Clean Air

@dogkaos Sounds like narcissistic rage. They saw what you said as an attack, as if you were trying to take something good away, and angrily pushed back. The glamourisation, long history of #woodburning and the “therapeutic/warming” primordial quality of a fire thwarts our fight for change

@cleanairau Even offered to pay the wood burners heating bill and endured 4 unbelievably excessive smoke days as an answer. Police consider telling the burner they are harming your health an act of harassment. Burners can be vicious when told of the harm they cause.

Have you had any success in educating #woodheater users of the dangers of #woodsmoke, i.e. did they stop burning altogether, state their intention to stop, express concerns over continuing to burn or appear to seriously consider the information? What was your approach?

Homes in all price ranges "feature" wood burning. We need realtors to stop portraying wood burning as desirable and inform sellers and would-be buyers of the health risks. Homes that have burned wood or are near wood burning may be unhealthy for occupants.

@__seestern An all too common tale. My neighbour calls #woodsmoke a “beautiful smell”, and refuses to listen to reason. A shocking dearth of openness to discussing the perils of #woodfire Startlingly irrational. Freedom from is as important as freedom to.

@cleanairau Tried to talk to 3 neighbours burning wood. It ended in a dispute with all 3. Impossible to make them see reason. Probably the case with the majority of woodburners. Very reckless kind of people. Won't give up their stoves by their own choice. Politicians need to ban woodburning

#woodsmoke particulates are insidious. Pm2.5 diameter (<0.0025 mm) enables them to bypass the body’s defences unfiltered and settle in the recesses of the lungs by diffusion. They can then increase free radical production and induce oxidative stress/damage in lung cells and DNA.

Air purifier reading at 2.45am. Neighbour’s flue 4m away. Windows closed since early PM. What respite is there for the unwilling inhalers of #woodsmoke? Pm2.5 concentration ⬆️ significantly at proximity. One neighbour suffers while others may take less notice due to milder smell.

The dangers of #woodsmoke elude many given their emotional attachments and positive associations. These are hard to reverse especially with the glamourisation of wood heaters, reinforced by ads, peers, the growing presence of them in modern homes, and their continued legality.

"the worst contribution that an individual is likely to make to the mutagenicity of the air is using a wood stove for heating, followed by driving a diesel car" J Lewtas US EPA 1991 - even more relevant now thelancet.com/journals/lanre…

Interview with @DrGaryFuller: “Woodburning is a very large source of air pollution but it’s very difficult to persuade people this is the case because it doesn’t fit with their preconception.” airqualitynews.com/2019/06/04/int… (Via @dogkaos and @AirFairy04)