Abstract
In local airsheds, wood smoke from residential woodstoves is a major source of PM2.5 pollution. Exposure to PM2.5 can cause a variety of health problems and complications. Communities situated in valleys that experience cold winters are especially susceptible to poor air quality during inversion events on calm winter nights. Keene, New Hampshire, USA is one such community where the widespread use of outdated residential woodstoves frequently resulted in PM2.5 exceeding national standards. Seeking to improve air quality, the City of Keene partnered with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services from 2009-2010 to facilitate a woodstove changeout program which replaced 86 inefficient woodstoves with newer or alternate heating appliances. Despite the fact that many U.S. communities have enacted similar programs, research on their effectiveness is limited. This research assessed Keene’s program and determined that Keene has experienced a significant reduction in PM2.5 on calm winter nights. When winds are below 2 miles per hour (3.22 kilometers per hour), PM2.5 dropped 7% to 52% (1.28 to 7.30 µg/m3) after the woodstove changeout; a mean decrease of 23%. It therefore appears that Keene’s woodstove changeout program successfully improved air quality on the nights that are most likely to violate national air quality standards. This provides evidence that such programs can be an effective means to moderating the effects of wood heating in communities susceptible to inversions.
Highlights
1.1 Wood Heating PatternsWood and coal are used as fuel sources by 40% of the world’s population for heating and cooking (Carvalho et al, 2016)
Communities situated in valleys that experience cold winters are especially susceptible to poor air quality during inversion events on calm winter nights
Seeking to improve air quality, the City of Keene partnered with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services from 2009-2010 to facilitate a woodstove changeout program which replaced 86 inefficient woodstoves with newer or alternate heating appliances
Summary
1.1 Wood Heating PatternsWood and coal are used as fuel sources by 40% of the world’s population for heating and cooking (Carvalho et al, 2016). Wood was the major heating fuel source in the United States (U.S.) until the 1900’s when fossil fuel-based heating sources became commonplace and led to a rapid decrease in wood heating after World War II (Cooper, 1980). This lasted until the Energy Crises of the 1970’s when high oil and gas prices drove many households to utilize wood heat as a primary or supplementary means of heating their homes (Cooper, 1980). Several studies from the late 1970’s and early 1980’s found that wood burning was already responsible for significant emissions and associated poor air quality in cities in Maine, Tennessee, Colorado, Vermont and statewide in New Hampshire
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
