Wood-burning deadline turns up the heat on Montreal's fireplace owners - how to clean cast iron

Main thrust of Montreal wood-
Later this year, the combustion charter will come into effect. The question is: will it reduce air pollution, or is it just PR that the city seems to be counting on propaganda to gently convince thousands of Montreal families to stop burning firewood or invest in new wood, low-
Discharge firewood or fireplace inserts.
Some of the limitations of the rules have been in effect since they were passed more than two years ago, but so far, no fine has been imposed.
Since August 2015, it is illegal to burn wood or install new wood during the smoke alarm in the city of Monterey
Non-conforming combustion appliances.
But the most important restriction began in October. 1, 2018.
After that, if you burn wood in Montreal with any appliances that discharge more than 2.
5 grams of fine particles per hour-
It is almost certain that any furnace or fireplace purchased before 2009
You will be fined between $100 and $500 on the first offence, between $500 and $1,000 on the second offence, and between $1,000 and $2,000 on any subsequent offence.
The constitution aims to gradually crack down on this issue, starting with smog --
But before the full ban begins, give homeowners three years of preparation to comply.
According to some local stove and fireplace retailers, business is picking up as the deadline approaches, but so far there is no sign of a wild snap-up.
"We have booked the first two weeks of January for installation and evaluation," said Connie Romeo, manager of Notre. Dame-de-Grâce.
"We see people starting to really wake up now and say, 'Okay, now is the critical moment, and I don't want to wait until September, too close to the deadline.
I would say, slowly, slowly, they began to wake up and say, 'Okay, we have to do that now '.
Conversion is not cheap.
A piece of cast iron wood
The new standard burning furnace is priced between $3,000 and $4,000, and hundreds more are added to the installation.
The metal stove is a little cheaper.
$2,000 to $3,000.
Depending on the height of the chimney, the cost of converting an existing fireplace to a spec-compliant plug-in is between $3,000 and $5,000 plus the installation cost of $1,000 to $1,600.
Romeo says four of her five customers choose to switch from wood
Burning the appliance onto propane or natural gas is mainly due to the convenience of not having to deal with wood and ash.
(The use of electrical appliances or electrical appliances that burn propane, natural gas or wood particles is permitted, as per the bylaw.
But of the estimated 50,000
The burning appliances throughout the city are thousands of fireplaces and cannot be easily converted with inserts.
"The problem with Montreal is that many apartment builders, 1980 and 90 years old, are in front of these
Charles Hamel said: "wood fireplace in prefabricated environmentowner of .
"They don't release a lot of heat;
"They're just trying to create an atmosphere," he said . "
He sells prefabricated wood.
He said that the burning fireplace unit, which meets the city's new specifications, costs about $6,900, plus about $1,000 for dismantling the old unit and installing the new unit.
Of course, homeowners are free to keep their old, heavily polluted appliances, but by the fall of next year it is illegal to use them except for more than three hours of power outages.
This exemption is good news for some of the Monterey people who stick to the wood --
Burn electrical appliances just in case.
The government, led by former mayor Dennis Coderre, is one of the world's most stringent bylaws, but critics suspect, if there is no strict law enforcement procedure and generous kickbacks, can it really improve the air quality.
"We agree with the Charter and we support it," said Andrea Belaire, president of the Association for pollution atmosphere of que é coise de lutte Contré la, "except that we warn the city . . . . . . If we can't enforce it, it's no use having no charter no matter how strict it is.
The city already knows where most of the wood is.
The burning appliance was due to the municipal assessment, but according to the new charter, Toby filled out a document online and the homeowner was required.
So far, the enforcement of the "prohibition of burning wood during smoke alarms" rule has been weak.
Since the entry into force of the rules, there have been at least 20 + haze days in the Montreal region, and the city's Ministry of Environment has received about 12 complaints about wood smoke in a recent smog alert.
However, according to the communiqué, no fines have been issued so far.
The Ministry of Environment has only eight inspectors on the payroll who are responsible for applying all urban environmental rules from water issues to air pollution to industrial activities.
"The implementation strategy is more based on information and public awareness than coercion," Gabrielle Fontaine said . "
City spokesman Jilu.
For example, this fall, the city sent information leaflets to 30,000 timber owners
Burning appliances, reminding them to comply with the bylaws, and why it is important to respect them.
The 19 boroughs also sent information through newsletters, the city's website and the Metro information screen.
Many people think that wood smoke is natural and harmless and linked to healthy outdoor life.
But for years, scientists have been ringing the alarm to tell people how dangerous wood smoke is to human health.
Wood smoke, like cigarette smoke, contains hundreds of contaminants, including benzene, formaldehyde, aldehyde, and multi-ring aromatic hydrocarbons.
Fine particles are the most worrying because they can stay in the lungs for a few months, leading to changes that can lead to structural damage and disease.
Smog is mainly composed of the ground.
Levels of ozone and particulate matter in Montreal and the main sources of these pollutants are vehicle use and wood burning.
Environment Canada is released on days when air pollutant concentrations may reach levels considered harmful to human health.
The most recent alert in Montreal is December. 30.
Smog has caused thousands of premature deaths in Canada, as well as numerous emergency hospitals, and lost time at work and school due to asthma attacks and other respiratory diseases.
"We know that these particles can go deep into the lungs and blood and have a negative impact on health," said Karine Price, a toxicologist at Montreal's public health department . ".
"The World Health Organization classifies fine particulate matter as cancer --causing.
"Children, the elderly and people with respiratory or heart disease are more sensitive to these particles.
Exposure to wood smoke can cause or aggravate diseases such as asthma and bronchitis.
"Particles are thought to cause cancer," Price said . ".
"There is no security level.
The best way is to reduce as much as possible.
"In the Montreal area, wood smoke contributes 39 of the fine particles in the atmosphere, while traffic accounts for 45.
Nevertheless, some people, including Belaire, believe that when it adopts more stringent norms than the United States,S.
New regulations of the Environmental Protection Department 4.
5 grams per hour.
He said there are more fireplaces and stove models on the market to meet the slightly looser U. S.
Regulations, so the price is better, and 4. 5 and 2.
5, in the end, it doesn't matter when people consider the amount of pollution emitted by old stoves and fireplaces, usually 50 grams or more per hour.
He urged the city to work quickly with the province to offer kickbacks to encourage homeowners to switch to cleaner homes
Burning appliances.
His organization launched a pilot project in 2012 to successfully replace 5,300 contaminated appliances in just one year by offering rebates on cleaning models to homeowners.
Let them call 514-280-
4326 or go to the city.
Those who smell or see smoke coming out of the chimney during the smoke alarm can call 514-280-4330.
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