Looking at the end of the Times article below it would appear that the sale of 'bagged coal' will be banned next February, with merchant delivered loose coal banned by 2023. "Wet wood" also, no mention of dry wood. It begs the question of what we will be allowed to burn in our hearths, presumably some kind of manufactured briquette. It also appears that open fires are bad for your health.
On an average day most farmers will have broken at least 3 laws before breakfast, this new ban won't help matters.
Fireside health risk worse than traffic
It also found a link between exposure to fires and dementia. Elderly people who had been exposed to open fires for many years showed greater cognitive impairment than those who did not have open fires.
Older women were particularly at risk and the authors said this could be because they had typically spent more time at home and had greater exposure to open fires.
The study involved 7,000 people aged 50 and over in the Republic of Ireland who undertook cognitive tests measuring word recall and verbal fluency.
The scientists found the link between poorer cognitive function and open fires was clear even after accounting for differences in income and whether people lived in rural or urban locations.
The highest emissions of fine particles came from fires burning peat, a common fuel in the Republic of Ireland. Peat produced up to 60 micrograms of fine particles per cubic metre — the World Health Organisation’s recommended daily limit is 25 micrograms.
Coal produced up to 30 micrograms and wood 17 micrograms.
The results dealt with open fires in hearths, not wood-burning stoves which cause less pollution in homes but are a big source of outdoor air pollution.
The government announced in February that sales of coal and wet wood would be phased out in England by 2023 to reduce air pollution. It was a victory for The Times Clean Air for All campaign, which wants a new clean air act to address all forms of air pollution.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, found exposure to particles can be greater for people spending about five hours a day indoors with a coal-burning open fire for six months of the year than for those commuting in heavy traffic for an hour a day for 12 months a year.
Barbara Maher, who led the research at Lancaster University, said: “Open fires are essentially harming friends and family every day. We discovered that the level of exposure to particulate matter from open fires is comparable to and may well exceed the levels people are exposed to from roadside sources.”
Professor Maher said indoor air pollution formed when soot, particles and gases lingered in the air in a building. The finest particles can enter the brain via the olfactory nerves, she added. Particles in coal containing iron, platinum and chromium could be particularly damaging to the brain and similar particles were found at roadsides.
The sale of bags of coal and wet wood for domestic fires will be banned in England from February. Coal merchants will be banned from delivering loose coal from February 2023.
On an average day most farmers will have broken at least 3 laws before breakfast, this new ban won't help matters.
Fireside health risk worse than traffic
- The Times
- 11 Nov 2020
- Ben Webster Environment Editor
It also found a link between exposure to fires and dementia. Elderly people who had been exposed to open fires for many years showed greater cognitive impairment than those who did not have open fires.
Older women were particularly at risk and the authors said this could be because they had typically spent more time at home and had greater exposure to open fires.
The study involved 7,000 people aged 50 and over in the Republic of Ireland who undertook cognitive tests measuring word recall and verbal fluency.
The scientists found the link between poorer cognitive function and open fires was clear even after accounting for differences in income and whether people lived in rural or urban locations.
The highest emissions of fine particles came from fires burning peat, a common fuel in the Republic of Ireland. Peat produced up to 60 micrograms of fine particles per cubic metre — the World Health Organisation’s recommended daily limit is 25 micrograms.
Coal produced up to 30 micrograms and wood 17 micrograms.
The results dealt with open fires in hearths, not wood-burning stoves which cause less pollution in homes but are a big source of outdoor air pollution.
The government announced in February that sales of coal and wet wood would be phased out in England by 2023 to reduce air pollution. It was a victory for The Times Clean Air for All campaign, which wants a new clean air act to address all forms of air pollution.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, found exposure to particles can be greater for people spending about five hours a day indoors with a coal-burning open fire for six months of the year than for those commuting in heavy traffic for an hour a day for 12 months a year.
Barbara Maher, who led the research at Lancaster University, said: “Open fires are essentially harming friends and family every day. We discovered that the level of exposure to particulate matter from open fires is comparable to and may well exceed the levels people are exposed to from roadside sources.”
Professor Maher said indoor air pollution formed when soot, particles and gases lingered in the air in a building. The finest particles can enter the brain via the olfactory nerves, she added. Particles in coal containing iron, platinum and chromium could be particularly damaging to the brain and similar particles were found at roadsides.
The sale of bags of coal and wet wood for domestic fires will be banned in England from February. Coal merchants will be banned from delivering loose coal from February 2023.
