A recent study conducted in New Zealand indicates a high economic burden associated with health costs due to indoor air pollution. This pollution mostly comes from gas stovetops and wood fires. Research has repeatedly demonstrated the disastrous effects of common household practices on health. They cause unnecessary hospital admissions, premature deaths, and contribute to worsening our childhood asthma epidemic.
Jayne Metcalfe from Emission Impossible underlined the biggest hurdle in figuring out which indoor combustion appliances contribute to air quality impacts. She touched on the nuance of this very complicated issue. According to the calculation of health impacts and costs released with the study, these harmful emissions from cooking with gas alone cause more than 1,000 hospital admissions each year. This type of indoor air pollution is responsible for more than 208 premature deaths each year. It results in over 3,000 new cases of childhood asthma.
Dr. Gareth Gretton is an advisor to the New Zealand government’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. He pointed out the growing recognition of just how important indoor air quality is going to be. He acknowledged the lack of methods to quantify the costs associated with air pollution from gas and wood burning appliances prior to this research.
These estimates show that indoor air pollution from New Zealand’s 523,000 wood burners causes around 446 hospital admissions annually. These admissions mostly include cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Those wood burners are responsible for an estimated 101 premature deaths each year. Yet the pollution from this industry is killing people and harming health. It costs the New Zealand healthcare system and economy more than NZ$53,400 (£23,000) annually.
In dollar terms, each household currently using gas for cooking has an annual health cost of NZ$9,200. Contemporary wood stoves contribute an extra NZ$3,200 (£1,400) to health costs. Open fires further increase this cost up to NZ$26,800 (£11,500) in health costs per household.
As a state with a population of just over 5 million people, the impact of these findings is significant. The research calls for immediate steps to reduce public health threats from indoor air pollution.
Metcalfe advocates for practical solutions: “The health impacts of indoor air pollution are significant. A simple way to reduce these is to replace gas hobs with electric ones whenever possible – and ideally avoid installing new ones altogether. It’s a win – win for both health and the climate.”
In New Zealand, for example, many households heat only one room at a time with wood fires and portable heaters. This practice only exacerbates the issue. Comparatively, air pollution from a typical wood burner generates a yearly health cost of about £800 in the surrounding community in London. In Europe, it’s estimated that families with wood stoves are paying social costs of health. The impact of the increase on each household works out at roughly €760 (£660) for residential heating and cooking alone.
