Doctors and Scientists Against Wood Smoke Pollution

What financial toll has your neighbors’ wood burning taken on you? We’d like to hear about it!

Incorrect @BBCNews Wood burning IS NOT CHEAPER THAN GAS And it poutres you, your family & your neighbours Please correct this article! It’s harmful. #AirPollution

Right now, the European Commission is promoting biomass as zero-carbon energy, in the RED and the ETS. But when pressed on the science, they admit that biomass is *not* zero-carbon. Will the EU deliver climate policy that’s based on science? www.pfpi.net/2026/10/what...

The findings, published as a preprint in Aerosol Research and currently under peer review, carry significant implications not just for Greece but for any country where economic pressures have pushed households back toward wood stoves. bioengineer.org/wood-burning...

“It comes after research showed only four fines out of 5,600 complaints have been issued for illegal burning of wood in smoke-control areas from September 2023 to August 2024 in England.”

“datacentre would have to burn 4.9m tonnes of wood a year…” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Pollution from prescribed burns is a growing problem.

The article begins well, and ends with unfortunate “both sides” framing. Chronic exposure to wood smoke pollution is a human rights issue. It is not equivalent to a lifestyle choice, and media coverage of this topic needs to start reflecting that. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10...

There isn’t a “wood burner ban on the cards,” unfortunately.

emagazine.com/wood-burning...

City officials in Launceston, Australia approved a “Domestic Wood Smoke Plan.” It leaves a lot to be desired. New post on our website: www.dsawsp.org/blog/an-inef...

Worth repeating.

Our board chair, Dr Brian Moench, recently wrote an opinion piece about the growing problem of prescribed fire smoke. “On a national scale, at least 10,000 people die annually from wildfire smoke, but slightly more die from prescribed burn smoke.”

www.ktvu.com/news/angel-i...

Australia’s advertising regulator has found that a wood stove company’s environmental claims aren’t supported by evidence. www.dsawsp.org/blog/adverti...

“The strongest association was observed for PM2.5… People living in areas with the highest levels of pollution had up to 70% higher odds of glaucoma compared with those living in the least polluted areas…”

The UK wood stove industry recently admitted that trash burning is common. But this problem is not limited to the UK. It exists wherever people burn wood. Does your neighbor burn trash as well as wood? New post on our website about trash burning: www.dsawsp.org/blog/wood-st...

www.the-independent.com/news/uk/poli...

“From nappies to Christmas trees, cardboard to household rubbish, new data has shown the items being burned in wood-burning stoves…” This “data” is from the UK wood stove industry. www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/uk-worl...

Basically, if you’re being smoked out in Launceston, you’re going to continue to be smoked out.

It’s time to recognize this problem for what it is.

But what about the highly localized pollution from wood burning?

A community air quality monitoring project in New York’s Hudson Valley has just released their annual report. Project partner Bard College notes in a press release: “Residential wood burning is the largest source of PM2.5 in Ulster County…” www.bard.edu/news/release...

Unfortunately, we know this is a familiar type of situation for many of you. Burning treated wood, as well as garbage, is common. Complaints to the local authorities have been ineffective, of course.

The essence of their plan is if you are being smoked out, you’re going to continue to be smoked out.

This opinion piece makes an excellent case against backyard recreational burning. “This is about the human right to a healthful environment.” www.allotsego.com/the-partial-...

“Portland, Oregon city councilor Mitch Green violated burn ban by starting backyard brush fire.” www.wweek.com/news/city/20...

“If the ACT Government is serious about tackling climate change, why does its strategy largely ignore one of the problem’s most significant contributors, asks letter writer Darryl Johnston.”

Despite the heatwaves and drought, you may be thinking of installing a #WoodBurning stove ahead of winter...watch this first 👇. We teamed up with researcher Dr Mathy Sannasi and @niftyfoxcreative.bsky.social to create a short animation showing what happens when we burn wood and solid fuels at home.

Great article about residential wood burning and wood smoke pollution by a Canadian journalist whose focus is on sustainability. (With an included kind mention of DSAWSP.)

“One of the most significant—and least publicly understood—sources [of air pollution in the Hudson Valley] is wood smoke. That revelation is difficult for many people to accept…”

“The bad news is, there’s no safe level of inhaled particles from wildfire smoke… even at levels below the national safety standards, these particles can make people sick. Any amount of inhaled particles will ​trigger inflammatory responses in the body.” www.reuters.com/business/env...

440megatonnes.ca/insight/heal...

“Burning stuff has been killing us forever, we just haven’t been paying attention.”

If you are affected by someone else’s wood burning, you are not alone. This problem is widespread, and it is often severe for those experiencing it.

Dr Erika Moseson, quoted in this Lung Association piece, has elsewhere also spoken out about the impact of residential wood burning. www.dsawsp.org/health/real-...

SIA appeal against the ASA ruling has failed.

Its outrageous this is permitted in the ULEZ but in this extreme heat there's no doubt this level of #AirPollution could kill vulnerable residents.The air for local shoppers was thick with toxic fumes, we were struggling to breathe! @mayoroflondon.bsky.social @eddavey.libdems.org.uk @dsawsp.org

New post from Dr. Brian Moench: www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/02/a...

“No one should have to fight to breathe in their own home or community.” — Asthma Australia spokesperson Dr Chris Pearce

grist.org/sponsored/th...

Wood smoke particles enter homes from outside, even when windows are closed.

“In areas of northern Italy, residential wood combustion is one of the main sources of benzo[a]pyrene. It is typically attached to tiny particles suspended in the air that we can breathe into our lungs. It is highly toxic and carcinogenic.”

“…these researchers found that any amount of PM2.5 from smoke was associated with higher rates of death.” www.sltrib.com/opinion/comm...

www.ksl.com/article/5152...

We suspect many of our followers know this already.