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Taken from "The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor
Air Quality"
In addition to environmental tobacco smoke, other sources of combustion
products are unvented kerosene and gas space heaters, woodstoves, fireplaces,
and gas stoves. The major pollutants released are carbon monoxide,
nitrogen dioxide, and particles. Unvented kerosene heaters may also
generate acid aerosols.
Combustion gases and particles also come from chimneys and flues that are
improperly installed or maintained and cracked furnace heat exchangers.
Pollutants from fireplaces and woodstoves with no dedicated outdoor air supply
can be "back-drafted" from the chimney into the living space, particularly in
weatherized homes.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that interferes with the
delivery of oxygen throughout the body. At high concentrations can cause a
range of symptoms from headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, confusion, and
disorientation, to fatigue in healthy people and episodes of increased chest
pain in people with chronic heart disease. The symptoms of carbon monoxide
poisoning are sometimes confused with the flu or food poisoning. Fetuses,
infants, elderly people, and people with anemia or with a history of heart or
respiratory disease can be especially sensitive to carbon monoxide exposures.
Nitrogen dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas that irritates the mucous
membranes in the eye, nose, and throat and causes shortness of breath after
exposure to high concentrations. There is evidence that high
concentrations or continued exposure to low levels of nitrogen dioxide increases
the risk of respiratory infection; there is also evidence from animals studies
that repeated exposures to elevated nitrogen dioxide levels may lead, or
contribute, to the development of lung disease such as emphysema. People
at particular risk from exposure to nitrogen dioxide include children and
individuals with asthma and other respiratory diseases.
Particles, released when fuels are incompletely burned, can lodge in
the lungs and irritate or damage lung tissue. A number of pollutants,
including radon and benzo(a)pyrene, both of which can cause cancer, attach to
small particles that are inhaled and then carried deep into the lung.
- Take special precautions when operating fuel-burning
unvented space heaters.
Consider potential effects of indoor air pollution if you use an unvented
kerosene or gas space heater. Follow the manufacturer's directions,
especially instructions on the proper fuel and keeping the heater properly
adjusted. A persistent yellow-tipped flame is generally an indication of
maladjustment and increased pollutant emissions. While a space heater is
in use, open a door from the room where the heater is located to the rest of
the house and open a window slightly.
- Install and use exhaust fans over gas cooking stoves
and ranges and keep the burners properly adjusted.
Using a stove hood with a fan vented to the outdoors greatly reduces exposure
to pollutants during cooking. Improper adjustment, often indicated by a
persistent yellow-tipped flame, causes increased pollutant emissions.
Ask your gas company to adjust the burner so that the flame tip is blue.
If you purchase a new gas stove or range, consider buying one with pilotless
ignition because it does not have a pilot light that burns continuously.
Never use a gas stove to heat your home. Always make certain the flue in
your gas fireplace is open when the fireplace is in use.
- Keep woodstove emissions to a minimum.
Choose properly sized new stoves that are certified as meeting EPA emission
standards.
Make certain that doors in old woodstoves are tight-fitting. Use aged or
cured (dried) wood only and follow the manufacturer's directions for starting,
stoking, and putting out the fire in woodstoves. Chemicals are used to
pressure-treat wood; such wood should never be burned indoors. (Because
some old gaskets in woodstove doors contain asbestos, when replacing gaskets
refer to the instructions in the CPSC, ALA and EPA booklet,
Asbestos in Your Home, to avoid creating
an Asbestos problem. New gaskets are made of fiberglass.)
- Have central air handling systems, including furnaces,
flues, and chimneys, inspected annually and properly repair cracks or damaged
parts.
Blocked, leaking, or damaged chimneys or flues release harmful combustion
gases and particles and even fatal concentrations of carbon monoxide.
Strictly follow all service and maintenance procedures recommended by the
manufacturer, including those that tell you how frequently to change the
filter. If manufacturer's instructions are not readily available. change
filters once every month or two during periods of use. Proper
maintenance is important even for new furnaces because they can also corrode
and leak combustion gases, including carbon monoxide.
Additional Resources
What You
Should Know About Combustion Appliances and Indoor Air Pollution
Answers commonly-asked questions about the
effect of combustion appliances (e.g., fuel-burning furnaces, space heaters,
kitchen ranges, and fireplaces) on indoor air quality and human health.
Describes other sources of combustion pollutants in and around the home.
Suggests ways to reduce exposure to such pollutants and encourages proper
installation, use, and maintenance of combustion appliances. This brochure was
coauthored with the by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Lung
Association. [EPA 400-F-91-100, 1993]
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