It use to be we'd love to sit around a camp fire, in the great out doors. The bigger the fire, the better or so we thought.
But times have changed.
"Fresh air, and no stink" are you kidding me?
Yes, It's our dream to be in the great outdoors,
breathing fresh air, and at night sitting out side with friends, and star gazing and probably enjoying a nice cold beer.
Have you really given much thought into what it is your breathing in, once you light that fire.
You try to not to breath it, but the wind shifts, and you get smoke in your eyes and throat. Cough ~ cough~ we grin, move our chairs yet again.. and have another drink, to clear our throats.
We've thrown in paper plates, napkins and Kleenex in there as well as news paper and boxes, etc. those are not chemical free items. and what goes in comes out into the air we breath and a good chance back into our lungs.
While trash will eventually disintegrate in the flame, they do release extremely toxic vapors when burned
The contents of that smoke are more dangerous than many people think.
According to Clean Air Revival Inc.’s Web site, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that wood smoke is 12 times more carcinogenic than equal amounts of tobacco smoke — and that it stays active in the body up to 40 times longer than tobacco smoke.
Children appear to be at the greatest risk of health conditions such as acute bronchitis and respiratory infections, the EPA said.
Granted, it's your choice to fire smoke free..and risk it and your friends.. key word here is Choice..
Mind you If your a smoker, you probably don't care..
If your stranded somewhere, and need it for warmth you'll do it. mind you that's a slightly different situation.
But ,if your just camping, can you not do with out the fire !
Just sit with friends, enjoying the stars, and stories.. and of course your nice cold beer..
The stars will look brighter.. your lungs will thank you. and as bonus your clothes won't reak of smoke..
If you find you just can't live without a campfire, just keep your camp fire small, and toss in NO garbage..
Remember the smaller the fire, the easier it is to control and the smaller amount of firewood you'll use..
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The Dangers of wood smoke
Wood fires are popular, both for heating and for pure recreation. Many people thoroughly enjoy an evening around an old fashioned campfire. However, studies presented at
The Society of Toxicology's 1995 annual meeting held in Baltimore strongly suggested that exposure to the smoke associated with wood fires may be bad for one's
health.
Wood smoke contains numerous toxic substances, including known carcinogens, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, carbon monoxide, and tine organic particles. Based on epidemiological studies in children, wood smoke has implicated in increasing respiratory illnesses. Controlled studies on mice and rats have confirmed such associations. In one study, carried out by EPA (Enviroment Protection Agency scientists, a group of mice was exposed to wood smoke for six hours, a second group was exposed to the emissions from an oil furnace, and a third group (the control group) was not exposed to any type of smoke or emissions. All of the mice were then exposed to an air-borne bacteruim which causes respiratory infections. After sex weeks only 5% of the mice in the control group and in the group exposed to oil emissions had died of the infection, whereas 21% of the mice exposed to the wood smoke had died. Independent studies undertaken at New York University School of Medicine using rats exposed to wood smoke and respiratory pathogens (such as the bacterium staphylococcus aureus) showed similar results. Based on such data, the researchers are convinced of the potential health associated with breathing wood smoke.
From
Case studies in environmental science By Robert M. Schoch
you can view his site at :
http://books.google.ca/books?id=GcNVVA8od_UC&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&dq=dangers+of+campfire+smoke&source=bl&ots=cyehT3LC6M&sig=dwQFcBD7JMiaOxbnAcA8sW1y_s8&hl=en&ei=MlnySaKmIpPoMJKLzMMP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9#PPA123,M1
