Evaluation of the effects of PM2.5 due to domestic solid fuel burning on health outcomes in Scotland

Footnotes

1 Public Health England - A report by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) on the long-term effects of particulate air pollution on mortality

2 WHO - Health risks of air pollution in Europe: HRAPIE-2 project: updated guidance on concentration–response functions for health risk assessment of air pollution in the WHO European Region

3 IARC: Outdoor air pollution a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths

4 UKHSA - Air pollution: cognitive decline and dementia

5 UKHSA Chemical Hazards and Poisons Report - Reducing health harms associated with air pollution

6 NAEI UK Informative Inventory Report - Emissions of Air Pollutants in the UK from 1990 - 2024

7 Global nature of airborne particle toxicity and health effects: a focus on megacities, wildfires, dust storms and residential biomass burning

8 Scottish Government - Key household behaviours impacting on outdoor air quality: An evidence review

9 Stove Industry Association - Press release - Woodburning stove sales remain strong

10 Defra report - Burning in UK homes and gardens

11 Air Quality Expert Group - Indoor Air Quality

12 Defra - Evaluation of the Air Quality Regulations (Domestic Solid Fuel Standards) (England) 2020 and monitoring of domestic burning practices in the UK

13 NAEI Methodology Report - Domestic Combustion Model Migration

14 Allan et al. (2025) Emission Factors for Domestic Solid Fuels – Work Package 3 Report, Defra.

15 Defra - Research to understand burning in UK homes and gardens

16 The results of the survey are, as yet, unpublished. These were provided through direct communication between the study and LWBP teams.

17 Scotland's census maps - households - central-heating

18 This result is mirrored in the Ipsos survey, where 73% of indoor burners in Scotland had used a burner, stove or enclosed fireplace in the previous 12 months, 28% had used an indoor open fireplace, but only 2% had used a biomass boiler;

19 NAEI - Air Pollutant Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 2005-2023

20 Report for Defra - Emission factors for domestic solid fuels

21 Action for clean air - Final report - Health impacts from domestic burning in the uk

22 The CRFs applied capture a mix of effects associated with both long-term (defined in terms of annual average concentrations) or short-term (defined in terms of 24-hour or daily average concentrations) exposure. For the purposes of the calculation, both are combined with the modelled population-weighted mean concentrations (in line with IGCB guidance), implicitly assuming that the annual average is representative of the daily mean. Further detail is provided in Appendix 3.

23 Calculated from modelled total solid fuels and hence does not always match the sum of individual fuels due to non-linear impacts.

24 UKCEH (2025) suggested that concentrations may be overestimated in Edinburgh, but not in Glasgow, although a common spatial disaggregation formula is used for both.

25 Health risks of air pollution in Europe: HRAPIE-2 project:

26 This divides regions in to Large Urban (Settlements of over 125,000 people), Other Urban (Settlements of 10,000 to 125,000 people), Accessible Small Towns (Settlements of between 3,000 and 10,000 people and within a 30 minute drive time of a Settlement of 10,000 or more), Remote Small Towns (Settlements of between 3,000 and 10,000 people and with a drive time of over 30 minutes to a Settlement of 10,000 or more), Accessible Rural (Areas with a population of less than 3,000 people and within a 30 minute drive time of a Settlement of 10,000 or more) and Remote Rural (Areas with a population of less than 3 000 people and with a drive time of over 30 minutes to a Settlement of 10,000 or more).

27 Version 2 of the 2020 SIMD was used as this is the most up to date version.

28 Scottish Government - Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 - Towards a Better Place for Everyone

29 The Guardian - No prosecutions made after 15,195 wood-burning complaints in a year in England

30 Report for Defra - Emission factors for domestic solid fuels

31 Report for Defra - Emission factors for domestic solid fuels

32 UK Government - Consultation outcome The future homes and buildings standards: 2023 consultation

33 European Commission - Air pollution from key sectors - Main report, measures toolkit and measures database

34 European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment, Logika Group, TNO and INERIS, Increasing policy coherence between bioenergy and clean air policies and measures – Final project report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024

35 Scottish Government - Impacts of the sale of house coal and the most polluting manufactured solid fuels: report

36 Defra - Impact Assessment - burning wood consultation

37 Scotland's census maps - households - central-heating

38 For example, a report from Nesta found that a higher proportion of households with heat pumps for primary heating also had wood stoves than households with gas boilers for primary heating

39 Ingledew et al. (2023) UK Informative Inventory Report (1990 to 2021)

40 Elliott et al. (2025) UK Informative Inventory Report (1990 to 2023)

41 NAEI emission factors database, available via Emissions Factors Data Selector

42 EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook 2019,Part B: sectoral guidance chapters, section 1.A.4 Small combustion

43 UKHSA Air pollutants: quantification of associated health effects

44 UKHSA Air pollutants: quantification of associated health effects

45 UKHSA Air pollutants: quantification of associated health effects

46 UKHSA Air pollutants: quantification of associated health effects

47 Environ Health Perspect. - Lung Cancer and Exposure to Nitrogen Dioxide and Traffic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

48 Environ Int. - Exposure to traffic-related air pollution and risk of development of childhood asthma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

49 Environ Health Perspect. - Association between ambient air pollution and diabetes mellitus in Europe and North America: systematic review and meta-analysis

50 World Health Organization - Health risks of air pollution in Europe: HRAPIE-2 project

51 UKHSA Chemicals Hazards and Poisons Report - Reducing health harms associated with air pollution

52 Defra - UK Air - Modelled background pollution data

53 This divides regions in to Large Urban (Settlements of over 125 000 people), Other Urban (Settlements of 10 000 to 125 000 people), Accessible Small Towns (Settlements of between 3 000 and 10 000 people and within a 30 minute drive time of a Settlement of 10 000 or more), Remote Small Towns (Settlements of between 3 000 and 10 000 people and with a drive time of over 30 minutes to a Settlement of 10 000 or more), Accessible Rural (Areas with a population of less than 3 000 people and within a 30 minute drive time of a Settlement of 10 000 or more) and Remote Rural (Areas with a population of less than 3 000 people and with a drive time of over 30 minutes to a Settlement of 10 000 or more)