Woodburning has a major impact on air quality in Birmingham and the West Midlands – accounting for a fifth of all fine pollution particles and representing a significant risk to public health, a new WM-Air study reveals.
WM-Air researchers found that biomass burning, primarily from woodburning activities, such as heating homes using woodburning stoves or logs on open fires, contributes significantly to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels in the region – accounting for some 25% of the total PM2.5 mass.
Woodburning-related PM2.5 concentrations were seven times higher than those observed in 2008-2010. They also discovered that the impact of woodburning is particularly pronounced during winter months, contributing up to around half of PM2.5 concentrations – a seasonal spike attributed to people heating their homes.
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