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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-15/wood-heater-smoke-death-study-prompts-call-for-ban/103321954>
"Researchers are calling for new wood heaters to be banned from urban areas and
existing ones to be phased out after their study showed wood heaters could be
killing up to 63 people a year in the ACT alone.
The study published on Monday in the
Medical Journal of Australia found there
were a similar number of deaths attributed to domestic wood heaters in the ACT
each year as they estimated died prematurely in the territory due to the
extreme smoke from the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.
Wood smoke has previously been estimated to cause 269 premature deaths a year
in the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Area and 65 deaths annually in Tasmania.
While the ACT has already moved to ban the heaters, the study's findings have
prompted its authors to call on environmental regulators and public health
authorities in other states to urgently ban the heaters as well.
In the study, the researchers measured the amount of microscopic particulates,
known as PM 2.5, at three research stations in the capital including
Tuggeranong Valley, Belconnen and central Canberra.
These tiny particles are small enough to enter the bloodstream through the
lungs, and long-term exposure can exacerbate respiratory conditions such as
asthma and it also leads to a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and some
types of cancer.
Their modelling found the higher number of these particulates in the air during
cold years – 2017, 2018 and 2021 – would conservatively likely be responsible
for 17 to 26 premature deaths in the ACT.
The excess number of particulates during milder years — 2016 and 2022 — would
be responsible for 11 to 15 deaths in the capital.
When they used the least conservative approach, these estimates jumped to 43 to
63 deaths a year during colder years and 26 to 36 deaths annually during the
milder years.
They estimated costs of the deaths ranged from $57 million to $333 million."
Via Clarice Boomshakala Bouvier.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
