Outdoor Wood Boilers - A Threat to Public Health.

by: memiller

Sun Jun 01, 2008 at 22:43:16 PM EDT

Outdoor furnace debate could get hotter
Posted by Kirsten Fredrickson | Special to the Gazette June 01, 2008 05:00AM

TEXAS TOWNSHIP -- Depending on whom you ask, outdoor furnaces or boilers are either underregulated, pollution-prone nuisances or unobtrusive, cost-efficient ways to heat homes.

One thing, though, seems certain: More rural and suburban areas will be grappling with how to deal with them.

In Texas Township, where population growth has sometimes clashed with its rural roots, trustees have adopted a ban on outdoor furnaces that takes effect later this month. Fueled by increasing nuisance complaints from residents, the township board also put seasonal, setback and other restrictions on existing units.

As the first community in the Kalamazoo area to establish an ordinance, and with no state or federal guidelines and scant examples elsewhere to follow, Texas Township officials struggled in crafting rules to regulate the outdoor furnaces.

"We sit here really kind of naked trying to come up with the best ordinance," Supervisor Ron Commissaris said May 12, as the township board prepared to pass its new rules after several months of consideration and public input.

"There's a lot of passion involved in this issue on both sides," Clerk Linda Kerr said.

An outdoor furnace has been described as looking like a small shed with a short smokestack. The Texas Township ordinance defines one as a "boiler or furnace, fueled by wood, coal or other types of fuel, located outside the structure it is used to heat, with the designated purpose of providing indoor heat for water and/or air for a residence or other structure."

As costs to heat with gas and other sources climb and more people look to alternate heating sources, the issue of regulating outdoor furnaces is popping up elsewhere. Kerr said township officials have fielded calls from officials in other Kalamazoo County townships and beyond.

In a letter (May 11) on the outdoor wood boiler issue, Tonya Motycka stated: "[Texas Township Board of Trustees] have absolutely no evidence of any kind from any credible source that outdoor wood furnaces are harmful in any way."
Kalamazoo Environmental Council, a consortium of Kalamazoo-area environmental organizations, passed a resolution at our last meeting supporting the banning of outdoor wood boilers, and quoting the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which states in a fact sheet on these devices:

"Smoke is Unhealthy to Breathe
Outdoor wood boilers generate much more particle pollution than an indoor wood stove because the units are built to burn wood at lower combustion temperatures. Wood smoke releases particles ("soot"), carbon monoxide, and other toxic air pollutants. Nuisance complaints are justified by valid health concerns. Children (whose lungs are still developing) and people with health heart or lung problems such as coronary artery disease, asthma, or emphysema are especially affected by wood smoke." (http://www.michigan.gov/deq; search 'outdoor wood boilers')

We find the Michigan DEQ to be a credible source.

Mark E. Miller
Secretary, KEC

The background here is that some folks in Texas Township (and elsewhere) have installed these things to save money on heating costs, and they have been smoking out the neighbors. These things really are bad news. They put out 22 times as much fine particulate pollution as an EPA approved indoor wood stove, and 8000 times as much as a gas furnace.

The public health effects of this smoke is well documented. Both acute and long-term effects of wood smoke are well-known, and these devices put out so much more smoke due to their design - an oversized firebox surrounded by a water jacket, which keeps the combustion temperature low and the burning incomplete. Also, instead of a thermostat, they are damped down and smolder when heat is not needed, then when the damper is opened, the condensed creosote is driven off as soot.

I have taken this up with Kalamazoo Township, my municipality, and hope to get an ordinance before these things start appearing in my neighborhood.