Page 20 RAIN February-March 1979 For some time, the Wood Energy Institute (representing mostly wood appliance manufacturers) has been promoting "safety." Voluntary. adoption of safety testing standards has been vigorously promoted. A new industry-wood stove safety testing-has been spawned. Many localities now require a UL (Underwriters Laboratories) or an ICBO (International Congress of Building Officials) approved label for appliances being installed. Ostensiqly these requirements are designed to protect the public from shoddy, d~ngerous products. In eff~ct, it's most likely the new standards will provide domestic manufacturers a certain amount of protection from imported stoves. , In the guise of protecting the consumer, some products are likely to disappear from the market even though their con~ tinued use and manufacture over th_e last 100 years has produced no safety problems. Low quality, high profit appliances are more likely to be submitted for testing than are high quality, modest profit products. The large testing fees are likely _to eliminate small manufacturers or those whose market price does not have enough "fluff" to pay the extensive testing costs. I've noticed some of the "listed" or approved appliances have the apr.roved labels removed by retailers who find that their products did not meet the previously accepted clearance _requirements for "unlisted appliances." Here in Oregon, I have been unable to find a situation where a poor quality stove has actually caused a fire. There are,however, several fires caused each winter month by improper stove in~tallations. • Improper i1i5taU,ation can be caused by a variety of circum--, stances. (1) Greedy, unknowledgeable stove dealers often do not supply the consumer with necessary information to complete a safe installation. (2) Confusing building codes are likely to be such an obstacle that home owners defy the law. Here in Oregon wear~ supposed to have a uniform building code; however, in actual practice, each county and munici- • pality interprets the code in a variety of ways. Phone calls directed toward building permit issuing agencies are likely to elicit completely different responses from each individual working in the same office. (3) "Chiseling costs" seems to be a way of life for short-sighted const1mers. There are easier ways to commit suicide than to improperly install a wood stove. .:---.; ~~- wood l feel that more attention paid to correct installation would be of far more benefit to the consumer than a set of artificially contrived standards for manufacture. Product testing is not a substitute for responsible installation and safety inspection of wood burning appliances. The Wood Energy Institute reports that the most comprehen~ sive wood energy exhibition ever held will be here in Portland, Oregon, March 21-24, 1979. The exhibition will be open to industry participants the first three days and to the public on March 24. Brochures and registration information are available from John Webster, Project Manager, Wood Energy Institute, Box 800, Camden, ME 04843. - Please excuse my blooper:,triple-wall air siphon chimney has not been banned in the state of Vermont, re:Rain, AugustSeptember 1978. • Last August, I reported tha·t Washington Stove Works was marketing two new products. It appears that poor assembly and .design errors have been responsible for a high percentage of product failures resulting in broken castings. Improved Crest assemblies are available now. Arctic Air-Tight top plates are being reinforced and should be available soon. ~Bill Day SOLAR Solar Energy Information Loc(iltor, by Solar Energy Information Data Bank of SERI, 1978, 32 pp., f~ee from: • FORESTRY The Job Creation Potential of Solar , and Conservation: A Critical Evaluation, Meg Schacter, 1978, available free from: Meg Schacter, Dept. of Enetgy Rm. 6E, 068 Forrestal Bldg. 1000 Independence, S;W. Washington, DC 20585 A twfr-part study looking at_the relationship of alternative energy and jobs. Part one outlines the factors of job creation, both qualitative and quantitative, to consider when comparing : energy alternatives. Part two evaluates the "state-of-the-art" of employment impact.analyses. Several recent job/ energy studies·are examined. - PC Stephen A. Rubin Solar Energy Research Institute 15 36 Cole Blvd. Golden, CO 80401 303/234-7171 This booklet covers a limited number but a wide range of places to go to begin looking for infor;mation on Solar Energy. (In case you didn't know, the Information industry is the nation's second·1argest business, next to Energy!) From groups fike AERO, Ecotope and Rain to NTIS, Library of Congress, ISES, local libraries and state energy offices, it's a·good resource for groups that do information referral. Indicates briefly the types of information and •publications to be obtained from those references. - LS Timber Harvest Levels for National Forests-How Good Are They?, CED-78-15, January 24, 1978, free from: General Accounting Office DHISF, Box 6015 / Gaithersburg, MD 20760 When different government agencies start reviewing and investigating each other, whose reports do you trust? None, I hope. But in the process of seeing several different reports, many of th~ hidden agendas and special interests favored by.their policies begin to show through. This report is ostensively about improving the reliability of the data u~ed in establishing the U.S. Forest Service's so-called ~'sustainable" timber harvest levels. But the 'errors
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz