Woodstock is a great place to live, because:
1) We are considerate of our neighbours; we even have a noise bylaw (Chapter 0825)
2) We care about air quality; we have an anti-idling bylaw (Chapter 818)
3) We worry about damaging our children's lungs; we have a bylaw that prohibits smoking near playground equipment (Chapter 0835)
But wait a minute; we also have an Open Air Burning Bylaw (Chapter 0827), which shows that we:
1) don't care about bothering neighbours
2) don't care about air quality
3) don't care about damaging everybody's lungs, including our children's.
What was my opening statement, again?
This was submitted to the Sentinel Review as a letter to the editor and published on July 3, 2015, although the title was changed by the newspaper.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Clean Air Day: shall we light the fire pit?
June 3 2015 is Clean Air Day, part of Canadian Environment Week.
The day seems to pass unremarked in Woodstock, probably because we are home to more than 1200 little legal toxic incinerators, otherwise known as fire pits, thanks to our Open Air Burning Bylaw. In Ontario most open air burning is prohibited by the Fire Code, unless the municipal government does an end run around that legislation and grants permission by passing its own bylaw, as Woodstock Council did in 2013.
So to mark the day, here is an excerpt from The Fireplace Delusion by Sam Harris (full text can be found on the internet):
"Here is what we know from a scientific point of view: There is no amount of wood smoke that is good to breathe. It is at least as bad for you as cigarette smoke, and probably much worse. (One study found it to be 30 times more potent a carcinogen.) The smoke from an ordinary wood fire contains hundreds of compounds known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and irritating to the respiratory system. Most of the particles generated by burning wood are smaller than one micron--a size believed to be most damaging to our lungs. In fact, these particles are so fine that they can evade our mucociliary defenses and travel directly into the bloodstream, posing a risk to the heart. Particles this size also resist gravitational settling, remaining airborne for weeks at a time."
To all those who are ready to comment that they "LOVE THE SMELL OF WOODSMOKE!", please remember that "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts". Try to locate and quote some credible sources to support your position, if you would like to convince us that it's okay for you and everyone around you to breathe the smoke generated by your fire pit.
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on June 2, 2015.
The day seems to pass unremarked in Woodstock, probably because we are home to more than 1200 little legal toxic incinerators, otherwise known as fire pits, thanks to our Open Air Burning Bylaw. In Ontario most open air burning is prohibited by the Fire Code, unless the municipal government does an end run around that legislation and grants permission by passing its own bylaw, as Woodstock Council did in 2013.
So to mark the day, here is an excerpt from The Fireplace Delusion by Sam Harris (full text can be found on the internet):
"Here is what we know from a scientific point of view: There is no amount of wood smoke that is good to breathe. It is at least as bad for you as cigarette smoke, and probably much worse. (One study found it to be 30 times more potent a carcinogen.) The smoke from an ordinary wood fire contains hundreds of compounds known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, and irritating to the respiratory system. Most of the particles generated by burning wood are smaller than one micron--a size believed to be most damaging to our lungs. In fact, these particles are so fine that they can evade our mucociliary defenses and travel directly into the bloodstream, posing a risk to the heart. Particles this size also resist gravitational settling, remaining airborne for weeks at a time."
To all those who are ready to comment that they "LOVE THE SMELL OF WOODSMOKE!", please remember that "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts". Try to locate and quote some credible sources to support your position, if you would like to convince us that it's okay for you and everyone around you to breathe the smoke generated by your fire pit.
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on June 2, 2015.
Friday, April 24, 2015
April, cancer, and Woodstock's toxic air
During April ("Daffodil Month") the Canadian Cancer Society conducts its national fundraising campaign.
Ironically, April is also the month in which spring weather arrives, we can spend more time out of doors... and the air we breathe is often polluted with hazardous wood smoke from backyard fire pits.
The Canadian Cancer Society's website lists risk factors for lung cancer which include:
1) Second-hand smoke: "No amount of exposure to second-hand smoke is safe"
2) Outdoor air pollution.
Indoor burning of wood is listed as a possible risk factor.
Could we make connections?
Wood smoke is very similar in composition to tobacco smoke.
Wood smoke is a source of acute air pollution.
Wood smoke contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The Government of Canada lists PAHs as one of the main pollutants in wood smoke that cause health concerns, and explains: "These compounds are a health concern because they can cause cancer".
The Ontario Fire Code prohibits most open air burning, thereby protecting citizens from wood smoke pollution.
Municipalities have to do an end run around the Fire Code by implementing a policy or passing a bylaw (as Woodstock Council did in May of 2013), thus condemning us to breathe wood smoke-polluted air during all the fine months of the year.
Is it too much to hope that the new Council might be concerned about the health of its citizens, and rid us of the Open Air Burning Bylaw?
References at right, under Websites:
Canadian Cancer Society
Healthy Canadians
UPHE
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on April 24, 2015.
Ironically, April is also the month in which spring weather arrives, we can spend more time out of doors... and the air we breathe is often polluted with hazardous wood smoke from backyard fire pits.
The Canadian Cancer Society's website lists risk factors for lung cancer which include:
1) Second-hand smoke: "No amount of exposure to second-hand smoke is safe"
2) Outdoor air pollution.
Indoor burning of wood is listed as a possible risk factor.
Could we make connections?
Wood smoke is very similar in composition to tobacco smoke.
Wood smoke is a source of acute air pollution.
Wood smoke contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The Government of Canada lists PAHs as one of the main pollutants in wood smoke that cause health concerns, and explains: "These compounds are a health concern because they can cause cancer".
The Ontario Fire Code prohibits most open air burning, thereby protecting citizens from wood smoke pollution.
Municipalities have to do an end run around the Fire Code by implementing a policy or passing a bylaw (as Woodstock Council did in May of 2013), thus condemning us to breathe wood smoke-polluted air during all the fine months of the year.
Is it too much to hope that the new Council might be concerned about the health of its citizens, and rid us of the Open Air Burning Bylaw?
References at right, under Websites:
Canadian Cancer Society
Healthy Canadians
UPHE
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on April 24, 2015.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
The heart hazard on your hearth
As we near the end of Heart Month, I would like to draw attention to the position statement posted by the Heart & Stroke Foundation, entitled: Air Pollution, Heart Disease and Stroke. It informs us that: "During the winter months in Canada, wood-burning stoves and fireplaces can be sources of dangerous air pollution, contributing 28% of the fine particulate matter in the air."
Wood smoke contains many of the same toxic chemicals as tobacco smoke, and is a health hazard to young and old. If you can smell the smoke, you are inhaling the toxins, and it is best to avoid exertion (like snow shoveling).
The Government of Canada on its Healthy Canadians website is blunt in its advice: AVOID WOOD SMOKE.
If you feel that a wood fire is a comfort in your home, consider this image by Sam Harris in The Fireplace Delusion: "the sight of a glowing hearth should be about as comforting as the sight of a diesel engine idling in your living room".
Be kind to your heart, and all those hearts around you. Learn more... and don't burn wood.
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on February 26, 2015.
Wood smoke contains many of the same toxic chemicals as tobacco smoke, and is a health hazard to young and old. If you can smell the smoke, you are inhaling the toxins, and it is best to avoid exertion (like snow shoveling).
The Government of Canada on its Healthy Canadians website is blunt in its advice: AVOID WOOD SMOKE.
If you feel that a wood fire is a comfort in your home, consider this image by Sam Harris in The Fireplace Delusion: "the sight of a glowing hearth should be about as comforting as the sight of a diesel engine idling in your living room".
Be kind to your heart, and all those hearts around you. Learn more... and don't burn wood.
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on February 26, 2015.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Air quality should be on the public agenda
I was delighted to read Nancy M. Kelly's letter to the editor [Sentinel Review, Aug. 12] on the subject of fire pits. Ms. Kelly accurately highlights the relationships between fire pits, polluted air, human health, and associated health care costs.
On the website healthycanadians.gc.ca, our federal government opens the topic with a blunt headline: AVOID WOOD SMOKE. The reason follows: "...wood smoke contains a number of pollutants that can be harmful to your health". The main pollutants and their effects are listed, as are the groups especially vulnerable to wood smoke: people with heart or lung problems, and children.
Many nearby cities (e.g. Brantford, Cambridge, Waterloo, Hamilton and Guelph) don't allow open air burning in residential areas.
Wouldn't it be a good thing if local air quality, fire pits, and related health concerns were higher on the public agenda as the municipal election approaches.
For further reading, including links to health and environmental websites, go to: cleanairforwoodstock.blogspot.ca.
The above text was published as a "Letter to the Editor" in the Sentinel Review, August 20, 2014.
On the website healthycanadians.gc.ca, our federal government opens the topic with a blunt headline: AVOID WOOD SMOKE. The reason follows: "...wood smoke contains a number of pollutants that can be harmful to your health". The main pollutants and their effects are listed, as are the groups especially vulnerable to wood smoke: people with heart or lung problems, and children.
Many nearby cities (e.g. Brantford, Cambridge, Waterloo, Hamilton and Guelph) don't allow open air burning in residential areas.
Wouldn't it be a good thing if local air quality, fire pits, and related health concerns were higher on the public agenda as the municipal election approaches.
For further reading, including links to health and environmental websites, go to: cleanairforwoodstock.blogspot.ca.
The above text was published as a "Letter to the Editor" in the Sentinel Review, August 20, 2014.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
A peculiar inconsistency of Woodstock's bylaws
There was an article in the May edition of What's on Woodstock entitled "Smoking bylaw is often forgotten in parks and playgrounds".
Author Karyn Matwey reminded us that it is illegal to light up within 30 metres of playground equipment or within 15 metres of recreational fields. As the bylaw itself states:
"...it has been determined that second-hand smoke is a serious health hazard because of its adverse effects and risk to the health of inhabitants and workers in The Corporation of the City of Woodstock."
Why, then, does Woodstock have an open air burning bylaw that permits backyard fire pits, and only four metres from a property line? A wood-burning fire produces hundreds of times more toxic smoke than a cigarette. This smoke blankets neighbourhoods and fills nearby homes. Why protect kids from smoke in playgrounds, but not in their own backyards and bedrooms?
It's time to stop poisoning the air that we all have to share.
For more information, see cleanairforwoodstock.blogspot.ca
The above text was published as a "Letter to the editor" in the Sentinel Review on June 27, 2014.
Author Karyn Matwey reminded us that it is illegal to light up within 30 metres of playground equipment or within 15 metres of recreational fields. As the bylaw itself states:
"...it has been determined that second-hand smoke is a serious health hazard because of its adverse effects and risk to the health of inhabitants and workers in The Corporation of the City of Woodstock."
Why, then, does Woodstock have an open air burning bylaw that permits backyard fire pits, and only four metres from a property line? A wood-burning fire produces hundreds of times more toxic smoke than a cigarette. This smoke blankets neighbourhoods and fills nearby homes. Why protect kids from smoke in playgrounds, but not in their own backyards and bedrooms?
It's time to stop poisoning the air that we all have to share.
For more information, see cleanairforwoodstock.blogspot.ca
The above text was published as a "Letter to the editor" in the Sentinel Review on June 27, 2014.
Clean Air Day... but not, alas, in Woodstock
It's the end of Canadian Environment Week, which included Clear Air Day on June 4th. These dates were noted on our City Services Calendar, but not otherwise marked by the city; we must go to Environment Canada's website to learn that "Clean Air Day is a celebration of environmentally friendly activities that promote clean air and good health across Canada. What a perfect time to make lifestyle changes that help reduce our environmental footprint".
It might be a tad embarrassing to promote such a day in a city where open air burning is legal, and the sign outside the Vansittart Ave. Fire Hall proclaims "IT IS FIRE PIT SEASON GET YOUR PERMIT".
But don't blame the Fire Department; before Council passed the Open Air Burning Bylaw in May of 2013, one of the options presented by Fire staff was NO BURNING, which Council rejected. One wonders how the Fire staff must feel, as they process and approve Open Air Burning applications, knowing that as a result of their actions many vulnerable groups - children, seniors with heart conditions or COPD, and asthma sufferers to name a few - will be exposed unnecessarily to toxic smoke.
A few searches on the internet for wood smoke and health yield a great deal of unsettling information, including the similarity of wood and tobacco smoke, the toxins present in wood smoke, the effect of particulate matter on the lungs, the relationship to smog, and carbon emissions produced. It is hard to imagine another policy that is so detrimental to both the environment and human health.
Many nearby cities - Guelph, Waterloo, Brantford, and Cambridge for example - don't allow open air burning in residential areas. Why does Woodstock?
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on June 9, 2014.
It might be a tad embarrassing to promote such a day in a city where open air burning is legal, and the sign outside the Vansittart Ave. Fire Hall proclaims "IT IS FIRE PIT SEASON GET YOUR PERMIT".
But don't blame the Fire Department; before Council passed the Open Air Burning Bylaw in May of 2013, one of the options presented by Fire staff was NO BURNING, which Council rejected. One wonders how the Fire staff must feel, as they process and approve Open Air Burning applications, knowing that as a result of their actions many vulnerable groups - children, seniors with heart conditions or COPD, and asthma sufferers to name a few - will be exposed unnecessarily to toxic smoke.
A few searches on the internet for wood smoke and health yield a great deal of unsettling information, including the similarity of wood and tobacco smoke, the toxins present in wood smoke, the effect of particulate matter on the lungs, the relationship to smog, and carbon emissions produced. It is hard to imagine another policy that is so detrimental to both the environment and human health.
Many nearby cities - Guelph, Waterloo, Brantford, and Cambridge for example - don't allow open air burning in residential areas. Why does Woodstock?
The above text appeared as a "UR Opinion" on the Sentinel Review's website on June 9, 2014.
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