The research also found that less than a third said they were concerned about the effects burning might have on their health or those around them. The rest burned at home to save money or supplement other heating. A small number, who tended to be older, less affluent and more rural, had no other heating (8%). The researchers identified five types of indoor burners, including people who burned as a “lifestyle choice” for aesthetic reasons (28%) and for reasons of tradition (18%).
”Īlmost half the indoor burners (46%) were from the highest AB social grades, which represent about a quarter of the population overall. “Habit also seemed important: 79% of indoor burners reported having a fire at home when growing up as opposed to 23% of. “The most common reasons they gave for using their indoor burning appliance were to create a homely feel, so they could heat just one room, to save money, and/or because they liked the look of a fire,” the report says. Most of the indoor burners used seasoned wood but 20% were using wet wood, the research found. Two-thirds of the people burning indoors used a stove, while a third had open fires, and 96% had alternative sources of heating such as gas or electricity. It found that just 8% of people in the UK burned fuel indoors, with two-thirds of them living in urban areas where levels of dirty air were worst. The second report, produced by Kantar for the government, examined who was burning solid fuels at home and why, and included a survey of 46,000 people. Prof Jonathan Grigg, of Queen Mary University of London, said: “It is difficult to justify their use in any urban area.” In January, experts at Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation asked people to use wood burners only if they had no alternative source of heat. Wood burners also triple the level of harmful pollution particles inside homes and should be sold with a health warning, scientists warned in December. Therefore, exposure to PM can result in serious impacts to health.”
“Due to the small size of some of these toxins may enter the bloodstream and be transported around the body, lodging in the heart, brain and other organs. “This reflects the increasing popularity of solid fuel appliances in the home such as wood-burning stoves,” the report says. This fall, and cleaner vehicles and industry, mean overall particle pollution levels have fallen significantly since 1970, but they have levelled off in the past decade.
In the 1970s and 80s, coal fires in homes were the primary source of small particle pollution but these now account for a very small proportion of PM2.5s, the report said. Road traffic caused 12% of PM2.5 in 2019. The report said PM2.5 emissions from this source had more than doubled since 2003, to 41,000 tonnes a year, and increased by 1% between 20. The new government statistics show that domestic wood burning in both closed stoves and open fires was responsible for 38% of the pollution particles under 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5) in 2019, the latest year for which data is available.
0 kommentar(er)
