Woodburner - health risks

[SecretOfChange]

Just came across this article: amp.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/18/wood-burners-triple-harmful-indoor-air-pollution-study-finds

What do you make of it? Real issue? Paranoia? Has anyone heard anything like this before and from other sources? Thanks.

@FurierTransform

The Guardian hates log burners because they are a symbol of the affluent trendy middle class. Article is mostly agenda-driven scaremongering - if you have a wood burner that's in good condition, the house has appropriate ventilation, & you don't load logs like an ape, nothing to worry about. Scented candles are far more of a hazard.

I have an air quality monitor which measures PM1/2.5/10 & an open fire I burn wood on - There is absolutely no measurable decrease in air quality in the room with the fire going, because my chimney works.

Fantastic! So the decrease in air quality is just shifted outdoors, for your neighbours to deal with if they want to go for a walk?

A few people have said they like the wood smokey smell when they go out in the winter. What exactly do you think you are breathing in when you smell that?

What exactly do you think you are breathing in when you smell that?

They probably know what they are breathing in. Are you aware of what you are very likely to be breathing in when you sit in your car?

www.emissionsanalytics.com/news/theself-poisiningcar

Life is too short to worry about everything that might kill you, but probably won't.

Once you know how bad smoke from fires is it’s impossible to un-know it and it takes the joy out of many things, so I can see why people want to push this information away. There are forest schools for children which have an open fire for them to sit around to eat lunch. It feels natural and lovely but it’s incredibly bad for them unfortunately.

but it’s incredibly bad for them unfortunately.

A waft of woodsmoke once in a blue moon. In the context of their entire lives, how incredibly bad is it for them really?

I still drive a diesel car without a catalytic converter ( old car ) and have a wood burner , the gardens around here are all green and lush and all my neighbours are surprisingly healthy ( even the old coffin dodgers next door ). I’ll be dead soon and couldn’t give a toss about the next generation,
I spent most of my childhood sat in front of my grandparents open fire and I loved it , I must have sucked in tonnes of particles , so it’s a wonder I’m still here 😀👍. I’m off to chop some logs now 🌲

@Changi

What exactly do you think you are breathing in when you smell that?

They probably know what they are breathing in. Are you aware of what you are very likely to be breathing in when you sit in your car?

www.emissionsanalytics.com/news/theself-poisiningcar

Life is too short to worry about everything that might kill you, but probably won't.

As I said, I have asthma. I'm extremely aware of what air pollution (of all kinds) does to my lungs, because I don't have the option to ignore it. Most of my journeys are made by bike, and I'm very aware of what I breathe in from car exhausts too.

I'm also not going on about "enjoying the diesel smell of car fumes".

@Changi

but it’s incredibly bad for them unfortunately.

A waft of woodsmoke once in a blue moon. In the context of their entire lives, how incredibly bad is it for them really?

It's not once in a blue moon. Every single time I go for a run in winter, I can feel it in my lungs, as it triggers my asthma. My breathing noticeably improves once I get a mile away from the village.

It doesn't trigger asthma in everyone, but you're still breathing it in, and far more frequently than once in a blue moon.

Suggestions....... drive a mile away from the village before you start ?
Get an indoor tread mill ?
Wear a face mask to filter out the wood particles of doom ?

I'm a fell runner, so I'm not going to get a treadmill!

And driving one mile adds to the problem hugely - making the air pollution worse is not a solution.

I wear a mask when cycling - that does help. Otherwise I'm resigned to just having to rely on my inhaler more in the winter months. And I try to make other people aware of the damage their woodburner habit is doing to others, in the vain hope that attitudes and behaviours start to change.

So the rest of us freeze to death ..... 😳

Also, why the fuck should my running be confined to the indoors because of other people's polluting habits?! Should children go for treadmill walks too, to protect their developing lungs?

Or maybe, just maybe, as a society we need to start taking air pollution more seriously and doing something about it, for everyone's benefit.

@Bargebill19

So the rest of us freeze to death ..... 😳

I live in the rural North without a woodburner. If I can do it, others can.

Mankind has been burning wood since the discovery of fire , I think you might have a bit of a job on your hands trying to convince them not to .

Exactly. Rural areas have electricity. We will all be using that.

As for the suggestion that people shouldn’t have children! Words fail me. The dinosaurs are out in force!

Except the people who can’t afford the electricity they will be freezing to death or burning anything they can find to keep warm .

I can’t even smell mine when the door is shut. So not sure any particles or pollutants are in the house. Going up the chimney and polluting the outside possibly. Although my wood burner is classified as ok for smoke free zones (even though we’re not in one). But then any form of heating pollutes the environment even if the only thing you do at your end is flick a switch to put the heating on.

Chronic, life long severely asthmatic log burner owner here...absolutely no effects whatsoever from mine. Traffic and Aviation pollution is a different matter (I live under a regional airport flight path) and I've been so much better since traffic and flights reduced. As soon as traffic increases, so does my asthma. My virtually zero heating bill is a bit of a bonus too.

I didn’t say back in the day? I’m talking about now. Many countries in the world peoooe rely on open fires and live to very old ages
I am sure @Bluntness100 can provide us some data to prove this point. I can’t think of even one country so far.
I have actually cooked on open fire and been around open fires as it wasn’t affordable in that area when I was growing up. No one I know reached the ripe old age that you are referring to.

It's not once in a blue moon. Every single time I go for a run in winter

The specific circumstances I was referring to in my post that you quoted are once in a blue moon.

@ReceptacleForTheRespectable
Except for the 30k boats not connected to mains electricity..... what about us? Wood burners and multi fuel stove are literally what keep us from freezing to death.
Boaters do have an option of diesel or gas heating - but they are extremely noisy and far more polluting, plus they need electricity to run. No solar panel system can keep up, so engines or generators need to be run to produce electricity.
Far more polluting than just leaving us to our stoves.
Maybe we are too small a minority...

It's true, they cause massively increased air pollution in the home and in your surrounding neighbourhood. They are an unnecessary form of pollution and you shouldn't fit one.

@ReceptacleForTheRespectable

A few people have said they like the wood smokey smell when they go out in the winter. What exactly do you think you are breathing in when you smell that?

This ^.

I read the articles at the time - it's the smoky coal and wet (untreated) wood that's the issue. Dry/treated wood is much less of a problem plus keeping the chimneys swept etc.

They are an unnecessary form of pollution and you shouldn't fit one.

You'll be telling me that I shouldn't be driving my 4x4 that gets barely 25 to the gallon next.