Doctors issue wood burner warning amid concerns over children's health
Wood burners in urban family homes should be phased out to protect children’s health, leading paediatricians have said. A new position statement from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) calls for tougher Government action to curb air pollution.
One key new recommendation is to “phase out domestic wood-burning in urban areas, assist rural residents to transition away from wood as a primary heating source, and support those in fuel poverty with fuel cost assistance.” Other measures to protect children include monitoring air quality around schools and giving councils new powers to act when pollution exceeds safe limits. READ MORE: 'I went on a night out - now I'm being threatened with debt collectors' The RCPCH said it also wants to see Ella’s law brought in, and for the Government to commit to World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines.
Ella’s law is named after Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi Debrah, who died in 2013 aged nine as a result of asthma, contributed to by exposure to excessive air pollution in London.
She was the first person in England to have air pollution named as a cause of death by a coroner. The RCPCH also wants to see Awaab’s law implemented and expanded, to protect private renters from dangerous living conditions, such as those with damp and mould.
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