Residential wood burning is the source of 50% of airborne Polynu

Town Bank - Residential wood burning is the source of 50% of airborne Polynuclear Organic Material (POM) in the U.S. POMs contain a group of compounds (PAHs) which include many Class A carcinogens, the most carcinogenic materials known to exist. Air pollution measurements in a residential neighborhood on Christmas Day (the most wood smoke polluted day) showed early morning background levels of PAHs of 20ng/m3. The level increased as wood burning began, peaking at over 2000 ng/m3. The U.S. EPA estimates the cancer risk from wood smoke is twelve times greater than that from equal amounts of tobacco smoke.