'Acrid fumes'

By Werner J. Lipton
Fresno

(Updated Monday, December 30, 2002, 4:29 PM)

Residents of the Valley have the right to be able to step outside their homes without being assaulted by smoke from fireplaces wafting over neighborhoods on top of our generally polluted air ("Last Gasp" special report).

Many times I have had to retreat inside because the acrid fumes irritated my nose, my throat and, therefore, my mood.

It is high time to ban any and all burning of wood in fireplaces that do not meet the strictest standards regarding emission of particulates and to conscientiously enforce the prohibition.

That such a ban would discriminate against the poor, as claimed by some in Bee stories and letters, is a red herring: Dwellings where poor people live, whether houses or apartments, rarely have fireplaces.

The evidence that wood smoke is harmful is overwhelming, as clearly indicated during the recent Fresno colloquium sponsored by the University of California Medical Education Program: "Air pollution. Is it killing you?" No question about it, components of fireplace smoke are toxic.

Fireplace use must be curbed, not just because the Environmental Protection Agency demands it, but because our health -- yours, mine and that of our children and grandchildren -- is at stake. The time for pussy-footing around the problem is long past. Rules must be made and then enforced for those unwilling to voluntarily abide by them.