Air quality and particulate assessment in wood-heated military tents during arctic field training: implications for health and environmental safety

Combustion-based heating methods in military tents are important for maintaining warmth, but at a potential cost of poor air quality, which can impair soldiers’ health. Poor tent ventilation has indeed been suggested as a contributing factor to impaired cognition and fatigue symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome.1 When this was tested experimentally, burning kerosene for 4 hours in unvented tents spiked carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) after combustion, and gradually increased nitric oxide (NO) and sulphur dioxide (SO2).1 Meanwhile, wood burning in subarctic Cree tents burns cleaner than propane,2 but exceeds the WHO guidelines for acceptable PM levels.3 Besides air quality, temperature and humidity are other factors worth consideration, which leave unanswered questions surrounding optimal tent heating sources in cold weather military settings.