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2) SANDY (O r« .) POST — I l
Wood stove Willamette Valley’s top polluter
The wood stove is at the
peak of its popularity this
century
But it gets low marks
from an Oregon State
University engineer who
has headed the university's
Air Resources Center since
1979 and who is a former
president of the interna
tional Air Pollution Control
Association
Richard W Boubel said
that the wood stove, and
not the automobile, is the
number one air polluter in
the Willamette Valley, and
in many other parts of the
country
“ The emissions that
come from a smoldering
wood stove fire definitely
are hazards to human
health." he points out. “ But
the question, of course, is
how serious is the hazard’’
Is it a hazard to one person
out of a million, or one out
of a hundred, or one out of
ten? Time will tell.”
Research conducted last
year at OSU by Boubel and
David C. Junge, then direc
tor of the u niversity’s
E n e rg y R esearch and
Developm ent In s titu te ,
showed
“ s ig n ific a n t
lev els” of polynuclear
organic materials (PO M )
given off by burning wood
and bark residue fuels
“ POMs are the reason
the surgeon general of the
United States ordered w ar
ning labels to be put on
cigarettes,” Boubel noted
“ POMs are generally con
sidered to be the most po
te n t
c a n c e r ca u s in g
materials that are emitted
into the environment. And
the compounds given off in
to the air from wood stoves
are the same as found in
sm o k in g
c ig a r e tte s .
They're common to all
combustion ’’
Fireplaces add to Valley
air pollution woes, accor
ding to Boubel, but are "not
nearly as bad as wood
stoves
“ T h e p o p u la r wood
stoves
b eing
sold
to d a y —p a rtic u la rly the
airtight types—are heavy
emitters of pollutants, not
just POMs but also carbon
monoxide and particulates
< solid bits of material in
the a ir), and just plain
smoke that is irritating to
many people ”
Wood
stoves
h ave
become major sources of
air pollution in Portland
and M e d fo rd , Boubel
observed, but the problem
extends to other cities m
the Valley and to the
W illamette Valley as a
whole." Boubel believes
“ We re dealing essential
ly with an uncontrollable
source because the Depart
ment of Environm ental
Quality right now has no
regulations concerning
wood burning stoves in
residences,” the engineer
said.
“ Design control” may be
the best possibility, Boubel
said
This would require
stoves sold in the state to be
certified as acceptable to
DEQ, which handles air
p o llu tio n m a tte r s in
Oregon
“ I t ’s essentially what we
have done with cars,”
Boubel explained
“ An
automobile to be sold here
has to be acceptable in
terms of meeting certain
em is sio n
s ta n d a rd s
Naturally, manufacturers
aren't happy about this sort
of thing It puts the burden
of proof on them, increases
their costs, and puts the
product under constant
scrutiny
“ But public welfare, the
good of all, must be con
sid ered .” Boubel said
“ And some sorts of con
trols appear appropriate
for wood stoves because of
the health hazards involved
plus
the
im p o s s ib le
n e g a tiv e
im p a c t
on
e s ta b lis h m e n t of new
businesses and industry.
“ I t ’s possible. ’ Boubel
explain ed , “ th at wood
stove emissions could put
pollution at such a level
that no air dilution capaci
ty would be left for new
businesses that could pro
vide jobs but that would
have to operate under such
strict emission controls
that meeting them would
be nearly impossible, or at
least impractical, for the
industry ”
DEQ is in essentially a
"no win or Catch 22" situa
tion. Boubel believes
Wood, of course, is a
renewable energy source
In the past there has been
an abundance of forest
slash or w aste wood
residue It has been cheap
and accessible.
But things are changing.
Boubel said. The amount of
free wood that can be cut is
relatively limited now and
the supply is steadily
shrinking.
Boubel doubts that pay
ing 1100 a cord for wood is a
wise buy “ I t ’s less effi
cient than other fuels, is
becoming in short supply,
and it has the air pollution
concerns as well ” Even
the costs of so-called free
wood need to be examined
in terms of travel and time
factors, he suggested
The kind of wood being
burned is not as critical as
the moisture content of the
wood, Boubel observed " If
you get real wet wood, it
tends to smoke more and
burn slower with more
emissions Dry wood burns
with a hotter fire and you
have less pollution," he ad
ded
The
fa m e d
wood
cookstove of early days
smoked up things but it was
designed to get hot quickly,
making the combustion of
the wood relatively com
plete. The new airtight
wood stoves are designed
to
b u rn
on
low
temperatures for a long
time This sort of wood bur
ning is convenient but inef
ficient and leads to heavy
emissions of hazardous
materials
Boubel sees a solution for
all of the wood fuel pro
b le m s ,
in c lu d in g
pollutants, in centralized
systems where wood is
burned in the big fu r
naces—boilers that permit
emission controls
“ The city of Eugene is
well known for its en
vironmental concerns and
its battles with field burn
ing What is less well
known is that the major
p o rtio n of d ow ntow n
Eugene is heated by steam
generated in a central
wood fired boiler system
Businesses buy steam for
heating at reasonable costs
while pollution is kept In
check at the same time
with the efficient central
systems ”
England is discovering
the same joys of a central
produce, grocery, non-food!
CHOPS
steam generation system,
according to Boubel
In the movie “ Mary Pop-
pins" much attention was
paid to chimney sweeps
who provided an essential
public service because one
residence might have a
half dozen chimneys serv
ing flats or individual
apartments on separate
floors
“ Now, Britain has been
forced to move to central
heating facilities and flats
h ave th e m o s ta ts and
meters that record steam
use, but no stoves or
fireplaces People seem
ingly are warmer, happier
and air pollution is in
check, it is reported
Condominiums are a
natural for such central
wood b o ile r h e a tin g .
Boubel reports. Aspen.
Colo., for a time prohibited
wood burning devices in
housing units, he noted
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