The EPA is currently reviewing the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for wood-burning devices, which could include all devices from fireplaces to outdoor wood boilers. In 1988, EPA established a NSPS for wood stoves through regulatory negotiation. The NSPS required all new wood heaters to be certified by EPA as meeting certain emission limits. The NSPS hasn't been reviewed or updated since 1988.An updated NSPS that includes all wood-burning devices would have a significant impact on state's regulatory efforts and requirements for these devices, ranging from what is permitted to be sold, to meeting State Implementation Plan (SIP) requirements for PM2.5 nonattainment areas, and requirements for Reasonably Available Control Technologies (RACT) and Best Available Control Technologies (BACT) standards for wood-burning devices.Sometime this year there may be a NSPS public notice or comment period. The EPA may propose revisions to the NSPS sometime this year. NESCAUM is in full support of an updated NSPS. A U.S. District Court order was made in February 24, 2009 to review lowering PM2.5 levels in ambient air. If PM2.5 allowed levels are cut in half, as is expected, states will have to regulate all sources of wood smoke, the largest source of PM2.5 in ambient air, to stay in compliance with Clean Air Act standards.Please sign this petiton in support of the updating of wood smoke particulate emissions standards. This petition will be presented to the EPA during their comment period.
The EPA is currently reviewing the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for wood-burning devices, which could include all devices from fireplaces to outdoor wood boilers. In 1988, EPA established a NSPS for wood stoves through regulatory negotiation. The NSPS required all new wood heaters to be certified by EPA as meeting certain emission limits. The NSPS hasn't been reviewed or updated since 1988.An updated NSPS that includes all wood-burning devices would have a significant impact on state's regulatory efforts and requirements for these devices, ranging from what is permitted to be sold, to meeting State Implementation Plan (SIP) requirements for PM2.5 nonattainment areas, and requirements for Reasonably Available Control Technologies (RACT) and Best Available Control Technologies (BACT) standards for wood-burning devices.Sometime this year there may be a NSPS public notice or comment period. The EPA may propose revisions to the NSPS sometime this year. NESCAUM is in full support of an updated NSPS. A U.S. District Court order was made in February 24, 2009 to review lowering PM2.5 levels in ambient air. If PM2.5 allowed levels are cut in half, as is expected, states will have to regulate all sources of wood smoke, the largest source of PM2.5 in ambient air, to stay in compliance with Clean Air Act standards.Please sign this petiton in support of the updating of wood smoke particulate emissions standards. This petition will be presented to the EPA during their comment period.
We signed the "Strengthen EPA wood smoke particulate emission rules: Cut wood smoke in half" petition!
# 35:
11:03 am PDT, Oct 6,Name not displayed, Ohio
I heard the First Lady talk the other day about "prevention" and being healthy. Let's prevent toxic air and maybe we can cut health care expenses in half by preventing asthma attacks, upper respiratory problems and COPD related illnesses. Clean the air up and you will have healthier people.
# 34:
2:40 pm PDT, Oct 2,Donald Day, Vermont
# 33:
8:17 am PDT, Aug 23,Victoria Valentine, New York
NYSERDA is using 1.5 million dollars to research new technology for the burning of what they call "waste" wood and biomass. These boilers are intended for use in hospitals and schools. What are they thinking? Why are we burning wood at all? Spend research money on clean alternative energy that will not poison our air. The EPA is not strong enough on controlling and banning the use of wood burning for heat and hot water. They cater to wood burners by stove swapouts. Swap wood stoves for clean burning propane log stoves. Besides filling the air we breathe with carcinogenic particulates, wood burners and the wood market are destroying precious forestland. Can nature regrow trees that provide oxygen faster than MAN can cut and burn TREES??? Destruction of forests and pollution of air MUST STOP NOW. EPA: we need stricter laws before more OWBS and other burning grows even more out of hand.
# 32:
8:54 am PDT, Jun 6,Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
# 31:
2:24 pm PDT, May 30,Judana Moran, New York
STAND UP FOR CLEAN AIR!!!!
# 30:
2:16 pm PDT, May 30,Jude West, New York
Stay in compliance with with Clean Air Act Standards.
# 29:
2:06 pm PDT, May 30,John Marano, New York
NEED TO UPDATE WOOD SMOKE EMISSIONS STANDARDS. STAY IN COMPLIANCE WITH CLEAN AIR ACT STANDARDS.
# 28:
7:17 am PDT, May 30,Giulia D'Alesio, Canada
BAN ALL WOOD BURNING APPLIANCES...
LIVES, AND THE ENVIRONMENT NEED TO BE
SAFE FROM WOOD SMOKE.
# 27:
7:39 pm PDT, May 29,Shirley Brandie, Canada
http://WoodBurnerSmoke.net
# 26:
7:29 pm PDT, May 29,Thomas Beck, New York
Burning wood is the dirtiest thing you can do to your neighbors and our planet. Burning wood creates deadly particulate matter and black carbon soot harming humans, wildlife and our planet. The EPA website WARNS of this (they tell you NOT to breathe wood smoke) yet they condone wood burning with wood stove swap outs! STOP IT altogether! Swap wood stoves for gas or electric fireplaces for those who must burn something. More and more wood stoves & OWBs are burning in densely populated areas of suburban New York. This is not farmland where you have acres to yourself - we live on one acre or less and wood smoke fills neighborhoods from fall to spring. I'm sick and sick of it. Hold the EPA's feet to the FIRE. STOP KILLING US with WOOD! If the EPA cares about HEALTH and AIR QUALITY then STOP THE DAMN WOOD BURNERS who have "carte blance" to pollute the air we all share. It's absurd and must be stopped. http://www.cleanairhudson.com http://www.woodsmokefreeny.com
# 25:
8:50 am PDT, May 1,Name not displayed, Washington
Our health care system costs are off the scale. Lung cancer among non-cigarette smokers is the number one cancer in ths country. It also is among those cancers that have very low remission, treatability and survivability rates. COPD, Asthma, Emphysema and a variety of other repiratory system diseases are also increasing. Soot from all sources, woodstove, fireplace, recreation pit, beach, yard debris and campground campfires are all totally unecessary burning that belches tons of soot from every neighborhood in this country on a daily basis. The only way to protect health and reduce medical costs is to ban all wood buring.
# 24:
9:16 am PDT, Apr 23,A W, Wisconsin
Let's hold the EPA adminstrator accountable to her statutory responsibility to update the NSPS for all wood-burning devices as required under the Clean Air Act. No more loopholes for outdoor wood boilers! No more "voluntary" manufacturer's programs to "encourage" increased efficiency and reduced emissions! Base regulatory decisions on science instead of ideology, no matter how politically unpopular it may be.
# 23:
8:27 pm PDT, Apr 15,Marshia Duncan, California
# 22:
5:12 pm PDT, Apr 15,Jamie Lee, California
# 21:
5:33 am PDT, Apr 15,Emma Czarapata, Wisconsin
I have personally been affected by wood burning smoke from my neighbors. I am allergic and must put plastic over doors and windows and many days I cannot go out in my yard. I feel with more restrictive guidelines people could still use wood and I could still go outside.
Thank you for listening.
# 20:
12:22 pm PDT, Apr 14,J Jacobs, Wisconsin
Not all environmental polluters are giant energy corporations. The smoke coming out of your neighbor's chimney or flue contains carcinogens.
# 19:
10:03 pm PDT, Apr 13,Louis Bauer, New York
# 18:
8:00 pm PDT, Apr 13,Name not displayed, Oregon
I have COPD and live in an area that is always under a shroud of woodstove, yard debris and recreation fire smoke. It is worsening my disease and I will die faster due to the smoke. I have a CPAP machine and Oxygen but I have been told that there isn't a filter made for any amount of money that will filter out the smoke. So both of these jsut concentrate the smoke and shove it deep into my lungs. What is supposed to help me breath better is also killing me faster.
# 17:
7:54 pm PDT, Apr 13,Name not displayed, Washington
Woodsmoke kills and damages the health of healthy people not just the young, elderly and already unhealthy.
Belching soot from a woodstove/fireplace, recreation pit, bowl, beach or campfire or yard debris fire is unecessary burning. Reasonable alternatives exist for all wood bunring so there is no excuse for it.
It is criminal trespass with intent to harm when soot travels inside our homes. We dont allow neighbors to stand at our window and spray pesticides inside our homes why does the government allow them to spray smoke inside our homes?
We have a right to breath air not our neighbors smoke inside our private property boundaries and homes.
# 16:
7:52 pm PDT, Apr 13,Name not displayed, Washington
Woodsmoke kills and damages the health of healthy people not just the young, elderly and already unhealthy.
Belching soot from a woodstove/fireplace, recreation pit, bowl, beach or campfire or yard debris fire is unecessary burning. Reasonable alternatives exist for all wood bunring so there is no excuse for it.
It is criminal trespass with intent to harm when soot travels inside our homes. We dont allow neighbors to stand at our window and spray pesticides inside our homes why does the government allow them to spray smoke inside our homes?
We have a right to breath air not our neighbors smoke inside our private property boundaries and homes.
# 15:
1:43 pm PDT, Apr 13,Ernest Grolimund, Maine
The surgeon General has said woodsmoke is hazardous to health about when it said tobacco smoke is hazardous to health. Therefor it violates constituitional rights to life, health, and welfare.The ambient air gets up to peak hourly values of 30 mcg/m3 1-2 times per week, and Dr. Schwartz of Harvard says 30 mcg/m3 can cause heart attacks and asthma attacks that can kill after 3-4 hours of exposure. The Am Lung Assn agrees. An old stove or fireplace or wood boiler causes about 30 mcg/m3 of pm 2.5, so we cannot handle any woodsmoke. The pm std is probably going to change to 25 mcg/m3 and most states will be violating std's from oil combustion alone. Woodsmoke will have to be cut and banned. And some kind of curtailment of pm from oil furnaces will have to be started too.
The constitution takes priority over ambient air standards and ambient air standards take priority over NSPS guidelines which have no real force of law.
78% of Maine citizens dislike tobacco smoke in their environments and woodsmoke is 13 times more carcinogenic. Therefor people find it offensive to the senses and an interference with their right to enjoy their private property. Hence it is a nuisance by any definition.
It is also a large cause of global warming according to NASA scientists and many professors and the U.N. has tentatively agreed though they say it requires more study.
I personally have seen people die and doctors have said woodsmoke was a factor. I hav ewitnessed ER visits that doctors save been caused by woodsmoke and my own daughter had an asthma attack caused by woodsmoke according to a doctor.
Wood appliance chimneys can still be utilized with gas inserts so no loss of functionality of houses is necessary. Ang gas can be used to decrease energy costs in half with space heating schemes.
We must ban woodburning to save lives and the planet.
# 14:
6:39 pm PDT, Apr 12,Alan Haggard, California
# 13:
5:57 pm PDT, Apr 12,Jennifer Gardner, Florida
# 12:
4:47 am PDT, Apr 12,Name not displayed, Germany
# 11:
4:44 pm PDT, Apr 9,Name not displayed, Michigan
# 10:
8:15 pm PDT, Apr 8,Steve Dale, Australia
# 9:
1:10 pm PDT, Apr 8,Kristina Salgado, Arkansas
# 8:
6:13 am PDT, Apr 8,Sarah Martin, Michigan
All sources of pollution need to be strictly controlled. Sadly, I live with a neighbor who's smoke infiltrates my home on a regular basis. The smoke causes headaches, sinus blockage, shortness of breath, and causes my home to smell of smoke. Your help is needed to keep our right to fresh air a reality!
# 7:
5:24 am PDT, Apr 8,A Stambach, Wisconsin
Two in our household have asthma. Our neighbor heats his house 24/7 six months a year with a wood-burning stove. How are we to avoid his pollutants? This is a health risk we live with daily.
# 6:
3:08 am PDT, Apr 8,Steve Klein, Canada
# 5:
11:11 pm PDT, Apr 7,Nick Hawley, California
# 4:
6:24 pm PDT, Apr 7,Victoria Valentine, New York
The EPA should not offer wood stove exchange programs on its website. Burning is then misconstrued as acceptable to wood burners. The EPA should work harder to strictly control and eliminate as much wood smoke from all wood burning devices as possible, with a total ban of all wood smoke in the future. Polluting our air is not a right and should be illegal. We cannot subject our children to the dangers of wood smoke inhalation any longer; this is borderline child abuse. If you can't smoke cigarettes in the same room or public place as non smokers, then why are burners permitted to pollute the air all around us, where we don't have the luxury of escaping to another room or location. Our entire houses fill up with unwanted, uninvited, poisonous emissions that our neighbors inflict upon us on a daily basis. Our right to breathe clean air should be a top priority of the EPA.
# 3:
10:01 am PDT, Apr 7,Kristin Daugherty, Wisconsin
More and more people are having serious difficulties with lung diseases. We should not be ignoring this problem.
