Breathing fresh air is essential to overall health. Clean fresh air is important as it strengthens your immune system, provides greater clarity to the brain, and helps digest food more effectively.
Moreover, clean air is good for your lungs and respiratory system, plus it can improve your mood, as the more oxygen you breathe, the more serotonin (happy hormones) your body can produce.
When we burn solid fuels, they produce something called particulate matter. When we breathe in these particles, they can end up in our lungs, blood and brain.
The main health effects of air pollution include stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma. These conditions can lead to sickness and ill health, as well as premature mortality. Air pollution is also linked to increases in respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, dementia and can have negative impacts on the central nervous and reproductive systems. People with asthma, children, and the elderly are most at risk.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised air pollution in general, and particulate matter especially, as causing cancer to humans. The latest evidence indicates that the health impacts of air pollution are wide ranging.
While we are all familiar with more visible forms of air pollution, such as smoke from coal fires, new evidence suggests that invisible forms of pollution, such as fine particulate are harmful to our health.
Poor air quality is linked to serious health implications, both short-term (such as headache, breathing difficulty, or eye irritation) and long-term (chronic ongoing conditions, including asthma, reduced liver function, and cardiovascular disease). Poor air quality has also been linked to cognitive development and mental health.
These negative health impacts come at a cost, both personally and economically. In addition to premature deaths, air pollution causes absence from work, reduced productivity, higher spending on medicines, and increased hospital admissions.
More information on the health Impacts of Air Pollution is available here: Summary of Health Impacts of Air Pollution – European Environment Agency (2020)
What can I do to improve Air Quality in my area?
To help reduce air pollution from solid fuels, there are 3 simple steps you can take.
1 - Ask yourself: "Do I need to light a fire?"
We know that some homes are completely dependent on solid fuels for heating, however some people may light a fire just for cosiness. If you can, use other cleaner heating sources instead to reduce the pollution in your home and your community.
You can check the air quality in your area before you light the fire, if the air quality is very poor, think twice, particularly on days where the air is still and there is no wind to help disperse the smoke from your chimney. Information on air quality in dlr is available from…
The sensors are available to view on:
https://airly.org/map/en/
2 - Burn cleaner, more efficient, low-smoke fuels and make sure you use the right fuel for your appliance.
The type of fuel that you use has a big impact on the amount of pollution released to the air. The most polluting fuels have now been removed from commercial sale across the country. Bituminous coal like Columbian or Polish coal are now prohibited as they produce high levels of particulate matter. Wet wood and turf also produce high levels of pollution. You can report any sale of suspect fuels to info@dlrcoco.ie
3 - Clean and maintain your chimneys and heating appliances at least once a year.
It is recommended that you have your chimney swept at least once a year. A regular sweep is essential to ensure that the flue is sufficiently clear to allow the fumes to escape freely and safely out of the chimney. Breathing fumes from gas or solid fuel fires can cause serious damage to your health and in the worse cases prove fatal. Having your chimney swept regularly will drastically reduce the chances of having a chimney fire and will also help reduce the amount of pollution released to the air. The best time to have you chimney swept is just before the start of the heating season, after your stove or fire has not been used for a long period of time.
4 - Consider alternative modes of transport?
- Leave the car at home if you can for one day a week.
- Walk, cycle or take public transport.
- Carpool.
- Work from home for part of your working week.
- Go Electric on your next car.
