By Ann Harding, Hamilton
Fire and smoke are inevitable and powerful elements of our landscape and culture.
The toxins and particulates in wood smoke are dangerous for humans and animals alike, equivalent in toxicity to our DNA as cigarettes and vehicle exhaust.
Wood and plant derived smoke is composed of a mixture of gases, solids, and liquids. In addition to solid particles are formaldehyde, benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, acrolein, and toxic organic chemicals. The impact of these can be swelling of the lungs, irregular heart rythms, heart attack and stroke, and a host of respiratory problems. Smoke can severely aggravate shortness of breath, bronchitis,and asthma, and inflame respiratory tracts.
Fine particulates that aren’t completely burned can lodge deep in lungs and can’t be coughed out. Their concentration in the air is monitored by health and government institutions which evaluate the risk to our health, and can advocate steps to lessen exposure to unhealthy air, like staying indoors, and advise controlling its production, like shutting down the practice of outdoor burning.
The increasing volume of wildfire smoke that originates here or blows in to our air-scape is on a scale difficult to influence. It would benefit all oxygen breathers if we cared enough to prevent negative consequences from the two types of fire which we residents can affect; wood stoves and open burning.
In the case of heating stoves, a hot fire consumes more of its fuel, therefore producing less smoke and pollution, and releasing more energy from the wood. Burning seasoned dry wood, providing sufficient air to energize the fire, and not overloading the firebox all result in a win-win; efficient combustion, more heat, and less pollution.
These same considerations apply to open burning of natural yard waste, which, by the way, is the only permissible fuel to be burned out of doors. Dried leaves, shrubs, and branches, in moderate-sized piles, which can be added to as the fire burns down, plenty of air so that it all burns HOT, will be safe, successful, and welcomed by your neighbors who otherwise an be subjected to days and nights of suffocating smoldering smoke.
Clark Lee says
Thank you Ann for the timely reminder. I would like to add that painted wood, furniture, mattresess, cushions, fabrics, motor oil, plastics, household waste, manure, carcasses, aluminum, galvenized steel, automobiles, campers, electrical wire and anything else that is not a branch, trunk or leaf is not to be burnt in an open burn or fireplace.
Common sense? Well, like the muleskinners say “There is nothing common about common sense.”