Two new ASTM International standards will provide designers of wood burning appliances with a way to gage the effectiveness of technological improvements in their products. The standards, E 2515, Test Method for Determination of Particulate Matter Emissions Collected by a Dilution Tunnel, and E 2558, Test Method for Determining Particulate Matter Emissions from Fires in Low Mass Wood-Burning Fireplaces, were developed by Subcommittee E06.54 on Solid Fuel Burning Appliances, part of ASTM International Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings, reveals the organization’s press release.

Rick Curkeet, chief engineer, hearth products, Intertek Testing Services, and chair of E06.54, says that ambient air quality requirements recently promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency led to the development of the new standards. “These requirements tightened 24-hour and annual standards and will put many heavily populated areas of the United States into non-compliance based on current levels”, says Curkeet. “States will soon be required to submit implementation plans to the EPA detailing the steps that will be taken to attain compliance.”

According to Curkeet, E 2515 provides a procedure that can accurately measure particulate emissions from virtually any wood-burning appliance. “Combined with the appliance operating and fueling test procedures in E 2558, the results will provide a realistic assessment of the appliance emissions performance”, says Curkeet. “Manufacturers of wood burning appliances as well as air quality planners and regulators will find the standards useful.”