Wood smoke health concerns

BY RAFFY BOUDJIKANIAN

raffy.boudjikanian@transcontinental.ca

With a recent bylaw amendment that forces all new residential fireplaces or wood stove ovens to meet environmental health and safety standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the Canadian Standards Association, the City of Pointe Claire is the only West Island municipality to regulate residential wood smoke. However, a similar bylaw has existed province-wide in British Columbia since 1994.

"I think any municipality would be interested in bringing itself up to date to established standards," said Pointe Claire Mayor Bill McMurchie.

The smoke emanating from fireplaces and wood stove ovens can also cause severe respiratory problems among both children and adults, according to some scientific papers dealing with health hazards of residential wood smoke.

"Wood smoke in general is not something that's high on the radar screen," said Prof. Michael Brauer at the University of British Columbia's School of Environmental Health, who helped author two studies on the matter last year.

According to him, the province of British Columbia has enforced the use of certified fireplaces and ovens since 1994.

Neither the Quebec provincial government nor the City of Montreal currently have any regulations regarding fireplaces or wood stoves. "The city is currently looking into new documentation on this," said Montreal spokesman Valérie de Gagné. Quebec's Ministry of the Environment recommends E.P.A. and C.S.A.-certified wood smoke devices, but does not enforce their use. Its website does have a lengthy section that explains the health hazards of wood smoke, and points out homes with wood-heating rose in Quebec by 60 per cent from 1987 to 2000.

Pointe Claire resident Stella Haley publicly told council the bylaw was not strong enough at the city's December council meeting.

"It's a permit to pollute," the retired teacher, who says she is preparing a petition against the bylaw, told The Chronicle. She said she was concerned that the bylaw would not affect residences that currently have wood stoves or fireplaces that do not meet this certification.

Meanwhile, Beaconsfield city councillor Kate Coulter says she is well aware of wood smoke-related health hazards and has been working on a solution for years

"That's such an easy way to do it," she said of Pointe Claire's bylaw amendment.

Coulter, who is also chair of a regional environment committee, says she is well aware of wood smoke-related health hazards and has been working on a solution for years. "I want something that ideally regulates all fireplaces and wood stove ovens though."

Coulter also suggested that groups of municipalities or the provincial government should move in on this issue together. "One town passing a bylaw is not going to make a difference," she said.

McMurchie said it would be difficult to convince all residents who currently have fireplaces or wood stoves that do not meet the bylaw's standards to change. "What do you do about the 80 per cent of Pointe Claire residents who don't meet the standards?" he asked.

In British Columbia, Brauer said cash incentives are offered by the provincial government to residents who update to newer, certified models. Also, selling residences with older models is banned.

"That's a good solution, but I doubt it's within a small town's budget," Coulter said.

An exact, full list of health hazards posed by wood smoke is not known. Whereas Brauer said it would take continuous, daily exposure over several decades to directly develop a form of cancer, Prof. Luke Neaher from the University of Georgia's Department of Environmental Health Science was less conservative in his estimate. "I believe the potential is there for cancer to be an endpoint to these exposures, even if the data to support this are limited," he said.