Air pollution: Solid fuel fires and traffic emissions impacting Ireland's push to clean up air, says EPA

"Air pollution is not just a city phenomenon, there are negative impacts in towns and villages right across the country"

Rural turf, coal and wood fires, as well as city traffic, are impacting Ireland's push to clean up our air and protect people's health, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says there are no safe levels of air pollution like particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (N0₂), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and ozone (O₃). These toxins come from burning turf, coal and wood in homes fires as well exhaust fumes from vehicles.

They are all harmful to human health as they exacerbate lung conditions and can cause stroke, cancer, heart disease, miscarriages, low sperm count and even impact the development of children's brains.

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While Ireland met EU air quality standards in 2023, the environmental watchdog says we are not on track to hit targets set out to meet more stringent World Health Organisation guidelines for the amount of harmful pollutants in the air. The EPA has increased the number of air quality monitoring stations across the country from 29 in 2017 to 115, allowing for hourly updates and more in-depth analysis of the issue.

Dr Micheál Lehane, director of the EPA’s Office of Radiation Protection & Environmental Monitoring, says this "world class air quality monitoring network" is now "showing us that air pollution is not just a city phenomenon, there are negative impacts in towns and villages right across the country".

"If we want to achieve our ambition of Clean Air for everyone, everywhere, all year round, then we need to address the emissions from residential heating and invest in transport systems right across the country," he said.

A major expert assessment commissioned by the Irish Heart Foundation and British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland, published in 2023, found 2,600 excess deaths can be attributed to dirty air across the island of Ireland each year.

Ireland's Clean Air Strategy committed to achieving the WHO guidelines by 2040, with interim targets for 2026 and 2030. Despite comparing favourably with many of our European neighbours, Ireland’s 2023 monitoring results would exceed the soon-approaching 2026 targets.

In 2023, air monitoring results from EPA stations across Ireland show that fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), mainly from burning solid fuel in our homes, and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), chiefly from road traffic, continue to be the main threats to good air quality.

High levels of these pollutants are often associated with cold, still weather from late autumn through to early spring, when generally incidents of poor air quality of one to two days' duration occur. The report identifies that using less solid fuel and cleaner fuels to heat our homes, making our homes more energy efficient and reducing our use of cars to go to school, work and play, are actions that will contribute towards achieving our Clean Air targets.

While the Irish government banned the sale of turf, smoky coal and wet wood in October 2022 in a bid to reduce air pollution and improve public health, the EPA says authorities need to better target air enforcement activities, ensure compliance with the solid fuel regulations and help people make cleaner and healthier air quality choices.

The report urges councils and authorities to further:

• Target air enforcement activities, including to ensure compliance with the solid fuel regulations
• Invest in public transport infrastructure
• Promote active travel – install and maintain safe footpaths and cycle lanes to continue to increase active travel as a viable and safe alternative to car use and associated nitrogen dioxide emissions

Roni Hawe, EPA Programme Manager, said: "Progress on residential retrofit programmes will help to reduce fine particulate matter pollution but vigilance is also needed to ensure that only compliant solid fuel, such as low smoke coal and dried wood, is being sold to householders.

"In 2022 Ireland introduced new laws to reduce the pollutant potential of solid fuels. We need to see a strong inspection campaign by local authorities this winter to make sure all retailers only stock and sell approved solid fuel."

To find out more about how we can improve air quality, read the EPA's How we can improve the air we breathe infographic or check out the Government of Ireland Let’s Clear the Air campaign, which highlights some simple steps we can all make and help reduce pollution from solid fuels.

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