As winter and holiday festivities approach, many of us will start using our fireplace more frequently to ward off the chill. To many, nothing seems more comforting and cozy than a crackling wood fire in our home’s fireplace however, the truth is that fire is emitting toxins and particulate matter that can cause serious health issues. Microscopic particulate matter from the burning wood can get in our eyes, noses, and lungs causing decreased lung function and illnesses like bronchitis even in young and healthy people but the elderly, children, and those suffering from chronic issues such as asthma, emphysema, and pulmonary disease are especially susceptible and their diseases can be exacerbated by a short exposure to wood fire particulate. Wood fires may seem benign and “natural” but they emit potentially carcinogenic toxins such as benzene, formaldehyde, dioxin, acrolein, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). If you can smell a wood fire, you are breathing in these toxics and particulates. Recent studies have suggested that humans have suffered health impacts for tens of thousands of years from gathering around wood fires to keep warm and cook food.
Pollution from wood fires may seem like a minor issue but the truth is that in some places in the United States, it is the source of 80% of all ambient particulate less than 2.5 microns and during holidays, the outdoor concentrations of PAHs in residential areas can exceed those found in secondhand tobacco smoke. The EPA estimates that residential wood burning contributes at least 5% of all hazardous PM emissions in the United States and while industries are constantly cleaning up their processes to reduce PM emissions and other pollutants, home wood burning technology has stayed essentially the same for hundreds of years. Residential wood fires have an especially strong impact to residents because the released pollutants stay at ground level for up to ten days after emission.
In the South Coast air basin, the Air Quality Management District issues routine mandatory 24-hour “No Burn” Alerts throughout fall and winter from November to February. These alerts make it illegal to burn fires during alerts in your home fireplace or in outdoor wood pits. There are a few exceptions to the regulation for low-income residents, homes at elevations higher than 3,000 feet, homes that have no other source of heat, and for ceremonial purposes.
Natural gas is a good alternative fuel for residential fireplaces and is not regulated by the “No Burn” alerts. Natural gas burns much cleaner than wood with a tiny fraction of the particulate matter and toxins found in wood smoke. If you have a wood burning fireplace in your home or business, it is possible to convert it to natural gas. The South Coast AQMD has incentive programs to help with the cost of making the conversion. You can visit www.aqmd.gov for more information about the incentive programs and to see if your neighborhood is currently under a No-Burn alert.