Wood burners a ‘significant air pollution risk’, warns Sir Chris Whitty

Burning wet wood indoors is a significant air polluter and people should be encouraged to stop, Professor Sir Chris Whitty has said.

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England said most people “don’t realise” the “huge difference” in emissions when it comes to older wood-burning stoves and untreated (wet) wood.

Launching a report on air pollution, Sir Chris said warned indoor air pollution, caused by domestic heating systems, aerosols and cooking appliances, is becoming an increasing problem for the nation’s health.

Although there has been progress in tackling outdoor air pollution over the years, it still leads to the equivalent of 26,000 to 38,000 deaths a year in England, the report warns, along with health problems throughout life, from asthma in children to dementia, heart attacks and strokes in older people.

Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of Asthma + Lung UK, said: “Toxic air affects us from our very first breath, stunting children’s lung growth, putting people at risk of potentially life-threatening asthma attacks and dangerous COPD flare-ups, and can even lead to the development of serious lung conditions including lung cancer.”

Indoor pollution

The CMO stressed he is not calling for domestic wood stoves to be banned, but said “people just need to be aware that modern stoves and better wood make a very big difference”.

“They can turn something from a significant air pollution risk to a much smaller one,” he said.

When burned, wet wood generates more smoke and harmful particles - known as particulate matter - compared to seasoned wood.

Around 29 grams of fine particulate matter per tonne is emitted when wet wood is burned, compared to seven grams emitted by dry (seasoned) wood.

Sir Chris’ report also warns the current energy crisis could lead to more wet wood and other materials being burned this winter to heat homes, as the public avoids putting on gas-fired central heating systems.

The CMO said one of his “biggest worries” this winter is striking the right balance between people keeping their homes warm but also being aware of the risk from indoor pollution.

‘Need to maximise ventilation’

“We’ve got a need to keep people warm in winter,” he said, as he encouraged the most vulnerable not to turn their thermostats down to cut costs.

But he added: “There’s also a need to maximise ventilation to reduce both air pollution and indeed, in public places, the risk of transmission and infections.”

Around 80 per cent of the average day is spent indoors, so tackling indoor pollution is important, but there is a lack of knowledge about the issue and a feeling that it is “private” space, Sir Chris said.

The report makes a series of recommendations for tackling outdoor and indoor air pollution.

These include accelerating the electrification of cars, tackling pollutants from specialised vehicles such as refrigerated lorries and rubbish collection trucks, electrifying railways and preventing the idling of diesel trains in stations, as well as cutting pollution from the NHS and training healthcare staff on the issue.