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Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest Community Education Slide Series

Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest Community Education Slide Series “WOOD SMOKE AND THE HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY”. Topics covered in these slides:. Woodsmoke and our air : what’s in the woodsmoke we breathe woodsmoke in our lungs: how our lungs work as a gateway

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Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest Community Education Slide Series

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  1. Tribal Healthy Homes Northwest • Community Education Slide Series “WOOD SMOKE AND THE HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY”

  2. Topics covered in these slides: • Woodsmoke and our air: what’s in the woodsmoke we breathe • woodsmoke in our lungs: how our lungs work as a gateway • Woodsmoke in our system: what happens once woodsmoke enters our system • Woodsmoke solutions: practical solutions to protect our community

  3. Topics covered in these slides: • Woodsmoke and our air: what’s in the woodsmoke that we breathe… • woodsmoke in our lungs: how our lungs work as a gateway to air pollution • Woodsmoke in our system: what happens to our health once woodsmoke enters our system • Woodsmoke solutions: protecting our community

  4. Woodsmoke and Our Air… When we burn wood, the process is called “combustion”. If the fire isn’t hot enough, combustion “fails”, meaning unburnt material turns into fine ash, smoke and hazardous gases.

  5. Carbon Monoxide • Benzene • Arsenic • Methane • Formaldehyde Woodsmoke and Our Air… This ash and smoke contains hundreds of hazardous substances. Some you may recognize include….

  6. Woodsmoke and Our Air… An EPA study found that breathing woodsmoke during a high pollution day is the same as smoking 4 to 16 cigarettes. Woodsmoke is considered more hazardous than smoking, as it has many of the same cancer-causing chemicals, but at higher levels…

  7. Woodsmoke and Our Air… Older woodstoves give off over 350 grams of fine particles an hour….that’s about 20 pounds of pollution a day…. Instruments that measure air quality show these particles show that these chemicals linger, by the thousands, in the air inside and the outside our homes… During that same day, we breathe in about 2,880 gallons of air….

  8. Woodsmoke and Our Air… Woodsmoke particles are so small they are invisible to the human eye…. • These chemicals attach to fine particles in woodsmoke… too fine for our body to use its normal defenses, like coughing or sneezing, to expel them…

  9. Topics covered in these slides: • Woodsmoke and our air: what’s in the air we breathe when wood is burning • woodsmoke in our lungs: how our lungs work as a gateway • Woodsmoke in our system: what happens to our health once woodsmoke enters our bloodstream • Woodsmoke solutions: protecting our community

  10. Our Lungs as a Gateway… Our lungs are a network of tubes and air sacs that take oxygen out of the air we breathe and carry it to the cells in our bodies.

  11. Our Lungs as a Gateway… This network (our “Respiratory System”) is enormous… almost 1500 miles of airways. Stretched out, they would reach from Seattle to Anchorage.

  12. Our Lungs a Gateway… At the end of the tubes, we have thousands of tiny air sacs…. If you laid them out flat, they would cover an entire tennis court, or about 750 square feet.

  13. Our Lungs as a Gateway… The air sacs are very thin. This pictures shows how these sacs look – and act like – a “gateway”…

  14. Our Lungs as a Gateway… Through this gateway, oxygen passes into our system… along with any other chemicals present in the air… Woodsmoke is present in our bloodstream within 60 seconds of inhaling it… Minutes later, carbon monoxide can be detected in our blood and benzene is in our exhaled breathe.

  15. Topics covered in these slides: • Woodsmoke and our air: what’s in the air we breathe when wood is burning • woodsmoke in our lungs: how our lungs work as a gateway • Woodsmoke in our system: what happens once woodsmoke enters our bloodstream • Woodsmoke solutions: PROTECTING our community

  16. Kleinmen et al, 2004 Woodsmoke in Our System… Once in our bloodstream, woodsmoke travels through and affects different parts of our body…

  17. Kleinmen et al, 2004 Woodsmoke in Our System… For example, our blood pressure and heart rate increase when exposed to woodsmoke…which can cause premature heart attack and stroke.

  18. Woodsmoke in Our System… The white area shows where cancer-causing woodsmoke chemicals altered and damaged the DNA in lung cells. Our DNA is injured by the chemicals in woodsmoke particles…

  19. Forchhammer et al, 2012 Woodsmoke in Our System… Wood Smoke Compared to other pollution sources, woodsmoke contains very high levels of DNA-damaging free radicals. Polluted Air Tobacco Smoke

  20. Many emergency room and hospital visits happen because of lung infections – infections thought to be made worse by woodsmoke exposure, including: • Pneumonia • Bronchitis • Respiratory Flu (RSV) Woodsmoke in Our System… Finally, our immune systems are hurt by woodsmoke… The more woodsmoke we breathe, the harder it can be for our bodies to fight off harmful bacteria and viruses. Dietert et al, 2002

  21. Topics covered in these slides: • Woodsmoke and our air: what’s in the air we breathe when wood is burning • woodsmoke in our lungs: how our lungs work as a gateway to air pollution • Woodsmoke in our system: what happens to our health once woodsmoke enters our bloodstream • Woodsmoke: Solutions to PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY

  22. Because wood heat is practical and affordable, meaning woodstoves will continue to be used in many of our homes. • Because converting our homes to cleaner heat sources is expensive and will take many years. • Because expensive oil and electric rates mean our families will rely even more on wood heat this winter. Woodsmoke Solutions… Why do we need a “solutions” approach to protect our community right now?

  23. “Best Practices” tribes and communities have taken to protect their families include… • Drying the Fuel • Maintaining the Woodstoves • Ventilating the Homes • Educating our Residents Woodsmoke Solutions… What solutions could we consider as a community that is ready to take action?

  24. Some approaches to DRY FUEL… • Buy moisture meters – use them to show residents how much moisture is in their wood • Create a wood “banking” program where residents can trade their wet wood for dry, seasoned wood

  25. Some approaches to MAINTAINING WOODSTOVES… • Change-out older stoves with EPA certified models that burn hotter and cleaner • Start a yearly woodstove maintenance and inspection programwith your tribal housing authority

  26. Some approaches to VENTILATION… • Work with your housing authority to install high-efficiency fans • Work with residents to ensure they don’t block or close vents • Install “passive ventilation” in homes

  27. Some approaches to EDUCATION… • Hold a Woodstove Education Community Fair • Play “Woodstove” operation videos on your local public access channel or your website • Hand out or mail “BurnWise”flyers and materials.

  28. For information about Tribal Healthy Homes Northwestand the outreach, advocacy and training we provide…. Gillian Mittelstaedt THHNW Program Director Email: gmittelstaedt@thhnw.org Phone: (206)512-3293 Website: www.thhnw.org

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