Wood Smoke Hotlines

• Washington State Department of Ecology Wood Smoke and Outdoor Burning: 360-407-6000
• Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Burn Ban Hotline: 206-343-8800; 800-595-4341
• Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority Burn Ban Hotline: 509-456-4727; 509-456-4710
• Benton County Clean Air Authority Burn Ban Hotline: 509-943-3396; 509-946-4489

Good Neighbors Don't Smoke

Wood stoves and fireplaces account for about 10% of Washington's overall air pollution problem, and it only takes a six-month heating season to reach that mark. Wood smoke is the main source of air pollution in many of our residential areas during the winter. Remember that it's illegal to generate excessive chimney smoke, even if there's no burn ban, and even if it's your only source of heat.

Air pollution from fireplaces and wood stoves contains particulate matter and more than 100 other chemical compounds and pollutants. Particulates can lodge deep in the lungs, causing structural damage while reducing resistance to infection. Long-term exposure may lead to chronic obstructive lung disease and an increased risk of cancer.

Here's What You Can Do:

Don't burn wood!

Convert your wood-burning fireplace to use natural gas or propane.

If wood burning is your sole source of heat, burn cleanly:

• Burn only 100% untreated wood or manufactured fireplace logs. And avoid burning other materials such as colored paper, plastics, rubber, trash and treated wood products that give off harmful chemicals, more pollution, and less heat.
• Purchase wood early in the year and allow it to dry thoroughly--at least six months--in a covered place before you burn it.
• Keep your fire small and give it plenty of air. Don't stuff your stove or leave it burning unattended.
• Do not burn during a burn ban. Burn bans are announced by local radio and television stations and on the weather page of the newspaper. The Department of Ecology and your local air pollution control authorities have burn ban/wood smoke information.
• If your wood stove was manufactured before July 1988, replace it with one that is certified by the Environmental Protection Agency. Investigate a natural gas, certified wood or pellet stove, or an electric, natural gas, propane, or oil furnace.
• Be a weather watcher. When the air is cold and still, temperature inversions trap wood smoke and other pollutants close to the ground. Avoid using your wood stove or fireplace on hazy, windless days and nights.

Resources

If you are having health problems from wood burning in your neighborhood and you would like to file a complaint, contact your local air pollution control agency. They have educational materials on the hazards of wood smoke pollution.