Wood boilers contribute to area’s poor air

F is the grade the American Lung Association has given to Linn County and Johnson County for particulate matter air pollution.

All people in Linn County are affected but those especially at risk are those with pediatric asthma, 4,621; adult asthma, 9,831; chronic bronchitis, 6,546; emphysema, 2,846; cardiovascular disease, 51,933; and diabetes, 11,907.

The Linn County Health Department's mission is to protect the health of residents and enforce the EPA air pollution rules.

Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston, upon pressure from owners of air-polluting outdoor wood-burning boilers, has ordered the Health Department to propose ways to defeat the EPA rules. She says she wants to create a “balance.”

There are about 200 owners of wood-burning boilers and about 200,000 county residences. How is allowing air pollution “balanced” with the health of residents?

Here is a direct quote from the Linn County Air Quality division Web site. “The Board of Health approved an ordinance conditionally exempting installed wood boilers and heaters less than 500,000 Btu in size from the current particulate emission standard of 0.6 lb/MMBtu.”

Please contact the county supervisors and request that they defeat this provision: bd_supervisors@linncounty.org

Harold Hensel

Cedar Rapids