Premature deaths.About 1300 deaths per annum in Ireland are attributed to air pollution.
Don't think we're actually talking about air pollution in this instance.About 1300 deaths per annum in Ireland are attributed to air pollution. I suspect that much like Covid 19 where 98% of those dying with covid also had a respiratory illness, very few of the 1300 are fit and well.
I hadn't heard anything about this. Internal air quality in houses with stoves installed is it? I had understood that they were essentially air tight for exhaust gases with only air channels for air intake to fuel the fire.Perhaps a greater danger to them is the air pollution issues with mounting evidence they are bad news for the occupants of the house.
It is when you open to stove door to add more fuelI hadn't heard anything about this. Internal air quality in houses with stoves installed is it? I had understood that they were essentially air tight for exhaust gases with only air channels for air intake to fuel the fire.
From that particulr article & underlying study:It is when you open to stove door to add more fuel
Wood burners triple harmful indoor air pollution, study finds
Exclusive: Burners should be sold with health warnings, say scientists who found tiny particles flooding into roomswww.theguardian.com
The studies are really only mounting up over the past few years. It's been know for way longer that smoking is a serious health risk, that still hasn't been outlawed, regulators move very slowly on stuff like this.If it was that bad I'm sure regulators would have stepped in already.
The health risks being raised now relate to the pollutants (particulate matter) released when the door of a lighting stove is opened. So unless you're suggesting a pellet stove with automatic feed, then the risks do apply.so a lot of the old complaints about health risks from such no stoves don't really apply.
It seems pretty clear that there are risks from low-level exposure to particulates that a solid fuel fire will generate. What is not clear to me is what these risks actually are. The EPA website seems to have good information but I was not able to find a guide as to what the actual risk of having a solid fuel stove in your home is (vs. the population level risks which encompass any air pollution - approximately %50 of which is not from home heating as I understand it). I wonder if the risks are too low to be easily quantified or is there actually good data that could tell you for example that having a wood stove in your house adds x% to your chance of developing lung cancer or similar?The health risks being raised now relate to the pollutants (particulate matter) released when the door of a lighting stove is opened. So unless you're suggesting a pellet stove with automatic feed, then the risks do apply.
Air pollution has a very broad impact on health.It seems pretty clear that there are risks from low-level exposure to particulates that a solid fuel fire will generate. What is not clear to me is what these risks actually are.
Wood burners triple the levels of particulate matter inside a home, but risk of any particular health issue occurring isn't something that is easy to calculate. There are so many other factors involved including genetics, diet, exposure to pollution outside the home. etc., etc..I wonder if the risks are too low to be easily quantified or is there actually good data that could tell you for example that having a wood stove in your house adds x% to your chance of developing lung cancer or similar?
Wood burners triple the levels of particulate matter inside a home
Indeed there are plenty of reports to this effect, I don't have any reason to doubt that air pollution has negative health effects. The question remains however, what is the extent of the effect? Is it in the range of the danger of living in an area with low radon emissions or is it more like living in the same house as a heavy smoker? I suppose I am wondering if there is really any measurable impact at all at an individual level or we can only see the effects at population scale where there are so many confounding factors that it may be impossible to determine the effect of solid-fuel burning only.Air pollution has a very broad impact on health.
It would be close to impossible to determine the potential affect at an individual level of any health risk. You would need absolute certainty of the extent to which thousands of other factors are affecting the health of that individual. As a result, the likely impact of pollutants can only effectively be assessed in broad terms.I suppose I am wondering if there is really any measurable impact at all at an individual level or we can only see the effects at population scale where there are so many confounding factors that it may be impossible to determine the effect of solid-fuel burning only.
I agree with you. I would also imagine that the big drop in smoking & drinking and general improvements in healthcare since 1990 would make it very hard to determine just the effect of the reduction in air pollution. That said, everyone old enough will remember how awful the smog was in Dublin at one time - far worse I would suggest than the output of a modern solid fuel stove burning dry wood?It would be close to impossible to determine the potential affect at an individual level of any health risk. You would need absolute certainty of the extent to which thousands of other factors are affecting the health of that individual. As a result, the likely impact of pollutants can only effectively be assessed in broad terms.
Like smoky coal, no one can determine the likely outcome for an individual, but at a population scale you can see a correlation between the Dublin ban in 1990 and a significant drop in stroke, respiratory and cardiovascular disease and deaths. Wood burning stoves release similar PM 2.5 particulate matter.
The air pollution impacts would represent more significantly in urban populations, so you could see variance versus the other measures you mention that affect the broader population.I agree with you. I would also imagine that the big drop in smoking & drinking and general improvements in healthcare since 1990 would make it very hard to determine just the effect of the reduction in air pollution
From the level of alarm within the scientific community, to the point where they are calling for an immediate ban, I suspect that may be a naive assumption. That said, if you have one, best practice would appear to be avoiding opening the door once the stove is lit.I think I am coming to the conclusion that although it is a laudable goal to reduce air pollution in general and there is a measurable population level health impact, a properly operated wood burning stove probably does not represent any measurable health risk. Is that a naive opinion?
The latest research is that having a wood burning stove is equivalent to smoking 50 cigs a day.
I need to see the source & perhaps reconsider
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