Key
manufacturers of outdoor wood-fired heaters pledged to make units that will
emit 90% less air pollution, under the second phase of a voluntary partnership
with the Environmental Protection Agency. EPA launched the
voluntary program in
January 2007, beginning with units 70% cleaner than unqualified models. Sales
of EPA-qualified units to date will prevent nearly 1,200 tons of fine particle
emissions annually, providing more than $600 million in estimated annual health
benefits.
Outdoor wood-burning heaters, also called outdoor wood
boilers, outdoor wood furnaces, or wood-fired hydronic heaters, provide heat
and hot water for homes and other buildings. Use of the heaters has increased
in recent years in rural, cold climate areas where wood is plentiful, like New
England, prompting concerns about smoke and emissions of particle pollution.
Under a voluntary agreement with EPA, seven heater
manufacturers have pledged to make at least one unit meeting new, stringent
emission levels in the second phase of the program. The new models must emit no
more than 0.32 pounds of particle pollution per million Btu of heat output. The
models must be tested by an EPA-accredited laboratory to verify these emission
levels.
Phase 2 also allows additional types of heaters to qualify,
including indoor hydronic heaters, models that burn other biomass such as corn
or wood pellets, and models equipped with heat storage units. Qualified Phase 2
models will be marked by a white hang tag showing that a unit meets the
requirements of the program. Some manufacturers already have units available
that meet the new emission levels.
Exposure to fine particle pollution, also called PM 2.5, is
linked to a number of serious health problems including decreased lung
function, aggravated asthma, irregular heartbeat, nonfatal heart attacks and
premature death in people with heart and lung disease. According to the EPA, children,
people with heart or lung disease and older adults are the most susceptible to
the effects of particle pollution.
EPA developed the program with input from heater
manufacturers, states, the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management,
and the Hearth Patio & Barbecue Association, an industry trade
group.
For more information on outdoor wood heaters and the
voluntary partnership, visit
www.epa.gov/woodheaters.
The
manufacturers agreeing to make cleaner outdoor wood heaters are:
Alternative
Fuel Boilers (Econoburn)
Central Boiler
Greenwood Technologies
Hardy Manufacturing
HeatSource1
Northwest Manufacturing (WoodMaster)
Silverwinds Metals Inc. (Wood Doctor)
