Urgent warning to anyone with a wood stove | United Kingdom | News

Shocking new research shows woodburners are the biggest and most dangerous source of air pollution in the UK.

Particulate matter (PM2.5) is widely considered the air pollutant with the greatest impact on human health, as it emanates from common household items.

The trend of owning a wood stove is on the rise, which can lead to serious health risks, according to a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

PM2.5 increases the risk of respiratory and heart diseases, leading to an increasing number of hospitalizations. It has been reported that children who grow up exposed to this pollution are more likely to have reduced lung function and a higher risk of developing asthma.

The IFS noted in its report: “The three largest sources of primary PM2.5 in the UK are domestic combustion of wood and other fuels (29% of total PM2.5 emissions in 2022), road transport (17.9% of total PM2). 5 in 2022), as well as industrial processes and product use (16.5% of total PM2.5 emissions in 2022) such as construction and steel manufacturing.

“The only source of PM2.5 emissions that has increased over this period is domestic combustion. Three quarters of PM2.5 emissions linked to domestic combustion came from wood combustion in 2022.”

Despite a drop in particle emissions from road transport and the steel industry, the percentage of pollution is increasing in homes because of wood stoves.

Although there is an increase in PM2.5 from the popular household product, the report says that across the UK, levels have fallen below the government’s target for 2040. However, it does not has not fallen below the limit set by the World Health Organization.

Between 2003 and 2023, average PM2.5 levels in England fell by 54%.

Bobbie Upton, research economist at the IFS and author of the report, said: “There is growing evidence that fine particle air pollution is extremely harmful to health, particularly for children and the elderly. .

“It is difficult to fully explain the dramatic decline in air pollution that began in 2020, during the COVID pandemic.

“New clean air zones in several of England’s biggest cities and reduced steel production may have played a role.

“It is important for the health of the nation and for reducing health inequalities that progress continues to be made in reducing air pollution. »