Woodsmoke health risk

Mr John Westmacott, managing director of Land Energy in making cost comparisons with other fuels as well as wood pellets, should have also stated the overall costs of installing/converting to a wood burning boiler and its associated equipment, including a chimney flue, storage facilities and hopper for an average domestic dwelling at between £5,000 and £8,000. This puts into proper perspective the installation costs of burning this type of fuel.

The meeting to decide this planning application is on June 3 when the planning committee will decide the future of this part of Wombleton airfield. Their main considerations will be dealt with under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which encompasses the Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas act 1990.

Although the proposed factory manufacturing plant is not within Wombleton's Conservation area, it is only a short distance away (approx 600 metres) it should be considered as material in this case and should not be determined by three businessmen placing advertisements in the local press. Land Energy Ltd intend to install a wood burning boiler on the proposed factory site for the production of electricity and also in the manufacturing process.

Their written statement to the planning authority indicates that they intend to burn 12,000 tonnes of forest brashing per annum to achieve this, which will produce 120 tonnes of wood ash residue which will be transported to a tip at Rufforth, York. A chimney 11. 8 metres high (nearly 40 feet) will vent the woodsmoke produced and in my opinion cause significant public health problems, certainly for Wombleton's community and the other surrounding villages. Wombleton is geographically situated north of the airfield with the prevailing wind direction being south/south westerly therefore blowing the products of combustion directly over the village.

Woodsmoke is a natural product but it is by no means benign, indeed there is a growing body of epidemiological and toxic evidence that proves the adverse impact woodsmoke has on general health. The pollutants in woodsmoke causing health problems are:

1. Particulate matter,this is the term for solid or liquid particles found in the air. They can be very small and have the ability to penetrate deep into the lungs causing respiritory and heart related problems.
2. Carbon Monoxide. This is a colourless, odourless gas that is poisonous at high levels interfering with the delivery of oxegen in the blood around the body.
3. Volatile Organic Compounds, they usually have no colour, taste or smell causing direct health effects and contributing to the formation of smog.
4. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, these compounds are a particular health concern because of their potential to cause cancer. The people most at risk are smokers or any person suffering from allergies, asthma, bronchitis or any other heart or lung related conditions. There is also a phenomenon known as "Blue Haze". This is caused by an atmospheric condition that can occur when a cool layer of air is trapped beneath a warm layer of air and is unable to rise, this ceiling leads to a build up of polluted air close to the ground preventing vertical mixing and dispersion of smoke and other previously mentioned air pollutants this situation is usually accompanied by little or no wind. It is particulary dangerous to health as the smoke from the air outside can seep into buildings including homes affecting indoor air quality.

All the foregoing information was obtained from a presentation made in 2004 by the Canandian Minister for Health in a report entitled IT'S YOUR HEALTH Land Energy have invited people to write to Ryedale District Council to voice their support for the conversion of the former potato store into a manufacturing plant for the production of wood pellets. I hope that this article better informs people regarding the implications of this planning application so that any proposed correspondence with Ryedale District Council is properly balanced.

PAT LANE, Wombleton