In much of Pierce County — including Tacoma — special efforts are being made to reduce wood smoke, which is a significant cause of air pollution on an average winter day.
Wood smoke gets into the air from wood burning stoves, fireplaces and bonfires. And that air knows no boundaries. If too many of the invisible particles from the smoke get into the lungs, it can cause asthma attacks and lead to heart disease.
“We have a real problem in this county because we have people living in houses that can’t afford another source of heat,” says Robin Evans-Agnew, a professor of nursing and Healthcare Leadership at the University of Washington, Tacoma.
Evans-Agnew says a large part of Pierce County is designated as a wood smoke reduction zone.
“Sort of like, it’s a big soup bowl above us, partly because of the land formations and partly because of the way the air currents wash over us,” he says.
Evans-Agnew wanted to find out how much of the fine particles, which are smaller than soot, linger indoors, even during a burn ban. He sent the first-ever group of middle- and high-school kids, like 8th grader Jacqualynne Smythe, home with machines to collect samples.
“We found different levels and different amounts in different areas, in our air filters, and we were all shocked that it was in our houses,” said Smythe.
Evans-Agnew says one thing that was surprising about the results was that while one student actually had a wood burning stove, every single youth found wood smoke pollution in their home.”
He says work is slow to switch out wood stoves, but the kids learned there can’t be just one solution. They came up with ideas that ranged from inventing better air filters to providing basic shelter.
“They were very sensitive to the idea that some people don’t have a choice, but have to burn to stay warm,” said Evans-Agnew.
The hope now is to sample larger areas and take a closer look at minority groups who tend to be have more complications from asthma.
