Residential heating with wood and coal: Health impacts and policy options Marie-Eve Héroux Technical Officer, Air Quality and Noise WHO European Centre for Environment and Health
Presentation outline WHO Indoor Air Quality Guidelines for Household Fuel Combustion Context and main recommendations TFH paper on Residential Heating with Wood and Coal: Health Impacts and Policy Options Health evidence and main messages
WHO Air Quality Guidelines Ambient air quality guidelines Global update (2005) Next revision (start in 2015?) Indoor air quality guidelines Dampness and mould (2009) Selected chemical pollutants (2010) Household fuel combustion (2014)
WHO Indoor air quality guidelines: household fuel combustion Provide guidance on policies and impact of different fuels and technologies on health for cooking, heating and lighting The home does not exist in isolation: Household emissions enter ambient air, reenter homes and lower IAQ: hence, total emissions should be minimized. Local ambient air quality (from homes and other sources) affect IAQ: this must be considered in order to achieve clean indoor air Based on evidence, exclusive use of clean fuels is required to achieve WHO ambient Air Quality Guidelines (PM2.5)
WHO Indoor air quality guidelines: household fuel combustion - Recommendations 1. Emission rate targets to meet the WHO ambient Air Quality Guidelines for CO and PM 2.5 2. Household energy transition from traditional and low emission biomass to clean fuel use. 3. Unprocessed coal should not be used as a household fuel 4. Household combustion of kerosene should be discouraged while further research into its health impacts is conducted 5. Governments and other agencies developing and implementing policy on climate change mitigation should consider action on household energy and carry out relevant assessments to maximize health and climate gains
Air quality - Burden of disease in the WHO European Region Almost 600,000 deaths in the European Region in 2012 482,000 attributable to (outdoor) ambient air pollution 117,200 attributable to (indoor) household air pollution Source: WHO (2014)
Population exposure from residential heating with solid fuels Use of solid fuels for heating is expected to persist and probably even expand as a result of climate policies that favour wood burning Fraction of total PM 2.5 emissions due to residential heating with solid fuels Greatly increased in many regions, partly due to increase of biomass fuel and reduction from other sources In 2010: Central Europe: 21.1% Eastern Europe: 13.8% Western Europe: 11.8% High-income North America: 8%
Residential use of wood in Finland, 1970-2012 (according to national energy statistics) Petajoules/year 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Year
Residential heating with wood and coal: health impacts and policy options in Europe and North America Policy-relevant summary of health impacts and implications, developed following the recommendation of the TFH Network WHO publication currently being finalized; available in English and Russian in winter 2015 Category of Information Focus of this report Less emphasis Geographic scope (regions) Europe and North America Other countries where residential heating is required, including China and India Type of fuel Wood and coal Other solid fuels, such as charcoal, peat, agricultural waste, and garbage Type of heating Single-home residential heating District heating Type of exposure Population-level exposure to ambient air pollution from heating appliances Indoor (in-home) air pollution; emissions from cooking with solid fuels
Evidence on health Both short-term and long-term exposures to wood and coal smoke are harmful to health: They contain cancer-causing compounds They appear to act in the same way as PM from other sources Respiratory problems a common concern associated with exposure to wood smoke Exposure to wood and coal smoke may also harm cardiovascular health Studies of other biomass burning (such as forest fires) can help improve understanding of the health effects of residential wood burning
Several organs of the human body are affected by particulate air pollution Metabolic disorders Diabetes Liver disorders Source: updated from Peters et al. (2011)
Regulatory, voluntary measures and interventions There are regulatory and/or voluntary measures available to reduce emissions from wood heating in developed countries Interventions exist to decrease emissions, improve outdoor and indoor air quality, and human health: Fuel switching Heater and woodstoves exchanges District heating HEPA filtration Educational campaigns Regulatory emissions limits Non-burn days Model bylaws and codes of practice Ecolabelling
Policy needs and co-benefits There is a need for better alignment between climate policy and air pollution policies in many countries Information campaigns are encouraged especially those that increase knowledge about the energy efficiency of heating options There are co-benefits for health and climate of reducing residential heating emissions Reduction of climate-active pollutants (such as CH 4 and BC) can have short- and medium-term co-benefits for health It can immediately reduce exposure to associated particulate air pollution
Key messages Wood and coal for residential heating are important sources of air pollution, both indoors and outdoors Evidence links emissions from wood and coal heating to serious health effects There is a need to: provide incentives to switch from solid fuel combustion for heating to gas- or electricity-based heating develop and promote the use of the lowest emission or best available combustion technologies Renewable energy or climate change-related policies that support combustion of wood for residential heating should consider the local and global ambient air pollution impacts and immediately promote only the use of lowest emission or best available combustion technologies.