Tips for Burning Cleaner Fireplaces and Wood Stoves to Reduce Air Pollution - The Register Guard

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The people of Oregon relight their fireplaces and stoves when the colder and wetter weather returns, and they must do their part to ensure that smoke doesn't add to air quality issues.

Burned wood creates particles which, if dispersed in the air, pose a health and environmental hazard. Efficient fireplaces and stoves can reduce the impact on air quality, but good wood burning practices are needed to reduce your overall pollution.

Wood smoke contains toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde in very fine particles that are dangerous to humans. It also contains gases that are harmful to the environment, such as carbon monoxide.

"In general, if you have a secondary heat source and the air quality deteriorates, you can use a stove or electric heater, but there are several people in our community who use (wood heating) as the sole heat source. "said Travis Knudsen, spokesman for Lane's regional air raid protection agency." The focus here is on burning wood stoves efficiently and making sure that the fire you light burns as cleanly as possible. "

Eugene and Springfield have ordinances that limit the impermeability of smoke from homes to 40%, which means that more than 60% of what is hidden behind smoke from a home must be visible. With Oakridge, the opacity limit is 20%.

Oakridge faces air quality issues in winter, in large part due to the widespread use of wood-burning stoves in the area. Wood stoves are popular in the area as natural gas is not available and electricity is more expensive and prone to snow-related blackouts.

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Because the area is in a valley, the smoke is often trapped in the air.

LRAPA has authority to set opacity limits, but Knudsen said the first step is to contact homeowners about cleaner burn.

Tips for a better burn

Before Burning, Check: Do not use wood stoves or fireplaces during local air quality recommendations. The Regional Lane Air Protection Agency provides daily updates on when burning is allowed. LRAPA publishes daily communications from October 1st to May 31st. Individuals can also login to SMS notifications about the wooden smoking bans of LARAP obtain . Information on air quality can be found in the DEQ air quality index .

Use Seasoned Wood - Use wood with a moisture content of 20% or less. It takes six months to a year for the wood to dry properly. Wood can be checked with a moisture meter.

Don't Burn Trash - Burning trash, including cardboard, plastic, and treated wood, is illegal. They can release toxic chemicals and damage your wood burning stove or fireplace.

The smaller the better: instead of large smoldering fires, make small, hot fires.

Be Smoke Free - Wood stoves and fireplaces should be smoke free when properly installed and used.

Check your chimney: if cloudy smoke is coming out of your chimney, it means your fire is ineffective, producing less heat while polluting the air. Increase the airflow and use drier wood.

Don't worry: if you let a fire "burn" overnight by reducing the air supply, it creates unnecessary smoke and creosote, which is a fire hazard. Smoke can return to your home and cause a serious indoor air pollution problem. Let the fire go out completely and rely on your home's insulation to retain enough heat at night.

Get an efficient oven

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's emissions standards for new woodburning stoves have become stricter since they were first published in 1988. In 2020, emissions standards were reduced to 2 grams of smoke per hour, compared to 4.5 grams of smoke per hour. .

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The EPA maintains a database of EPA-certified wood-burning stoves, but the agency recommends speaking to a local retailer who is familiar with the performance characteristics of the products they sell. The agency recommends bringing a map of the rooms to be heated when visiting local dealers so that the dealers can help you find a suitable fireplace product.

"Wood stoves are a very ineffective way of burning wood," said Knudsen. "That can be a problem when we have stagnant air and a lot of people are using their wood stoves."

Helps in achieving efficient heating

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has funded city and county programs to replace wood-burning stoves with more efficient heat sources. Oakridge area residents can apply for the Replacement Assistance Program, funded in partnership with LRAPA.

Oakridge Air, founded by LRAPA and local nonprofits, is helping residents replace old wood stoves with heating modernizations. Visit oakridgeair.org for more information.

Replacement wood stoves on the Oakridge Air list are more restrictive than the EPA list.

Contact reporter Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@registerguard.com. Follow @DuvernayOR on Twitter.

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