HIGHLIGHTING DANGER OF WOODBURNERS

[GlassHouseBlue]

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) -
essentially tiny particles of soot - is one
of the most dangerous air pollutants.
Breathing it in is linked to lung cancer,
heart damage, strokes, impaired cognition
and mental health problems, and can
exacerbate conditions such as asthma,
COPD and pulmonary fibrosis. Children
and elderly people are most vulnerable

@DollyTubb personally I'd say goes beyond cradle-to-grave comparisons; it’s about reducing harm where it has the most immediate impact—on the air we breathe, in the communities where people live and raise their families.

@EnYar It’s disappointing to see assumptions being made about me and my motivations, especially when they’re not true. For the record, I’m not affiliated with any charity or group like “Mums for Lungs,” and I certainly don’t drive an SUV. My concerns about wood burners come from personal experience living in an area with poor air quality and from dealing with asthma and other lung issues in my family. This is a very real and personal issue for me, not some middle-class crusade.

The science around the health effects of PM2.5 pollution from wood burners is well-documented and not something I’ve “creatively used.”

it’s unhelpful and unfair to reduce this to personal attacks or stereotypes. We all have a stake in improving air quality and public health.

I agree OP. I don't like them and agree they are dangerous to health. I think they're used as some kinda fashionable status symbol these days,the way Aga's used to be.
The house I grew up in had a lovely vintage fireplace and they ripped it out and installed one of those instead complete with the naff weathered wood blocks around it.
The worst is people in towns and cities/built up areas with them.
Some of the attitudes on here though...🙄

@EnYar The idea is that, where we can make choices that reduce harm—whether to our environment or to the health of others—we should aim to do so. I hope this post opens the eyes of those that didn't know about the harm of wood burners. Makes them think twice about getting one.

I'm grateful for forums like this where we can raise these issues.

@Vivianebrookskoviak I think I've hit a real nerve. There are posters who are totally unwilling to consider the negative impact for their own comfort.

@GlassHouseBlue You'd be better off asking why renewable energy produced here is charged as if it was produced by gas.

the issue is affordability, most people wouldn't pay a fortune to have a WB installed, cleaned yearly and then a further fortune for seasoned logs if there was an alternative.

Why do you think WB have taken off in popularity in recent years?

you seem unable to acknowledge this.

Or maybe we do understand that there is a negative impact, but we just believe that the positives outweigh it.

I think you have, I remember seeing a design programme with George Clarke where he designed someones front room and one was installed,adding to making them fashionable. I lost a lot of respect for him after that.
I'm asthmatic btw.

I agree with this.
Even if our risk is increased the risk is still absolutely tiny.
Life is literally full of risks.
I'll take my woodburners and a cosy home thanks.
To the OP - you haven't 'hit a nerve' either. People just object to being shouted at by crusading eco warriors.

I love it when people say they've hit a nerve because people come back at them

Do you expect not to be challenged or that people have different views?

You're just plain wrong with a lot of what you say, nothing nervy about it.

Absolutely agree with this. My parents have two woodburners in their house. I was visiting my parents yesterday and couldn't sit in their tv room for long I could smell the soot awful I started coughing it's dreadful. I pity people living with this 😕 my parents ignore me when I tell them about this they are in their 70s 🤷‍♀️

It's such an arrogant way to behave too.

We have a stove but we don't really use it much. It was on when I read this and I do have a temtop air monitor so had a look and our Pm2.5 was 168! Which is apparently very unhealthy/hazardous to health. Got an air purifier though, hoping they will cancel each other out!

Please enjoy OP.

im warm and cosy.

Toasty and warm paired with a good bottle of red and a book.

I’ll tell what is a totally ridiculous, insulting and unnecessary is people who think everyone has the same privilege and access to energy as them.

They also assume people on MN have no scientific or medical expertise (I work in drug discovery) and therefore can’t ascertain risk.

As a Mum, I worry far more about more extreme levels of pollution but see we have another extremist Mums for Lungs member here, as if that is the single biggest thing that will change air quality. It is a factor - no doubt. Tiny relative to others.

But if you do have any car, you are contributing to between 29,000 and 43,000 early deaths in the UK annually. It's not just engine/exhaust emissions, vehicles also pollute by resuspending road dust, abrading road surfaces, and wearing brakes and tyres, which leads to emissions of metals such as iron and copper.

https://www.healtheffects.org/publication/systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-selected-health-effects-long-term-exposure-traffic

Using the same criteria that you've used regarding wood fires - how can you justify having a car?

This isn't about one area of pollution Vs another. This is you insulting mums of asthmatic children as hypocrites without having any idea who they actually are. Calling me 'extremist' for pointing out that parents have real health concerns for their children is yet again ridiculous. You haven't answered my question if you ever had to watch your own children struggling to breathe. In your shoes I wouldn't be so quick pointing fingers at others for being allegedly privileged when you might be quite privileged yourself if your children are healthy. Hard to tell because you are not answering questions just throwing insults at parents who have sick children. Disgraceful.

We live rurally and during a power cut a few years back we had stew cooked on the stove top.We also boiled water for the neighbours so they could have tea or other hot drinks.

For all I know they might have been covert stove haters but certainly no complaints on the day !

I agree that having a car causes so much more pollution as mentioned by pp above. Global industry and wars are huge contributors also.

…some people have got their facts wrong

This has been done to death before on previous threads and that information comes from a seriously flawed study, and no I cant be bothered to find the threads or information.

It’s good you can monitor the air quality in your home. The PM2.5 is in the air in your home, and that of your neighbours. Unfortunately, they may not have air purifiers. Because people can’t see PM 2.5 it’s easy to ignore how harmful it is.

@soupfiend really ? Source https://rgo.dk/wp-content/uploads/GTD_Pollution-from-wood-burning_2022-1.pdf.

Why would I give up being able to keep my home warm without the risk of soaring energy prices.
I will use cash
I will eat wild game
I will drive my small economical diesel car
I will collect wood to warm my home.

Don't give up control of lifes needs

@Warmhome1 Who needs clean air when you’ve got principles?