For these dark evenings, nothing beats a fire or stove for cosiness and atmosphere, right? What you might not realise is your toasty fire can flood your home and the air outside with toxins. <\/p>\n
Burning wood and coal in homes contributes to almost 2,500 deaths a year, a new UK study has found. Stopping unnecessary burning would save the NHS more than \u00a354 million (\u20ac61.2 million) a year, the research commissioned by charity Global Action Plan and Hertfordshire County Council, and published last month, concluded.<\/p>\n
Indeed, domestic burning is one of the largest sources of toxic fine-particle air pollution. Air pollution from domestic fires contributes to new cases of serious health conditions including diabetes and asthma each year. It can lead to heart disease and increase your risk of dementia too. <\/p>\n
Curbing air pollution emissions from the burning of wood and other solid fuels has been found to improve health for both children and adults, the study found. <\/p>\n
The numbers in the Republic are pretty stark too. An estimated 1,410 people die prematurely due to air pollution each year, according to figures from the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment<\/a>. Some 1,300 of these are directly linked to burning solid fuel such as coal or wood, it says. <\/p>\n [\u00a0You can\u2019t buy your way out of the terrible situation we have all createdOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Solid fuel use is one of the biggest sources of air pollution in the State, posing a serious public health challenge. The Government\u2019s Clean Air strategy asks us to do three things to help reduce solid fuel air pollution. The first is to ask yourself, do I really need to light a fire? <\/p>\n Some homes are dependent on solid fuels for heating, others light a fire just for cosiness. Wood stove use in the UK, for example, has been rising since 2022, particularly in urban areas outside big cities, according to Global Action Plan. Many people are choosing to install wood burners for lifestyle reasons. <\/p>\n Some 92 per cent of people burning wood in the UK already have another way to heat their home, according to the research. Only about 10 per cent of people say they burn at home out of necessity. They use their stove or fire for aesthetic appeal. If this is you, ask if the risk to your health and air quality is worth it. If you can, use other, cleaner heating sources, the Department of the Environment asks. <\/p>\n You can check the air quality in your area before you light the fire using the website airquality.ie<\/a>. Think twice if the air quality is very poor, particularly on days where the air is still and there is no wind to help disperse the smoke from your chimney. <\/p>\n