[ad_1]
Air pollution is the biggest environmental health hazard in Europe, according to the European Environment Agency. It is estimated to cause 1,600 premature deaths a year in Ireland alone.
While gases such as carbon monoxide and ozone are dangerous in certain concentrations, the main threat is a microscopic particulate matter in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, known as PM2.5. This silent and virtually invisible killer can make asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) worse, leading to heart attacks and strokes.
There is no safe level of exposure to these microscopic particles, according to Professor John Wenger, director of the UCC’s Center for Atmospheric Chemistry Research.
Air pollution is made up of a complex chemical mix of gases and particles that have a major impact on both climate and health, Wenger says. Its insidious side is seen in research indicating that exposure to air pollution is likely related to the occurrence or severity of the Covid-19 infection.
In Ireland it comes out in a threatening way, he says, because of how we heat our homes and what fuel we burn. Now a national ban on all smoke-producing fuels is needed, he says, with support for those in energy poverty.
Led a study commissioned by EPA (known as sapphire) that clearly highlights what is at stake. The researchers analyzed the sources of particulate matter in Killarney, Birr and Enniscorthy, residential settings outside of areas where there was a ban on smoked coal at the time and where natural gas is not available. The study focused on the contribution of residential solid fuel burning to ambient PM2.5 levels in winter. Using “chemical fingerprints” of particles generated by the combustion of different solid fuels, he revealed that burning peat was the dominant source in each location, followed by wood and then coal.
“So it’s a solid fuel problem; it’s not a coal problem, ”Wenger says.
Average PM2.5 concentrations in Killarney and Enniscorthy were considerably higher than in Dublin and Cork despite having a fraction of their population.
New measures and policies are urgently needed to reduce harmful emissions from burning residential solid fuels across the country, the report concludes. A national ban on smoked charcoal “is unlikely to lead to significant improvements in air quality in small towns,” although Wenger agrees that it is a good first step.
The government program promises to extend the ban on smoked charcoal to new cities “and, during the term of office, move towards a total ban at the national level.” The ban on smoked charcoal has recently been extended to 13 cities, including Enniscorthy and Killarney.
However, Wenger’s strong message goes further: “We have to stop burning things.”
In short, the options are a national ban on smoked charcoal; a national ban on smoky fuels or the expansion of current Low Smoke Zones (LSZ).
Measures to reduce emissions of all solid fuels (peat, wood and coal) would be most successful in improving air quality in all urban centers, including small cities, it adds. Future efforts should address how homes are heated, “rather than trying to discourage the use of a specific solid fuel.”
Some environment ministers have supported a national ban on smoked charcoal, but out-of-state charcoal companies have threatened legal action, arguing that selecting smoked charcoal would be anti-competitive, as peat and wet wood produce similar levels. of air pollution. Then-Environment Minister Richard Bruton acknowledged last year that the national ban on smoked charcoal “carries a serious risk of illegality, unless peat, wet wood and grass are also addressed.”
A report commissioned by the Asthma Society of Ireland (ASI) and completed by the UCC Environmental Law Clinic outlines options for effective regulation of smoked fuels.
The ban on smoked fuels is the most acceptable policy despite being more trade restrictive, he concludes. It would be easier to enforce as only smokeless coal would be allowed into the country and the current problem of monitoring different types of coal would no longer apply. And it would stop using all types of fuel that produce high levels of PM2.5.
A national ban on bituminous coal alone is likely to increase demand for peat, wood and biomass. Given the ability of peatlands to act as natural carbon sinks, such a policy “would exacerbate climate and biodiversity crises,” the report warns. Because those with the lowest incomes and the most isolated in rural areas are more dependent on smoldering fuels, they are disproportionately exposed to the health impacts of those fuels, it adds.
The ASI report also warns that smoked charcoal suppliers are likely to challenge the imposition of a national ban on smoked charcoal under EU competition law, “specifically in relation to the government imposing unfair trading conditions on a sector of the smoked fuel market. “
To protect people’s health and lives, only a ban on all smoked fuels can be justified to restrict the free movement of goods; Whereas a ban on a single harmful fuel would be an unjustifiable distortion of the EU’s competence.
Ben Harrington, one of the report’s authors, believes that the smoking fuel ban has not been enforced because awareness of air pollution in Ireland is low. “There’s an ‘we all think it’s okay’ attitude,” he says.
He cites another study showing that some circulating smokeless fuels produce high levels of PM2.5, which he says suggests “no fires” is the only good option. Harrington says the introduction of a smoked fuel ban would end a complex and confusing regulatory regime.
A national clean air strategy will be published later this year, according to the Department of Climate Action and Environment. It will be a “strategic policy framework” that seeks to identify and promote additional integrated measures to reduce air pollution and promote cleaner air.
It will take a regional approach to air quality control and crack down on the sale of high sulfur fuel imported from the UK. It will also invest in the network of monitoring stations and “move towards a complete national regulation of solid fuels.”
On banning smoky fuels, the department said existing regulations had ensured a significant positive impact on air quality in low-smoke areas.
“However, as more research emerges and we collect increasingly detailed data from our expanded National Ambient Air Monitoring Network, it becomes clear that a more comprehensive approach is required to reduce air pollution emissions attributed to the use of a variety of solid fuels in the residential sector, “he said in a statement.
Fuels such as peat briquettes, grass and wet wood, as well as bituminous coal, contribute to air pollution to varying degrees, the department added. “However, a ‘one size fits all’ regulatory approach is not considered likely to be adequate for the regulation of all these fuels, particularly since other fuels are produced and distributed in different ways.”
The department says support for people in energy poverty has increased, while one initiative aims to have 500,000 homes remodeled and 400,000 heat pumps installed in existing buildings over the next decade.
“Improvements in air quality in Ireland are inextricably linked to action on the climate. In particular, helping people who are energy poor or who depend more on solid fuels to heat their homes is an important step in reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality, ”added the department.
Wenger believes this transition will take years, will involve significant costs as many cannot afford to switch to cleaner home heating even with current subsidies, and will ultimately require an end to the use of all wood, despite that kiln-dried wood is used in an eco-efficient way. the stove is less troublesome.
Dr. Jurgita Ovadnevaite of the NUIG Center for Climate and Air Pollution Studies (CCAPS) agrees that a national ban on smoked fuels is needed, “but not only on fuels currently defined as smoked, all fuels solid fuels, especially those used on open fires (such as ‘smokeless’ peat, firewood and charcoal) ”- currently, peat is not classified as a smoked fuel.
“In Dublin, solid fuel emissions add up to 70 percent of particulate matter during winter and the situation is even worse in smaller cities that do not benefit from the smoked fuel ban,” he adds.
She believes that the top of the clean air strategy priority list should be home renovations to ensure these polluting fuels are not a necessity, along with a ban on all solid fuels. “The next thing would be to address emissions from transportation, especially heavy diesel vehicles, such as public buses,” she adds. “Public transport should not be left behind, but be an example for private cars, whereas today we see the opposite: an old diesel bus can match the PM emissions of 50 or more newer private vehicles, and the recommendation to use a Public transportation could therefore seem hypocritical. “
Her CCAPS colleague, Dr. Clare Noone, puts this in the context of Covid-19. While air quality may have improved during the pandemic, bringing considerable health and climate benefits, especially in transport-related air pollution; “The picture has not been so clear for other hazardous pollutants, for example PM2.5, whose main source in Ireland is house fires.”
“The smoking coal ban will see a reduction in this harmful pollutant, and it is imperative that it be extended to the entire country if we are to protect lives during this global pandemic. If you live in an area with poor air quality, you are already vulnerable to many health effects, and the lung damage associated with air pollution can make those infected with Covid-19 worse. “
Constitutional rights to life and bodily integrity place legislators under significant obligations to implement effective air quality measures, argues the Irish Asthma Society report. Banning smoked fuels would be the strongest option from a legal point of view and the most conducive to achieving health benefits for people vulnerable to air pollution, and would have the greatest impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse.
With 25 years of air pollution research behind him, Wenger says it’s about getting creative and “stepping away from our love of open fire.” There are pollutant issues arising from traffic and agriculture, but addressing PM2.5 first is the way to go “because it is the biggest source of air pollution.”
[ad_2]