skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Outdoor Wood Boilers: Lower Energy Bills, Higher Pollution

play audio
Play

Monday, January 30, 2012   

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin has the nation's second-highest growth rate for outdoor wood-fired boilers (OWBs), which burn wood to heat water which is then pumped into the home to provide heat. Once used mainly in rural areas, OWBs now are being used in urban areas by homeowners trying to combat the rising cost of heating oil, natural gas, and LP gas.

The units burn wood, which generates smoke - and that's the problem, according to the state health officer, Dr. Henry Anderson.

"Wood smoke, just as tobacco smoke, is very irritating and individuals or children that are outside playing, who have asthma, will inhale these and it can trigger an attack."

The Wisconsin Asthma Coalition says OWBs generate more smoke than do other wood-burning appliances, and the lower combustion temperatures create smoke laden with particle pollution, which is dangerous for people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart disease, even inside their homes. More than half the state's population falls into a group that can suffer adverse health effects from inhaling the smoke, according to the Wisconsin Asthma Coalition.

Anderson agrees with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that OWBs need more regulation.

"The problem has been the communities really don't have their codes up to speed for a pollution source such as these."

Some communities have local ordinances which regulate OWBs, but most do not, and the DNR has available a model ordinance for communities interested in regulation.

Nearly all OWBs being sold in Wisconsin have a very short smokestack, which means the smoke stays closer to the ground. Anderson says people can contact their county health department if they're affected by a nearby OWB, but suggests discussing it first.

"Mostly, I would say you go and talk to your neighbor, and then see if there's some solution where they can put on a much higher stack so the smoke is up higher. The problem is if it's only 9 feet off the ground it can run right over into somebody's back yard."

OWBs sold for household use have no emission-control equipment, and since they're not regulated by the state, the DNR can't enforce air-quality rules on the homeowner.

Learn more about OWB's at dnr.wi.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021