More than 100 UK doctors have pushed the Prime Minister for an urgent plan to slash deadly and ‘alarming’ levels of air pollution — including ‘taking action’ on wood burning stoves.
The home-heating devices, which have become a popular fixture in middle class homes, are said to be one of the main drivers of harmful air pollutants in UK cities.
In a letter written to Sir Keir Starmer, the medics warn that toxins generated by burning wood are an ‘invisible killer’, thought to contribute to 38,000 premature deaths a year.
These pollutants are also linked to a range of lung and heart problems, including asthma and stunted lung development in children.
As well as ‘taking action’ on wood burners in cities and towns, the doctors suggest a number of other ways to curb pollution, including improving infrastructure to help more people walk and cycle instead of drive.
Wood burners are estimated to cause up to 38,000 premature deaths a year, according to a 2022 report
Ella Kissi-Debrah, nine, died in 2013, after three years of seizures and 27 visits to hospital for treatment to breathing problems
Domestic combustion, which includes wood burning, contributed to a third of the UK’s total PM2.5 emissions in 2021 — particles in the air invisible to the human eye that can enter into blood and penetrate deep into the lungs.
This is more than what was produced by cars, according to The Times.
Wood and solid fuel burning creates hot spots of dirty air in parts of North and South London, according to the ‘London Wood Burning Project‘.
The letter, organised by the campaign group Ride for Their Lives, is calling for a greater effort to reduce air pollution that contributed to Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death aged nine — the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as a cause of death on her death certificate.
Although the letter does not call for a blanket national ban on wood burners, many healthcare professionals want to see them banned in urban settings.
‘Cost-effective quick wins include action on solid fuel burning in homes where there are reasonable alternatives and a genuine transformation to an environment where people can travel actively to work and school,’ the group of health professionals said in the letter.
‘Action could include the government educating people about the health risks of wood burners,’ Heather Lambert at Ride for Their Lives, told The Times.
London pollution levels frequently break recommended limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5 — particles in the air invisible to the human eye but able to get into blood and penetrate deep into the lungs
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah warned ‘Air pollution is an invisible killer’ following the death of her daughter
The medical professionals stressed that pollution causes reduced fertility, harms fetal lungs, increases miscarriages and also results in smaller and more premature babies.
They added that it can contribute to neurological decline and said the role of air pollution in strokes and dementia is now well established.
A 2021 coroner’s report found air pollution contributed to the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah.
Ella, from south-east London, suffered a fatal asthma attack in 2013 after being exposed to excessive air pollution from cars.
She lived just 80ft from a notorious pollution ‘hotspot’ on the busy south circular road in Lewisham, south-east London — one of the capital’s busiest roads.
Between 2010 and 2013 she had numerous seizures and made almost 30 hospital visits.
Later she was rushed to hospital following a coughing fit but repeatedly lost consciousness and eventually died in February 2013.
Ella’s mother, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, said: ‘Air pollution is an invisible killer, you cannot see the damage it is doing to your body, or to your children’s bodies.’
Environmental secretary Steve Reed said he will deliver on the targets of the Environment Act, which includes a goal for curbing PM2.5 pollution by 2040.
The target requires a maximum annual average concentration of no more than ten micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic metre by then.
This follows the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) last year to cover all of London’s boroughs in attempt to further cut pollution levels.
Air pollution is known to cause lung cancer. Although smoking remains the biggest risk factor for the disease — which accounts for 34,800 deaths in the UK annually — outdoor air pollution causes roughly one in 10 cases.
An estimated 6,000 people who have never smoked die of lung cancer every year in the UK, some of which may be due to air pollution exposure.
