Reducing Harm from Wood Smoke 

Whereas the people of Washington State expect, deserve and require a safe and healthy Washington where essential programs improve health, provide information that works to protect everybody every day from disease and injury, environmental threats and impacts, and

Whereas public health services include protection of air from contamination, and

Whereas asthma rates, particularly among children, have attained epidemic proportions in many urban and suburban areas of the United States including Washington , and

Whereas epidemiologic and laboratory studies have demonstrated the serious health effects---including respiratory and cardiovascular---aggravated and/or caused by fine particulate matter (PM2.5; PM10), and

Whereas wood smoke is a leading air pollutant of PM2.5 and PM10 and other toxic chemicals, second only to diesel exhaust according to air pollution data in Washington State, especially in the winter months, and

Whereas clear evidence exists that wood smoke is a cause of lung disease, and

Whereas residential density levels have increased considerably in the urban and suburban areas of Washington state, and

Whereas burning wood is one of the most expensive means of residential heating, and

Whereas lower-cost alternatives and financial support for same exist for space heating of all residential structures,

Therefore be it resolved that the Washington State Public Health Association supports stronger regulation of the burning of wood and other biomass in woodstoves and fireplaces, and encourages legislated prohibition and enforcement by regional air quality agencies of residential burning in neighborhoods of density equal to or greater than 2000 residents per square mile.

Signed by: John Wiesman, WSPHA President 2002-2003