Residential Wood Combustion in Finland: PM 2.5 Emissions and Health Impacts with and without Abatement Measures

Mikko Savolahti, Heli Lehtomäki, Niko Karvosenoja, Ville-Veikko Paunu, Antti Korhonen, Jaakko Kukkonen, Kaarle Kupiainen, Leena Kangas, Ari Karppinen and Otto Hänninen
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Mikko Savolahti: Finnish Environmental Institute (SYKE), Latokartanonkaari 11, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
Heli Lehtomäki: National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), 70701 Kuopio, Finland
Niko Karvosenoja: Finnish Environmental Institute (SYKE), Latokartanonkaari 11, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
Ville-Veikko Paunu: Finnish Environmental Institute (SYKE), Latokartanonkaari 11, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
Antti Korhonen: National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), 70701 Kuopio, Finland
Jaakko Kukkonen: Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), 00560 Helsinki, Finland
Kaarle Kupiainen: Finnish Environmental Institute (SYKE), Latokartanonkaari 11, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
Leena Kangas: Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), 00560 Helsinki, Finland
Ari Karppinen: Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), 00560 Helsinki, Finland
Otto Hänninen: National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), 70701 Kuopio, Finland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-14

Abstract: Exposure to fine particles in ambient air has been estimated to be one of the leading environmental health risks in Finland. Residential wood combustion is the largest domestic source of fine particles, and there is increasing political interest in finding feasible measures to reduce those emissions. In this paper, we present the PM 2.5 emissions from residential wood combustion in Finland, as well as the resulting concentrations. We used population-weighed concentrations in a 250 × 250 m grid as population exposure estimates, with which we calculated the disease burden of the emissions. Compared to a projected baseline scenario, we studied the effect of chosen reduction measures in several abatement scenarios. In 2015, the resulting annual average concentrations were between 0.5 and 2 µg/m 3 in the proximity of most cities, and disease burden attributable to residential wood combustion was estimated to be 3400 disability-adjusted life years (DALY) and 200 deaths. Disease burden decreased by 8% in the 2030 baseline scenario and by an additional 63% in the maximum feasible reduction scenario. Informational campaigns and improvement of the sauna stove stock were assessed to be the most feasible abatement measures to be implemented in national air quality policies.

Keywords: residential wood combustion; population exposure; disease burden; mortality; morbidity; particulate matter; fine particle concentrations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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