New research shows that wood-burning stoves in urban areas are responsible for nearly half of people’s exposure to carcinogenic chemicals in air pollution particles.
The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the tiny pollutants are produced by burning fuel and have long been known to have carcinogenic effects. This new study examined the sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and found that wood burning produces more than diesel or gasoline used in vehicles.
The analysis was conducted in Athens, Greece, but the researchers knew that this was not an unusual case.They say that household wood burning is an important issue for air quality throughout the city Europe Excessive exposure to wood smoke may cause serious health effects.
“Athens is no exception-it is more representative of the rules,” said Athanasios Nenes of the Patras Greece Research and Technology Foundation. Greece, And one of the teams behind the new research. “On the one hand, it is:’Oh my God, this is terrible.’ On the other hand, it points out that people can actually do something to reduce this risk without putting in too much effort. You basically stop Burn wood. This is the bottom line.”
Research published last year showed Wood burning in the home is the largest single source of small particulate air pollution in the UK, Although only 8% of the population uses wood burners, they produce three times the amount of road traffic.
Even new wood-burning stoves that meet the “eco-design” standards will still emit emissions 750 times more tiny particle pollution Than Hyundai HGV truck.Wood burner also Increase the level of harmful pollution in the house by a factor of three According to scientists, the sale should carry a health warning.
New research, Published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Collecting air background samples every day in Athens for a year. 31 PAH and various other chemical markers were analyzed.
Specific compounds are associated with different sources of pollution, and these allow scientists to calculate the proportion of PAHs produced by each source. They found that 31% of annual PAHs come from wood burning, mainly in winter, 33% from diesel and petroleum, and 29% from gasoline (gasoline).
However, some PAHs are more carcinogenic than others. When this is taken into account, the risk of cancer to humans due to wood burning rises to 43%, diesel and petroleum are 36%, and gasoline is 17%. .
“we know [smoke from] Wood burning is much more toxic than other types of particles,” Nenes said. The results clearly indicate that wood burning is the main driver of long-term carcinogenic risk.
The researchers said that Athens’s PAH pollution levels are the same as those found in studies in other European and North American cities, and Chinese cities generally report much higher levels.
The annual average concentration of PAH in the Athens study is lower than the EU limit, but twice that of the world healthy The reference level of the organization. Researchers said that according to WHO data, Athens’ PAHs are expected to cause 5 additional cancer cases for every 100,000 people.
“In view of [the carcinogen exposure] And extended use [wood] Burns throughout Europe, such as France, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Europe aims to regulate [wood] There is an immediate need to burn emissions because they can bring considerable benefits to public health,” the scientists said.
Nenes said that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are not the only carcinogen in wood smoke, it also contains many other health-damaging compounds. “Wood smoke is particularly effective and can cause various diseases from cancer to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can cause heart attacks and strokes, obesity, premature aging, diabetes-any disease related to inflammation in the body. So in general, I am really worried about wood burning.”
Gary Fuller of Imperial College London is not a member of the research team. He said: “We tend to think that burning wood is harmless to some extent because wood is a natural product. These measurements remind us, Wood burning is not pollution-free. British emissions data on benzo(a)pyrene (one of the main polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) show that household burning of wood has increased by 16% since 2000.”
Professor Alison Tomlin of the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom said that switching to electric vehicles will reduce the exposure of PAH in traffic. “However, unless appropriate mitigation methods are developed to reduce PAH emissions from household wood burners and boilers, they will continue to pose a major health risk.” She said.
Research in Athens shows that most PAH exposure occurs in winter when there is less wind and rain, which means that the wood smoke has not dispersed. Tomlin said that implementing a “burn ban” at such times may be a useful short-term measure. “However, implementing such policies in densely populated areas, and even more broadly restricting wood burning, can be challenging,” she said.
In early December, the City Council of Utrecht in the Netherlands announced Subsidies of up to 2,000 euros (£1,700) Encourage people to replace wood-burning stoves and fireplaces to purify the air in the city.
Early research by Nenes and colleagues found that The wood smoke emitted at night is oxidized The rate of conversion to more harmful compounds is much faster than expected. This means that when the pollution is still concentrated near the source, it becomes more dangerous to health, rather than oxidizing as it disperses within a few days.
