Hi Norbert:

Many thanks for putting your burn videos on DVD for Dan's show -I think this is going to work out well- I'll let you know.

I'm personalizing a brochure for Dan:
Can you summarize briefly what's happening on the international front with masonry heaters?

The global collaboration and sharing of technology I understand, but I'm unclear on the particulars

1.) If MHA is pursuing certification.........astm..........epa.......etc

- HPBA's Masonry Heater Caucus, working in conjunction with MHA, just submitted a White Paper to EPA
which summarizes all available North American accredited emissions testing data on masonry heaters.
It is hoped that EPA will provide some kind of blanket letter recognizing masonry heaters as a clean
burning technology, to allow use in regulated airsheds, in lieu of EPA-certification, which is unavailable
for masonry heaters as a class, for various technical reasons.

- ASTM subcommittee E06.54 met recently at the HPBA show in Atlanta. A decision was voted and passed
to pursue a standard crib fueling protocol for masonry heaters. When approved, this will allow testing of
masonry heaters to an internationally recognized standard test method, including fueling, for the first time.

2.) Alaska-  testing   a heater  with Cold Climate Housing Research Center..............

- CCHRC used a Dutch kit heater in order to cross-calibrate 4 portable Condar dilutions tunnels against
each other, to evaluate their potential as field samplers for measuring particulate emissions on
real world appliances in the Fairbanks area, and also do double duty as a laboratory method until such
time as funding is obtained to build an ASTM dilution tunnel for laboratory testing.
http://heatkit.com/research/lopezq.htm

3.) Isn't Austria seeking the same kind of approval/certification w/......?.....

4.) and how about Canada ?..................

Wood burning is regulated in Canada on the provincial level, and not federally. Currently only British Columbia
has an emissions regulation. However, Canada does have a testing standard (CSA-B415) that was designed to be compatible with
the EPA standard, and is in fact more modern and includes more classes of appliances.

The EPA standard was supposed to receive a revision every 5 years, and is now about 10 years overdue.
Since very little work has been done in this area by EPA, it is considered likely that the Canadian B415 standard
(or portions of it) may be adopted in the US.

The Canadian B415 standard is therefore currently the focus of most volunteer technical activity from the
industry and laboratory and regulatory community, on both sides of the border.
informal report

5.) anybody else? Japan?

I promise I'll listen more closely to tech committees next time!

Connie