Susan T., NJ

My next door neighbor began burning wood for heat in a wood stove. Our homes are close together, and our property, cars and even the inside of our home regularly become invaded with toxic, noxious wood smoke and fumes.

My husband and daughter have asthma. The regular exposure to wood smoke on our own property has caused their asthma to worsen. We have tried repeatedly to reason with our neighbor and have asked them to stop polluting our air.

Our pleas have been met with nothing but a defiant refusal to alter their wood burning in any way. I have contacted dozens of elected officials about this issue. The EPA has declared that there is NO SAFE LEVEL of wood smoke to breath. Wood smoke contains dozens of known carcinogens. It is time to enact legislation to ban residential wood burning in urban and suburban areas. I will never stop fighting for this issue. My family has become ill and that is not right.