Where there's fire, there's smoke.

And when it's coming from your woodstove, it can be considered pollution.The Environmental Protection Agency recently updated its woodstove emissions standards, which could become effective next year. The more-stringent standards come at a time when more and more people have rekindled their interest in using wood to heat their homes.Not surprisingly, the jump to wood heat is highest in the New England and Mid-Atlantic States. From 2005 to 2012, the number of households in those areas which rely on wood as a main heating source has risen by at least 50 percent, according to the Energy Information Administration, which compiled those statistics from census information.In 2005, 1.9 million households burned wood as a primary source of heat; by 2012, 2.5 million heated with wood. Another 9 million burn wood as a secondary fuel.What's So Bad About Wood Smoke?Wood smoke is a mixture of gases and soot. The gases include carbon monoxide, nitrogen and sulfur oxides. Soot particles (particulate matter) are small enough to enter a person's lungs and can cause respiratory problems.Since 1990, the EPA has required that wood stoves meet emission standards. At that time, the EPA standards required that woodstoves equipped with catalytic converters emit 4.1 grams per hour of particulate matter, while those without catalytic converters emit no more than 7.5 grams per hour.Next year, under the proposed new regulations, the EPA would only certify new stoves that produce 4.5 grams of particulate per hour."Under the proposal, manufacturers would have to have a single unit tested from each model line and submit those test results to an accredited certifying body," said Ernesta Jones,

U.S.EPA, Office of Media Relations. "That body would issue a certificate of conformity, and the stove would be listed as EPA certified."Most woodstoves manufactured before 1990 don't meet the new standards because they produce 15 to 50 grams of particulate matter per hour, according to EPA estimates.And it's those old stoves that are fueling the problem, said Peter Carmean, Stoves 'n Stuff, Tamaqua. Requiring even stricter standards for new stoves doesn't fix that, he said."The changes that EPA proposes are being done with good intentions, but they don't address the problem, which is that three-quarters of the woodstoves in use today are old, and emitting 40-50 grams per hour," Carmean said, indicating a large white tag on a new stove, which shows its EPA certification. The new stoves are equipped with various systems for more efficient burning, such as reburn chambers and tubes to dilute smoke, sometimes in addition to catalytic converters. "The existing requirements for EPA certification are enough, without the proposed changes."What needs to happen is a plan that gives people the incentive to get rid of the old stoves," he said. "Some kind of buyback program or energy credit, combined with a program of education about the importance of burning dry, seasoned wood."Carmean said he's written letters to senators and congressmen with those suggestions. Sen. Pat Toomey was the only person to respond, indicating he would look into the matter.How Can SmokeBe Measured?The Air Pollution Act limits the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's authority to regulate household heating sources. A section of the act provides that local governments are authorized to enact ordinances that regulate household heating sources. With the growing popularity of outdoor wood burning stoves, many municipalities have enacted ordinances that regulate the selection, operation and location of OWBs.The ordinances typically specify what can be burned and the distance the OWB is from neighboring houses, or the amount of land needed to have an OWB on a property.For example, a section of the Eastern Schuylkill Planning ordinance, which covers Tamaqua and Rush, Walker and Schuylkill townships, specifies that an OWB can only be used on a property that is 5 acres or more.Enforcement ChallengesMost governing units stay away from opacity regulations because they are difficult to enforce. For example, an opacity level of 0 percent means that no smoke is visible, and an opacity level of 100 percent means that no one can see through the smoke.In Connecticut, the state has set an opacity limit of no more than 20 percent during six consecutive minutes. Opacity can only be measured, for regulatory purposes, by people who are trained as Visible Emissions Observers.Most local ordinances don't use opacity readings as a standard for regulating woodstove smoke. Instead, local governments use "nuisance" or "odor" ordinances to regulate smoke.