Wood Smoke Awareness Kit
HEALTH EFFECTS
Wood Stove and Fireplace Safety T ips to
Protect Your Health
Home fire safety tips include more than installing fire alarms and developing a fire
escape plan. While less obvious, wood stoves and other wood-burning
appliances can produce pollutants that can harm your health if not addressed.
If you smell smoke inside your home, then harmful air pollutants are present. Wood smoke
contains a mixture of air pollutants, including microscopic particles. Studies show that this
particle pollution can harm the lungs and heart and even cause early death.
Particle pollution from wood smoke can trigger asthma attacks, cause coughing, wheezing, and chest
tightness, impair lung development in children and increase symptoms of chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD). For people with heart disease, particle pollution is linked to heart attacks,
irregular heartbeat, heart failure, and stroke.
People at greater risk from wood smoke are older adults, children and teens, and people with certain
health conditions such as heart or lung disease and asthma. Some studies indicate diabetes and
obesity may increase the risk. New or expectant mothers may also want to take precautions to protect
the health of their babies.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, the leading factor contributing to fires from home
heating (30%) was due to having a dirty chimney (i.e., creosote buildup). A clean chimney provides
good draft for your wood-burning appliance and reduces the risk of a chimney fire. It is important that
your wood-burning appliance is installed by a certified professional. Also, have your chimney inspected
annually and make sure you are burning the right wood, the right way, and in the right appliance.
1 Learn more at www.epa.gov/burnwise.
&EPA

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BurnQWise
Program of U.S. EPA
Wood Smoke Awareness Kit
Burn the Right Wood
Not all wood is the same. Burn dry, seasoned wood to reduce particle pollution. Split wood dries
much faster. Softwoods, such as Douglas fir, need six months to dry. Hardwoods like oak need at
least 12 months. Never burn garbage, plastic, treated lumber, or driftwood- they emit toxic fumes
and particles.
Learn how to prepare wood for burning in the Split, Stack, Cover and Store video
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo1--Zrh11s),
Burn the Right Way
Wet wood is a problem for your health and your pocketbook. It creates a lot of smoke and burns
inefficiently, meaning the potential heat literally goes up in smoke. You can buy a basic moisture
meter ($20-$40) at a hardware store or online to test the wetness of your wood before burning.
Split the wood and test the newly split side of the wood for an accurate reading. Wood should
only be used if the moisture content is 20 percent or less.
Learn how to check your wood for moisture in the Wet Wood is a Waste video
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo1--Zrh11s).
Burn n the Right Appliance
Like an old car that belches smoke out of the tailpipe, old wood stoves are bad polluters and burn
less efficiently. Newer, EPA-certified wood stoves and fireplace inserts (wood stoves designed to fit
into a fireplace), reduce air pollutants by 70 percent compared to oldermodels.
Find cleaner-burning appliances atwww.epa.gov/burnwise.
2 Learn more at www.epa.gov/burnwise.
&EPA

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