Wood Stoves and Wood Smoke Health Effects and Heating Efficiency Presented by Cindy Williams Division of Air Quality Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

Heat 9000Btu/pound Stack gases: carbon dioxide (half) Stack gases: water vapor (half) No visible smoke, few particles All the potential heat Burn Wood Completely How to burn wood with fewer health effects?

Unburned fuel: Smoke Creosote Where’s the heat? Two stages of combustion 1. Primary: burn solid material (coals, embers) 2. Secondary: burn of gas fuels (flames)

Where’s the heat? 60% Two stages of combustion Primary: burn solid material (coals, embers) Secondary: burn of gas fuels (flames)

How to get all the heat: and How to burn up all the particles: Temperature Time Turbulance Better Stove Better Fuel Better Practices

Practices for Burning Cleanly Use dry fuel. Be a fanatic about it. Burn hot fires. Particulates peak right after loading. Change the ash pan without spilling and blowing. Top down fires are an option. Give your stove a dedicated air supply. Don’t dry wood in the house. It brings in molds, which can cause asthma and allergies.

Early Career (Born 1901) H's paper providing breakthrough to quantum mechanics (Zs. f. Phys., 33, ) received. Appointment as Lecturer in Bohr's institute. H's paper on the uncertainty principle (Zs. f. Phys., 43, ) received. Attends Como conference; where Bohr presents complementarity. Appointed Professor of Theoretical Physics in Leipzig. Attends Solvay Congress, Brussels Mar Sep Oct 1926

Factors That Speed Drying Temperature –each 20 ºF increase in temperature doubles the drying rate. Stack in a sunny location if possible. Wind – Air movement speeds drying. Ventilation – Stack wood loosely and perpendicular to prevailing wind. Covering – cover the top of the pile only with plastic or tarp to keep off rain. Surface wetting will dry off quickly. Elevate off ground.

SummerWinter Particulate Matter Bethel

A penny is 2.5 grams Grams per hour The Stove

Zeiger Family Homestead blog Lynn Canal

How to identify an EPA certified appliance Inside a Catalytic Wood Stove Smoke passes through a catalytic honeycomb that lowers smoke ignition temperature

Health: Who is affected most? People with heart or lung disease, including asthma, COPD Early and late in life: Infants, Children & Older Adults Persons with lower socioeconomic status Other pre-existing diseases and conditions (e.g., diabetes, obesity)

Efficient Wood Heating More heat from the wood Aged, dry wood Good ventilation Good, certified, woodstove Good heat recovery Hot fires, through the burn cycle Less PM up the stack or into the room Complete Combustion

Healthy Wood Heating Aged, dry wood Good ventilation Good, certified woodstove Hot fires, through the burn cycle Less PM up the stack or into the room Complete Combustion

Efficient Heating Good fuel: Aged, dry wood Good ventilation Good, certified woodstove Hot fires, through the burn cycle Less Particulates up the stack or into the room Heat More heat from the wood Good heat recovery Use less wood Less PM up the stack or into the room Health Fewer toxics, from clean fuel Good ventilation Less PM up the stack or into the room Healthy HeatingEfficient Heating

Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest – Community Education Slide Series When we burn wood, the process is called “combustion”. If the fire isn’t hot enough, combustion “fails”, meaning unburnt material turns into fine ash, smoke and hazardous gases. Woodsmoke and Our Air…

Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest – Community Education Slide Series Why do we need a “solutions” approach to protect our community right now? Because wood heat is practical and affordable, meaning woodstoves will continue to be used in many of our homes. Because converting our homes to cleaner heat sources is expensive and will take many years. Because expensive oil and electric rates mean our families will rely even more on wood heat this winter. Woodsmoke Solutions…

Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest – Community Education Slide Series What solutions could we consider as a community that is ready to take action? “Best Practices” tribes and communities have taken to protect their families include… Drying the Fuel Maintaining the Woodstoves Ventilating the Homes Educating our Residents Woodsmoke Solutions…

Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest – Community Education Slide Series Some approaches to DRY FUEL… 1) Buy moisture meters – use them to show residents how much moisture is in their wood 2) Create a wood “banking” program where residents can trade their wet wood for dry, seasoned wood

Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest – Community Education Slide Series Some approaches to MAINTAINING WOODSTOVES… 1) Change-out older stoves with EPA certified models that burn hotter and cleaner 2) Start a yearly woodstove maintenance and inspection program with your tribal housing authority

Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest – Community Education Slide Series Some approaches to VENTILATION… 1) Work with your housing authority to install high- efficiency fans 2) Work with residents to ensure they don’t block or close vents 3) Install “ passive ventilation ” in homes

Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest – Community Education Slide Series Some approaches to EDUCATION… 1) Hold a Woodstove Education Community Fair 2) Play “Woodstove” operation videos on your local public access channel or your website 3) Hand out or mail “ BurnWise” flyers and materials.

Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest – Community Education Slide Series Gillian Mittelstaedt THHNW Program Director Phone: (206) Website: For information about Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest and the outreach, advocacy and training we provide….

When the steel mill was open, total children’s hospital admissions for respiratory conditions approx. doubled. Mill Open Mill Closed

Methods: Case-crossover study of acute ischemic coronary events (heart attacks and unstable angina) in 12,865 well-defined and followed up cardiac patients who lived on Utah’s Wasatch Front …and who underwent coronary angiography Jeffrey Anderson 2006;114: