Peat as Fuel - The Co-Use of environmental Scenarios and Exposure-Response functions as a Simple Key for Health Impact Assessment

Abstract

P-710 Abstract: Different fuels produce more or less exhaust gases per produced power unit. As peat will be used more broadly for district heating in Tartu (Estonia), potential health effects need to be identified for a proper management. In transition from today's gas heating to burning of peat, the emissions of exhaust gases will increase and more than 100 000 people will be exposed to greater health risks. In order to assess the health effects related to the use of peat samples were taken from our peat extraction fields and compared to peat used in other countries. It appeared that the content of trace elements in potential fuel peat was lower than average. Based on data, the emissions of PM10, SO2, NOx, CO were calculated and their dispersion in Tartu town was modelled using the software AEROPOL. Also the existing monitoring data from ECRHS II project and Tartu city government air monitoring were used. The modelled levels of air pollutants such as PM10, SO2 were generally lower than Estonian official AQ limits for outdoor air and lower than the levels measured in most large cities in Europe. The WHO developed AirQ 2.2.3. software was used for assessing the health impact. It appeared that the estimated number of potential life years lost attributed to PM10 emissions from peat burning is less than 50 per year in the population of Tartu (about 100,000 citizens). This is more than 20 times less than induced from other air pollution sources. But epidemiological studies have revealed that health effects also occur in concentrations lower than official limits of pollutants in outdoor air. Nevertheless, this study showed that exhaust gas emissions in case of intensified heating with peat in Tartu would be a small source when compared to air pollution from traffic and small fireplaces. District heating should be preferred because of the lower emissions per fuel unit and a better dispersion than with individual house heating. However, this study also showed that the concentrations of pollutants pose potential risks to human health and therefore extensive monitoring should be undertaken. Moreover, more broad awareness building based on scientific knowledge on pollutants’ concentrations and potential health effects would benefit the population, as they would be more inclined to change their behaviour towards a more environmentally friendly way of living.