Diabetes Canada (Why I can’t support this organization)

More evidence of the general level of ignorance, even in the healthcare community, of the dangers of localized air pollution and biomass combustion.

Like other health-related charities, Diabetes Canada condemns tobacco use:

Smoking is a deadly habit. One of the best things you can do for your heart, diabetes and overall health is to quit now.

And then they post THIS image promoting their camps:  child and teens inhaling toxic wood smoke.

On their page “Diwali and Diabetes”, one of the gift basket suggestions is a source of indoor air pollution:

• Scented candles or home fragrance such as incense sticks. This gift will be enjoyed long after the holiday is over.

https://www.diabetes.ca/media-room/news/diwali-and-diabetes--less-sweets-and-more-sweetness--?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_campaign=GeneralPost&utm_content=diwali

Although exposure to fine particulate is a known risk factor for the development of diabetes, the terms “particulate”, “PM2.5” and “air pollution” yield no useful results when searched on their website.

Lung Association (Why I no longer support this organization)

Lung Association

The Lung Association appears to be either

1) ignorant of all the health issues associated with air pollution, wood smoke, and PM2.5, OR

2) unwilling to offend or alienate the wood-burning public by telling the truth.

Concerning fireplaces, we are told to “burn smart”, properly install and maintain, store wood properly, and (laughably) “...open a window a little bit to ensure a good supply of fresh air into your home.”  🤣🤣🤣

Did HPBCA, WETT, or another industry organization write this nonsense?

Shouldn’t the Lung Association condemn residential wood burning as strongly as it condemns smoking???

Do you have a fireplace in your home? Wood burning indoors can produce high levels of dangerous particles and gases that can be easily inhaled into the lungs. Be sure to "burn smart" if you use a fireplace.

https://www.lung.ca/lung-health/air-quality/your-healthy-home/healthy-home-tour/living-room

Many Canadian homes have fireplaces for ambience and extra warmth. Some homes burn wood as the main source of heat. It is important to follow a number of key steps when burning any wood indoors.

Tips:

• Inspect your chimneys and flues annually for corrosion, blockages, and cracks that could let dangerous gases (e.g. carbon monoxide) enter your home.
• When using your fireplace, open a window a little bit to ensure a good supply of fresh air into your home.
• Do not burn plastics, newspapers, magazines, painted wood, or cardboard as they can all release dangerous chemicals into your home's air.
• Make sure wood is stored outdoors, dried, kept off the ground, and loosely covered.
• When installing a fireplace, be sure that it is installed by a certified contractor who will ensure proper installation and safety. Check to see if they are a Wood Energy Technical Training (WETT) certified member.
• Poorly maintained and inefficient fireplaces can lead to difficulty breathing, coughing, irritation of the lungs, and asthma attacks in sensitive individuals.
• Ensure your wood burning appliances are being used properly and not causing breathing problems or making air unpleasant for your neighbours.

https://www.lung.ca/lung-health/air-quality/your-healthy-home/healthy-home-tour/living-room/fireplace

SHOCKINGLY  bad advice offered about outdoor burning:  

1) no distinction concerning fuels (wood, charcoal, gas, propane)

2) implying these activities are safe under appropriate air quality and weather conditions, and if “not located too close to the home”

In reality a wood burning fire pit will blanket an entire neighbourhood with toxic smoke.

Barbequing and sitting around the backyard fire pit are common Canadian summertime activities. It is important to use them properly to prevent any health issues from exposure to pollutants.

• Monitor your air quality and weather forecast to determine wind conditions and any air alerts that may be occurring when you're planning on using a barbeque or fire pit. Try not to do any outdoor burning on a hazy or smog day, when the air quality reading is poor, or when there is no wind as it will keep wood smoke particles close to the ground where people can inhale them. Also, do not light a fire pit during windy conditions as this can cause sparks to fly around and cause the fire to get out of control.
• Make sure your barbeque or fire pit is not located too close to the home as any drifting smoke can easily get indoors through windows or doors.

https://www.lung.ca/lung-health/air-quality/your-healthy-home/healthy-home-tour/outside-home/barbeques-and-fire-pits

Open Air Burning and Asthma (To Council, #5)

You probably know someone who suffers from asthma; according to Health Canada, this chronic condition afflicts 12.1% of the population of Ontario.

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/asthma-chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-canada-2018.html

If you have been following the news about the forest fires elsewhere in the province, you may have heard special warnings directed at people who suffer from asthma, as well as for those with COPD, or other respiratory or cardiovascular problems.

What you should realize is that inhaling smoke from neighbourhood fire pits is just as dangerous as inhaling forest fire smoke.

Here is more information from the Lung Association, Asthma Canada, and the Government of Canada:

“Breathing in wood smoke can cause increased respiratory symptoms, increased hospital admissions, exacerbation of asthma and COPD, and decrease your ability to breathe normally. If you have a lung disease, breathing in wood smoke can make your disease worse and cause a flare-up.”

https://www.lung.ca/news/advocacy-tools/our-position-statements/residential-wood-burning

“Exposure to smoke of any kind, whether the source is tobacco, marijuana, forest fires or camp fires, can be harmful.”

https://www.asthma.ca/get-help/asthma-3/triggers-3/common-asthma-triggers/

“Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases in Canada. It affects Canadians of all ages, but younger Canadians are disproportionately affected.

Symptoms of asthma include shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness. There is currently no cure for asthma; however, it can be well controlled by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, avoiding allergens and other triggers, quitting smoking, and taking medication properly.”

https://infobase.phac-aspc.gc.ca/datalab/asthma-blog-en.html

The number of residents of Woodstock who suffer from asthma is probably close to 5,000.

(2016 census population: 40,902 x provincial asthma rate 12.1%) = 4,949.

Now that you know that wood smoke may be triggering asthma attacks in approximately 5,000 residents (many of them children), how can Woodstock Council justify continuing the practice of open air burning?

Smog? In Woodstock, it's public policy.

With wry amusement I read the "Green Tips" column by the Woodstock Environmental Advisory Committee in the July issue of What's on Woodstock (p.12), entitled "Every breath you take".
To be fair, the concerns expressed about smog, its environmental and health effects, and the suggested tips, are all valid.
Conspicuous by its absence, however, is any mention of one of our greatest seasonal pollutants: WOOD SMOKE, which is all too often in evidence on calm summer evenings.
Is it not hypocritical of Woodstock to encourage me to avoid volatile organic compounds, while forcing me to inhale the same substances from nearby fire pits?

When the current Open Air Burning Bylaw was passed in 2013, the Fire Department reported that 1,282 burn permits had been issued; that worked out to about one toxic backyard incinerator for every 30 residents of Woodstock.  The northwest corner of the city, near Cowan Park, is peppered with them:  fire pits, chimineas, and (for those with a serious commitment to burning) large outdoor masonry fireplaces (gasp).
To put this situation in context:  it's illegal in Ontario to light a cigarette within 20 metres of playground equipment or a public sports field.  But properties near Cowan Park can light backyard fires, and blanket the soccer fields with wood smoke, thus exposing young athletes and their family members to lung-clogging fine particulate matter and an assortment of toxic substances.

Open air backyard burning is illegal in many cities, including Guelph, Waterloo, Hamilton, and Toronto.
Shouldn't our elected officials be protecting air quality and our health, rather than enabling wood smoke pollution?

Those of us who value clean air can only attempt to light a (metaphorical!) fire under Woodstock Council.

Excerpts from Oxford County's website, on Open-air burning:
"Burning wood will release various pollutants into the air that may be harmful to us and the environment, including particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone, and water vapour. Wood smoke may also contain cancer-causing substances, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and benzene formaldehyde."

"Some of the substances found in smoke from open-air burning are so small that our noses and upper respiratory systems are not able to filter them out. As a result, they may end up settling deep within our lungs, potentially damaging cells that protect our airways. 

Breathing in wood smoke is associated with an increase in respiratory irritations and symptoms such as coughing, chest tightness, asthma attacks and shortness of breath. Exposure to wood smoke may also decrease lung function and is associated with an increased number of visits to emergency departments and hospitalizations." 

The above text was published as a UR Opinion piece on the Sentinel Review's website on July 26, 2016.