HealthCategory Archives

Alternatives to Outdoor Burning

Good for your health, and the health of our wildlands

You have an opportunity to curb fire risks, improve air quality, and make your neighbors’ lives easier. All by NOT striking a match.

Residents who have yard waste to dispose of should look into clean alternatives to burning. Alternatives such as chipping and composting help keep our air clean and healthful. Those alternatives can also be used all summer, unlike burning. Because of wildfire and public safety concerns in our wooded counties, seasonal burn bans take effect each summer.

One of the best alternatives to burning is composting.  Not only is composting free and easy to do, but it yields a great resource for your yard and garden.

Chipping woody materials and using the chips as ground cover also works well. Many commercial composting facilities and waste transfer stations around Western Washington accept yard waste for a modest fee.

Residents who do burn must remember the only material they may legally burn is natural vegetation gathered on site. State law prohibits the burning of garbage and home-repair debris. Burn barrels of any kind are also prohibited by state law.

Unregulated outdoor burning of any kind can contribute to poor air quality, but burning garbage and other debris is particularly problematic. Most household garbage contains a great deal of plastics, chemicals, coatings and chemically treated materials. When burned, this garbage and waste material releases toxic fumes and particles into the air. This pollution can cause disease ranging from eye and respiratory irritation to potential cancers.

For statewide Burn Ban information, visit http://waburnbans.ne

admin
May 10, 2013
Burn Status, Health, News and Information
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DNR program helps keep air clean while preventing wildfires

Burn barrels for Compost Bins

You have an opportunity to curb fire risks, improve air quality, and make your neighbors’ lives easier.  At no cost to you!

A Wildfire Awareness and Prevention Program sponsored by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offer residents of western Clallam Countyan opportunity to dump their burn barrels and get a compost bin, for free! The bins, provided by DNR, can help turn yard waste into free garden fertilizer while eliminating one of the primary sources of wildfires: burn barrels.

Burn barrels also produce significantly more air pollution than open burn piles.  For those reasons, the state legislature banned the use of burn barrels in all areas of Washington several years ago; but the barrels continue to be used by many, despite the risks to public health and property.

Clallam County Burn Barrel Exchange:

What:      Exchange your burn barrel for a compost bin

When:     May 9, 10, and 11 — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where:   West Waste Landfill, Highway 110, Forks, WA

Contact: Bryan Suslick at (360) 374-2800 or email at bryan.suslick@dnr.wa.gov

By replacing that illegal burn barrel with a compost bin for your yard waste, residents will:

  • Produce free, organic fertilizer for their yard and garden
  • Reduce harmful air pollution. Smoke from outdoor burning poses serious health risks, much like cigarette smoke. Particulate pollution from smoke may lead to increased incidents of asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, and heart and lung disease.
  • Reduce the risk of wildfire. Backyard fires that ‘escape’ are the leading source of wildfires caused by humans, and many of those escapement fires start in burn barrels.

There are a limited number of compost bins available for this program, so residents are urged to act NOW.

DNR is encouraging homeowners, land managers, first responders, developers, business owners, and civic leaders to focus on “Knowing Your Role” when it comes to preparing communities for wildfire. Visit the Fire Adapted Communities website (http://fireadapted.org/) to learn more about defensible space, fire-resilient building construction, community wildfire prevention planning, the Firewise Program, (www.firewise.org) and Ready, Set, Go! (http://www.wildlandfirersg.org/).

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admin
May 6, 2013
Burn Status, Health, News and Information
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Continue clean burning practices as winter lingers

As the weather this week reminds us, winter continues to hold us in her grip. Some residents may need to refill their woodsheds before they retire their fires for the season. Others will simply continue to pull from their existing supply. Regardless, if you heat your home with a wood stove or fireplace insert, please remember these tips to make your fire burn hotter, with less wood (and therefore more money left in your wallet) while also keeping our shared air clean and healthy.

  • Use only well-seasoned firewood. Dry wood burns hotter, cuts fuel consumption and reduces the amount of smoke your appliance produces. Moisture content of seasoned wood should be 20 percent or less. If you don’t have a moisture-meter, simply knock two pieces of your firewood together—you should hear a solid, loud “crack” sound (some describe it as a ‘hollow sound’), not a low “thud.”
  • Choose the right firewood. Hardwoods and dense conifer types are the best. Manufactured logs and pellets are good too. Avoid soft wood such as alder and cottonwood. And remember: it is illegal and very unhealthy to burn trash or treated wood – these emit toxic air pollutants that can cause serious illness.
  • Never smolder. A smoldering fire does little for heat and creates excess smoke. After an initial 20-minute start-up period, take a look at your chimney. You should see very little, if any, smoke. Open your damper to allow your fire to burn hot, which improves efficiency and reduces smoke.
  • Keep a clean firebox. Excess ashes can clog the air intake vents reducing efficiency. Be sure to dispose of ashes in a metal container away from the house or any flammable material to reduce to the risk of fire.
  • Be a good neighbor. Follow best practices for burning wood and always remember to comply with state and local requirements for wood heating, including being aware of and complying with any burn bans. You can find current burn ban information for any county in Washington at: www.WaBurnBans.net

Now is also a great time to replace that old, inefficient wood burning device in your home. Residents of Thurston County cities and urban growth areas may qualify for wood stove replacement grants through ORCAA. For more details on this program, visit http://www.orcaa.org/data/uploads/projects/woodstove-replacement-brochure.pdf

 

admin
February 21, 2013
Burn Status, Health
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Stage 1 Burn Ban LIFTED in Thurston County

Stage 1 Burn Ban LIFTED in Thurston County

Due to improved air quality conditions and changing weather, the Stage One Burn Ban has been LIFTED in Thurston County effective at 12-noon today (Jan. 22, 2013).

A substantial reduction in smoke output due at least in part to the great public response to the called ban, has moved Air Quality conditions back into the “Green” on the Washington Air Quality Advisory (WAQA) scale (see real-time air quality conditions for Thurston County HERE).

To stay up-to-date on burn bans throughout Washington, visit waburnbans.net and for all air quality issues, visit ORCAA at www.orcaa.org.

admin
January 22, 2013
Burn Status, Health
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Air stagnation worsens: Grays Harbor County now included

The Nation Weather Service has expanded the range of its Air Stagnation Advisory beyond Puget Sound to now include Grays Harbor County.  During this ASA period of cold nights and icy mornings, we typically see an increase in the use of woodstoves and fireplaces. Unfortunately, in these conditions any smoke we put into the air around us, stays in the air around us. The result could be rising levels of air pollution.

In the interest of public health and safety, the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) asks that all residents continue to CURTAIL all outdoor burning in Grays Harbor, Clallam and Mason Counties, and to VOLUNTARILY refrain from using wood stoves and fireplaces in all counties (Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Mason and Pacific) unless absolutely necessary. While residential burn curtailment is voluntary (though strongly recommended), ORCAA has shut down all land clearing burn operations in Clallam, Mason and Grays Harbor County and will not allow those with land clearing burn permits to resume operations until weather conditions change.

Additionally, Thurston County remains under a STAGE 1 BURN BAN, in which all  outdoor burning is prohibited. No wood-burning fireplaces or uncertified wood stoves may be used unless they are the occupants’ sole source of heat.

Burning wood creates smoke composed of fine and very fine particulate matter (PM2.5). These tiny particles are too small to be filtered by the nose and the body’s other natural defense mechanisms, so they may end up being inhaled deep into the lungs. That means that exposure to wood smoke may, at the very least, cause breathing problems and can increase – sometimes substantially increase – the severity of existing lung disease, such as asthma. Smoke also has been shown to aggravate heart and vascular disease.

In addition to minimizing the use of woodstoves and fireplaces in areas outside the burn bans, ORCAA asks homeowners to use alternative means of disposal to clean up their yards. Chipping and composting are the best option, though other alternatives to burning are also available. You can find more details on the options at www.orcaa.org or by calling your local waste disposal company. Also please keep in mind that burning trash is ILLEGAL at all times throughout Washington.

To learn about the health effects of air pollution, check out the American Lung Association of Washington’s Web site at www.alaw.org. To find the latest on the status of burn restrictions within ORCAA’s six-county region, visit www.orcaa.org.

admin
January 17, 2013
Burn Status, Exec. Director's Desk, Health
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