Libby sees health benefits from cleaner stoves

BILLINGS – The replacement of 1,200 wood stoves in Libby with newer, more efficient models has improved air quality, leading to associated health improvements for children in the northwest Montana town, according to a new study.

Airborne particulate pollution in Libby dropped 30 percent over the course of the four-year study. The decline was associated with fewer reports of childhood wheeze, a condition commonly linked to asthma.

Other health conditions showed less or no improvement. But study author and University of Montana epidemiologist Curtis Noonan said the results underscored the potential benefits of upgrading stoves in rural towns.

With no natural gas service in Libby – and plenty of cheap firewood readily available in the surrounding forests – it’s unlikely the community is going to move away from wood burning as a major residential heating source.

The $2 million program to upgrade wood stoves in the Libby area beginning in 2005 was paid for by government sources and donations from the Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association, which represents wood stove manufacturers.

As the air cleared in Libby, Noonan said, there was a drop of about 27 percent in reports of childhood wheeze. That was tracked through surveys of parents, and the decrease was attributed to less smoke pollution in Libby’s ambient air.

Results for indoor pollution were mixed. Particulate levels dropped on average by 53 percent in the 21 homes that were monitored, Noonan said. But the change varied greatly, with some homes even showing an increase in particulate pollution concentrations during the four year study.