11/25/08 Drifting Clouds Of Wood Boiler Smoke

After a several week stretch of smoke and stench night after night during the Spring and Summer of 2008 , we figured others MUST be noticing the incredible amount of smoke and odor, too. We spoke with our next door neighbor, who told us he figured he and his family were the only ones bothered by the smoke. His indoor CO alarms kept going off, and the smoke is affecting the health of several family members. They have quite a story to tell about their experiences.

After that, we spoke to the people next door to them, and so on down our street and the next street over. Property owner after property owner described a variety of nuisances they have experienced, all of which are caused by the smoke and odor.

While we had expected the issue of smoke and odor to be the major complaint, we were surprised to discover respiratory problems are a major issue with many of our neighbors. Asthma, COPD and emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and other breathing problems are a real issue, and almost all of the people we spoke with attribute the large quantities of smoke and odor as an aggravating factor with their health issues. How many people need to be affected, for how long, before their concerns are taken seriously?

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Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• wood smoke
• air pollution