The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants wood-burning
furnaces to be cleaned up. But many cities aren’t waiting for the EPA
to act. They’re calling the furnaces a menace to public health.
Tracy Samilton reports:
Transcript
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants wood-burning
furnaces to be cleaned up. But many cities aren’t waiting for the EPA
to act. They’re calling the furnaces a menace to public health.
Tracy Samilton reports:
More people are buying wood-burning furnaces to avoid high utility
bills. But some of the wood burners can release black, stinky smoke,
especially if the owners use scrap wood. Many cities have passed
ordinances banning the furnaces in response to neighborhood complaints.
Bob McCann is a spokesman for Michigan’s Department of Environmental
Quality. He says the soot from woodburners can cause asthma attacks
and other health problems.
“This is not a factory with a smokestack miles away. This is a
smokestack, obviously a much smaller, right in someone’s neighborhood.”
About 70% of the companies that make wood-burning furnaces are expected
to voluntarily retrofit their products with technology to reduce
emissions. But the more polluting furnaces will remain on the market,
usually at a lower cost.
For the Environment Report, I’m Tracy Samilton.