENVIRONMENT& HUMANHEALTH, INC.1191 Ridge RoadNorth Haven, Connecticut 06473Phone (203) 248-6582 Fax (203) 288-7571www.ehhi.orgTHEHEALTHEFFECTS OFWOODSMOKEEHHI BOARDMEMBERSSUSANS. ADDISS, MPH, MURS.Past Commissioner of Health forthe State of Connecticut; Past President of the American Public HealthAssociation; Director of Health Education for Environment and HumanHealth, Inc.NANCYO. ALDERMAN, MES. President of Environment and HumanHealth, Inc.; Recipient of the CT Bar Association, Environmental LawSection’s, Clyde Fisher Award, and the New England Public HealthAssociation's Robert C. Huestis/Eric Mood Award for outstandingcontributions to public health in the environmental health area.D. BARRYBOYD, M.D.Oncologist at Greenwich Hospital and AffiliateMember of the Yale Cancer Center. Research areas includeenvironmental risk factors for cancer as well as cancer etiology, includingnutrition and the role of insulin and IGF in malignancy.RUSSELLL. BRENNEMAN, ESQ.Connecticut Environmental Lawyer; CoChair of the Connecticut League of Conservation; Former Chair of theConnecticut Energy Advisory Board; Past President of the ConnecticutForest and Park Association.DAVIDR. BROWN, SC.D.Public Health Toxicologist; Director of PublicHealth Toxicology for Environment and Human Health, Inc.; PastChief of Environmental Epidemiology and Occupational Health, CTDepartment of Health; Adjunct Professor of Applied Ethics, FairfieldUniversity.MARKR. CULLEN, M.D.Professor of Medicine and Public Health,Yale University School of Medicine; Director of Yale’s Occupational andEnvironmental Medicine Program and co-editor of the Textbook ofClinical Occupational and Environmental Medicine.ROBERTG. LACAMERA, M.D.Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, YaleUniversity School of Medicine; Primary Care Pediatrician in NewHaven, Connecticut from 1956 to 1996, with a sub-specialty inchildren with disabilities.HUGHS. TAYLOR, M.D.Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics,Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and Department of Molecular,Cellular and Developmental Biology; Chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Yale University School ofMedicine.WILLIAMA. SEGRAVES, PH.D.Assoc. Dean for Science Education, YaleCollege; Research Scientist and Lecturer at Yale University Departmentof Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology with areas includingmolecular biology of hormone action in reproduction and development.JOHNP. WARGO, PH.D.Professor of Risk Analysis and EnvironmentalPolicy at Yale University’s School of Forestry and EnvironmentalStudies, and Professor of Political Science.1Minnesota Pollution Control Agencyhttp://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/woodsmoke/healtheffects.html2Washington State Department of Ecology; Air Quality Programhttp://www.nwcleanair.org/pdf/aqPrograms/woodHeating/woodSmokeandYourHealth.pdf3American Lung Association – Air Qualityhttp://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=233544The Lung Association, Nova Scotiahttp://www.ns.lung.ca/news/05-06-03.html5The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the health effectsof wood smoke.http://www.epa.gov/woodstoves/healtheffects.html6New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services –Air Resourceshttp://www.des.state.nh.us/ard/smoke.htm7Environmental Health Perspectives.Vol. 113, No.4, April 2005.Weinhold, Bob. “The Heart of Toxicity: Details ofCardiovascular Damage Uncovered.”http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=12785218Wood Smoke Brochure. Vol. 113, No. 4, April 2005.http://www.burningissues.org9Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District –Agenda, page 5.http://airquality.org/bod/2005/MarParticulateMatterSB656Briefing.pdf10New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services –Air Resourceshttp://www.des.state.nh.us/ard/smoke.htm11Burning Issues – Wood Smoke Fact Sheet, March 1999http://burningissues.org/simple-facts.htm12Washington State Department of Ecology – Air Division –Under Washington Code 173-433-110http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/wac173433.pdf13Colorado Department of Public Health and Environmenthttp://www.cdphe.state.co.us/ap/woodhome.htmlUtah Department of Environmental Qualityhttp://www.deq.utah.gov/references/FactSheets/Red-Green_light_program.htmNew Mexicohttp://www.cabq.gov/airquality/noburn.htmlCaliforniahttp://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=static.inversionsREFERENCES