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Increases in wood burners in homes and the use of biomass in industry have offset drops in pollution from cars and electricity generation, official figures show.
Statistics reveal that pollutants known as particulate matter (PM) fell significantly since the 1970s but emissions have been relatively steady in recent years.
PMs are small particles made up of a variety of materials, some of which can be toxic, and some of which can enter the bloodstream and be transported round the body with serious impact on health.
The data released by the Environment Department (Defra) show that levels of the bigger particles, known as PM10, increased by 1 per cent between 2021 and 2022, though they have fallen 82 per cent since 1970.
Smaller particles, known as PM2.5 decreased by 2 per cent between 2021 and 2022, and have fallen 88 per cent since 1970.
Burning fuels in homes, largely wood burned in wood burners and open fires, contributed 29 per cent of total PM2.5 emissions in 2022, and 15 per cent of PM10 emissions.
Emissions of particulate matter from burning wood in homes have increased by 56 per cent in the decade to 2022, the data shows.
Road transport also continues to be a major source of particulate pollution, responsible for 18 per cent of PM2.5 emissions and 16 per cent of PM10 emissions in 2022.
Exhaust emissions have decreased by over 90 per cent since 1996 due to stricter vehicle standards, but particles given off from brakes, tyres and road wear have increased by 15 per cent for PM2.5 and 14 per cent for PM10.
That is because the overall number of miles travelled by vehicles each year in the UK has increased since the 1990s.
Emissions from industrial combustion – burning fuels to generate energy for industrial use – and processes such as producing steel are also major sources of particulate matter.
Overall, the statistical release said the long term decrease in particulate matter was largely driven by reduction in the burning of coal and improved emissions standards for transport and industrial processes.
But since the late 2000s the rate of falls in the pollutants has reduced.
Considerable decreases in emissions from some sources, such as road transport and the energy sector, have been “largely offset” by an increase in wood burning in homes and using biomass fuels in industry, it said.
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