What People Dont Understand About Firewood Smoke?

Question

Firewood smoke is a very hazardous air pollutant.. It is so full of soot and particulates that go deep int the lungs ... We will always use firewood like oil, coal, what not... But what is the glaring difference between firwood and the rest is.... lack of pollution controls!! None whatsoever!!!!  Yes, there is EPA approved fireplaces and wood stoves but the standards are too low as compared to other sources of polltuion.  Firewood smoke is heaviest in soot and particu lates by  hundreds or thousands of times over oil, natural gas and coal.. Coal powerplants are forced to spend billons and billons on polltuion control.. even to remove flyash  similiar to those coming from firewood.  I believe that EPA can require that some form of vaccuum cleaning be required to capture soot and particulates before they escapes into the air and end up lodged deep into lungs .. If this will mean addtional layers of maintenances on behalf of firewood users, so be it.. It is not our repsonsiblity to clean the air pollution coming from thier own chimeys and stove pipes..  It is theirs... It is long overdue for EPA to start improving on standards of fireplaces and woodstoves..  I dont think that older chimneys and woodstoves should be allowed to be ":grandfathered "at all.  All users of firewood shoulld be mandated to reduce soot and particulates... by at least 99.9%!! like autombiiles and otehrs..    Look at those millons and millons of chimeys and stove pipes.. My God!  still unregulated at all...

J. · Accepted Answer

Life is dangerous.

Should we ban Doritos because President George Walker Bush choked on one? 

What are you going to do if there is a forest fire?  Burning grassland and scrub is normal procedure for control of underbrush and other combustibles that grow beneath a tree canopy.

Wood smoke has been around for as long as there have been trees.  The soot allows rain to form, and also allows for minerals in the ashes to be available to plants when it is spread around.  

If it concerns you that much, you should make a sealed sphere you can roll around to get places.  And put a dome over your house that has HEPA filtration and oxygen enrichment.

Just because your textbook claims that wood smoke is such a great hazard does not make it true- your textbook is laden with propaganda written by people who think they mean well.

Go live in the third world where your fuel for cooking is either wood or dried dung.  

Just because there are people burning wood does not mean the world is going to end.

SKLZ · Answer

The EPA should look into this, but our world is currently facing much worse problems than firewood pollution. If you care that much about people, no matter who it is, try to start programs to help third world countries and kids stuck in some of the harshest living environments ever. When people like us camp, we get sad because there's no electricity. Try "camping" with no water, electricity, cell phones, sleeping bags, water, tents, hand warmers, changes of clothes, or people who care about you. Don't you think we should be worried about people stuck in these conditions before we worry about ourselves breathing in a little firewood smoke? Some people have to use it to cook and not get diseases from raw meats, if they're lucky enough to get meat and wood at the same time. There is always going to be smoke because people aren't all as lucky as us.

Anonymous · Answer

There has been wood smoke since God gave man fire.The EPA like most goverment agencies needs to mind their own buisness;which is almost nothing

Stephen M · Answer

It have no idea where you live, but where I live, fireplaces are for all intents and purpses, required to have catelytic converters, which nearly 100% resolves the problems you speak of. It's not even considered a big deal any more.

? · Answer

Screw the EPA.  I'm burning wood and loving it.

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What People Dont Understand About Firewood Smoke?

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