Indoor Air Quality Study Supports Replacing Older Woodstoves

Air-quality test results confirm that it’s possible to reduce the concentration of fine particulate matter, which is harmful indoors even at extremely low concentrations, by using cleaner-burning woodstoves certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). University of Montana researchers saw a 72% reduction of residential indoor particulate matter of 2.5 microns and smaller during the 2006–2007 winter, after the replacement of 20 older woodstoves in Libby, Montana. While the new stoves reduced both acute and chronic exposure to woodsmoke, the study did not confirm whether EPA-certified woodstoves reduced exposure to volatile organic compounds. Information on the study is available at www.umt.edu/cehs/ibshe_presentations/Ward IBSHE.pdf; more information on woodstoves can be found at www.epa.gov/woodstoves/.