Increased use of wood-fired heating systems - air quality pollution

In recent years, there has been an increasing trend towards small combustion plants, especially with wood as fuel. This was partly welcomed from a climate protection point of view, although it was accompanied by a burden on air quality. The effect of soot as a short-lived climate-impacting pollutant may not have been sufficiently taken into account. Last year's situation (gas shortages, inflation) further reinforced the observed trend. Both the increase in the number of plants themselves, as well as the more intensive operation and use of non-approved fuels, can lead to increased air pollution.

However, the health burden can only be adequately mapped by monitoring the legally regulated pollutants. Against this background, investigations are to be carried out within the framework of this project at a temporarily installed measuring station in a location with a high density of wood-burning plants that go beyond the classic portfolio or the intensity of the air monitoring network.