A council clean air campaign has led to ‘a climate of fear and intimidation’ for owners of wood-burning stoves, it has been claimed.
Locals say they have been named, shamed and verbally abused in the street for using their wood-burning stoves this winter.
Some say they have been branded ‘polluters’ and have been ‘stigmatised’ for using them.
Chimney sweeps in Brighton and Hove say they have been asked to park away some distance from the homes of their customers for fear of alerting neighbours to the presence of a wood-burning stove.
It follows a campaign against open fires and wood-burning stoves that was started by Brighton and Hove City Council last month.
Bus stop adverts for the Cosy Killer campaign claim wood burning produced a particularly dangerous form of air pollution.
The pollutants – PM2.5s – are said to be worse than all of the UK’s road traffic put together.
However, wood burners are still legal everywhere in this country and some 1.5 million homes across the UK are estimated to have them installed.
Even in those parts of our towns and cities covered by Smoke Control Areas, which includes much of Brighton, as well as almost all of London and most of Birmingham and Manchester, wood may be burned in stoves that satisfy regulations brought in three years ago.
Councillor Tim Rowkins, cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, said: ‘Our campaign is not designed to demonise anyone; I strongly believe most people who burn at home simply aren’t aware of the harm they’re doing, and this campaign is aimed squarely at raising awareness.
‘It is important our residents are fully aware of the health risks associated with wood burning in the home and our campaign is underpinned by robust academic research and public health data from multiple sources.
‘We have also installed a network of real-time air quality monitors throughout the city, providing us with vital additional data and insight.
‘For example, on cold evenings when log burners are most commonly in use, we see significant spikes in residential areas – including near schools and pre-schools – at levels way beyond those deemed safe by the World Health Organisation.
‘We know for some people a wood burner is essential for them to be able to heat their homes – and we are certainly not attempting to unfairly target anyone experiencing fuel poverty with this campaign – but for the majority, it is more of a luxury.
‘It is only right that as a council we raise local awareness of what is an important public health issue.’
Jeez, I wonder how we all survived all those years ago when all we could do was burn wood – coal was a real delight, and I wonder how we have such an elderly population when everything we did back then was so full of danger.
I don’t have a burner, but for some, it’s worth mentioning that it’s their primary source of heating.
Not everyone survived though. Life Expectancy was lower, and in the 1953 Great Smog of London thousands died – that’s why we have the Clean Air Act, but for the small amount of burners that still exist, it’s not too much of a concern.
It’s all nonsense at the end of the day. Due to the fact that certain power plants continue to burn wood, millions of people continue to smoke, and millions more vape, millions of people are not concerned about their lungs. In the end, nobody can predict when we will all die. Good times—I need a drink now!
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 