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âEcoâ wood stoves emit 750 times more pollution than an HGV, study shows
Only ecodesign stoves can be legally sold from 2022 – but experts say the standard is shockingly weak
www.theguardian.com
"..a new wood stove, fulfilling the strictest regulation we have and burning just one kilogramme of wood under optimal conditions, will pollute one million cubic metres of completely clean air up to the World Health Organization’s [new] guideline level.”
Tiny particle pollution – called PM2.5 – is especially harmful to health as it can pass through the lungs into the bloodstream and then be carried around the body and lodge in organs. At least 40 ,000 early deaths a year are attributed to wood burning in Europe.
Domestic wood burning is the single biggest source of PM2.5 air pollution in the UK, producing three times more pollution than road traffic. The situation is the same in the EU, with home stoves emitting about half of all PM2.5 and soot. Just 8% of the UK population uses wood burners and many are affluent people choosing a wood fire for aesthetic reasons, rather than to heat their home.