Reducing air pollution from wood stoves may increase life expectancy

By Helen Albert, Senior medwireNews Reporter

Reducing a person's exposure to wood or biomass smoke can help increase their life expectancy, suggest findings from a study published in the BMJ.

Researchers led by Fay Johnston, from the University of Tasmania in Australia, found a significant correlation between reductions in ambient particulate matter with a diameter of 10 mm or smaller (PM10) and increases in male life expectancy.

Johnston and colleagues assessed the impact of a community education program, environmental regulation enforcement, and a program of wood heater replacement in the Launceston area of Tasmania, all of which were instituted in 2001. Mortality and ambient air pollution were assessed during 6.5 year periods before and after 2001.

Similar air quality and mortality measures were recorded in central Hobart, a comparable Australian city in which no air regulations or education programs were on offer during the same time period, for control purposes.

The mean daily PM10 concentration in the winter in the Launceston area fell significantly after 2001 from an average of 44 µg/m3 during the 1994-2000 period to 27 µg/m3 in 2001-2007.

Over the 2001-2007 period there were significant reductions in all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in men of 11.4%, 17.9%, and 22.8%, respectively, but not women.

In men and women combined, there were borderline significant reductions in annual winter cardiovascular and respiratory mortality of 19.6% and 27.9%, respectively, over the same period. However, no significant reductions in winter all-cause mortality, or all season all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality rates were observed.

The team notes that no reductions in mortality were seen in the control city of Hobart during 2001-2007, suggesting that the Launceston air regulations may have directly influenced mortality rates.

"Our findings highlight the potential for important public health gains from interventions to reduce ambient pollution from biomass smoke," conclude the authors.

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Comments

  1. Derek Keating Derek Keating Australia says:

    The report is not very helpful given the diferent results for men and women and the lack of inclusion of the lifestyles of the population being studied.

    I wonder how the "experts" will handle the bushfire smoke; maybe they could recommend a ban on bushfires.
    No doubt this sort of "study" will be used to pressure the parliamentary lapdogs (who should be representing the people) of the energy companies to ban cheap heating from wood fired stoves.
    Wood fires produce far less health damaging smoke than the mining, generation, storing, transportation and delivery of other forms of heating and energy.
    Derek

  2. Michael Sullivan Michael Sullivan Australia says:

    Surely PM exposure would have a delayed impact on mortality rates, wouldn't it?  Those people that died between 2001 and 2007 from cardio. or respiratory malfunction could perhaps be a function of their exposure to PM during their lifetime, isn't it?

  3. Bobby Smith Bobby Smith Australia says:

    Why in NSW do we still allow sugar cane burning for 6 months of the year,the  co2 output is the equivalent of a coal power station operating on full power for 1 year. At present although taxpayers have put millions into upgrading facilities to allow green cutting for no logical reason cane farmers refuse to do so,long live the carbon tax.

  4. Greig Thin-Smith Greig Thin-Smith Australia says:

    So conversely what you are saying is that every time I go out with my crew to fight a bushfire, I am reducing my life expectancy.
    We cant stop fighting them so someone needs to come up with a breathing protection system for us out there on the fire line.

  5. Pietro de Swift Pietro de Swift Australia says:

    If we were at all serious about renewable energy, there'd be masses of money spent on improving wood fires.
    After all, wood is a renewable resource, isn't it?
    Not like coal, oil or other fossil fuels, which will inevitably run out.
    Remember, that electricity, to a large extent, is generated through burning coal in power stations.

  6. James Tom James Tom Australia says:

    All they do is bombard us with wood heaters being environmentally bad. In europe you have wood heaters burning super efficiently, many times more efficient than here, but here all we have is these big old wood heaters that resemble washing machines.
    Rather than paying extra taxes to buy better heaters from overseas why not drop the tax and help the environment if you're serious. Our dollar is at maximum exchange rate with excellent buying power and all we get is the same old same old at a new increased price.
    Get real, wood is renewable, and when burnt correctly is not an environmental issue. Like the posts above stated, what about all the back burning the DSE makes, and bushfires. In the old days we were allowed to pickup timber twigs in old reserves which reduced fire hazards.....but the greenies in the wisdom have stopped all that too....
    Im sure if we opened up the market by dropping these import taxes and then some the local boys would pull up their pants and improve.......and if the government was really serious we would have no malor issues at all.....
    I wont even go into electricity and coal.

  7. Jeremy D'Herville Jeremy D'Herville New Zealand says:

    Typical ambient wood smoke bad: 98.5% suggestive - comparative epidemiology and cost benefit studies, where too many variables are ignored, predetermined conclusions are skewed towards and the sponsors desired conclusions are always expressed by their authors. 1.5% toxicology studies where the scientists give us accurate information and inconclusive results. This is state power and gas company, energy futures market, top down funded JUNK. Focus on the real industrial polluters and give up on carbon offsetting pish like all this is. You won't take away peoples self sufficient, carbon neutral, sustainable, cost effective energy choices!

    • Justin Case Justin Case United States says:

      <i>"Typical ambient wood smoke bad: 98.5% suggestive - comparative epidemiology" </i>(Jeremy D'Herville)
      Where do you get your information? Where is your source that proves that '98.5%' of woodsmoke studies are 'suggestive' (and what does that even mean?)

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
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