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Residential wood-burning appliances and fireplaces can emit significant amounts of air pollutants. Wood smoke contains hundreds of chemical compounds including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, organic gases, and particulate matter. Besides the visual impact of wood smoke, many of these compounds can cause serious health problems, especially for children, pregnant women, and people with respiratory ailments. Several of these pollutants have demonstrated cancer-causing properties similar to cigarette smoke. In many urban and rural areas, smoke from wood burning is a major contributor to air pollution. Recent Environment Canada studies in Montreal comparing pollution levels in wood-smoke affected residential areas with those in urban areas found significantly higher concentrations of pollutants such as PAHs, dioxins, and furans in the residential areas than in the more-urban areas. Highest concentrations were in the evenings and on the weekends, during the winter wood-burning season.
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