Study: Smoke from Wood-Burning Heaters Damages DNA
New studies suggest heating with wood probably isn't the healthiest way to go, especially if you have children. (image: ehow.co.uk)
Recent scientific studies revealed that airborne particles in wood smoke can trigger gene changes and DNA damage similar to those caused by car exhaust and cigarette smoke, according to Environmental Health News. If you heat your home with a wood pellet stove or keep an outdoor wood-burning furnace, you may want to invest in an air quality monitor, or even a different heating system, to ensure you’re not putting yourself at risk.
Because wood is a natural, renewable resource, many consumers think of it as a harmless, affordable fuel choice. However, the tiny airborne particles produced from burning wood are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and even be passed into the bloodstream.
“We found that wood smoke PM [particulate matter] has similar toxicity and effects on DNA as that of vehicle exhaust particles,” said Steffen Loft, researcher at the University of Copenhagen. The tiny particles contain high amounts of chemicals commonly linked to cancer and cardiopulmonary disease.
When scientists added wood smoke particulates to cultures of human lung cells, the reaction created large amounts of strong, reactive oxidants known to injure cells and damage DNA. They also discovered that wood smoke particulates were more powerful than other kinds of air pollution in causing potentially cancerous changes to DNA and “activating genes linked to inflammation and oxidative stress, which is a possible mechanism for atherosclerosis, asthma and other diseases.” Oxidative stress is when the body can’t completely stop toxins from damaging components in cells, proteins, and DNA. It’s linked to heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and many other ailments. Results of the study were recently published in an issue of Chemical Research in Toxicology.
“In the Third World, more than a million women and children die annually…due to massive exposure [from cooking on indoor] open wood fires. However, that cannot be translated to use of wood stoves in the developed world,” Loft said. “We lack proper population-based data to estimate the risks of that like we can for traffic emissions.”
However, some data is being collected. A recent Canadian study linked neighborhood wood stove and fireplace use with increased ear infections in children. Their analysis of 45,000 children and the air in their environments revealed that kids with the highest exposure to wood smoke were 32% more likely to visit the doctor for painful ear problems.
Cells exposed to wood smoke, and the free radicals it contains, showed significantly damaged DNA. (image: burningissues.org)
Legislation Addressing the Problem
As we learn more about the adverse affects of heating with wood, environmentalists and public health advocates have pushed for regulation. Their efforts are slowly coming to fruition. In California, after the state’s Air Resources Board released a statement that cardiopulmonary disease accounts for around 9,200 premature deaths, officials enacted the ‘Check Before You Burn Program,’ which bans wood burning on days when air quality is especially poor. Southern California has some of the worst air particle pollution in the country, but the program is having a positive, effective influence and air quality is slowly improving.
Also, Indiana lawmakers recently voted to impose stricter regulations on outdoor wood-burning furnaces, and cities in Alaska and Washington are offering cash incentives to residents who upgrade their wood-burning appliances with more eco-friendly heating devices. So – if you’re a new homeowner weighing your home heating options, consider using a fuel other than wood; and if you do opt for wood, make sure you install an airtight ventilation system along with it and follow all local air quality regulation laws.
