Pollutionwatch: wood and peat burning brings return of air pollution to Dublin

A rise in the number of homes burning 'green' fuel in Dublin has had a big effect on air pollutionLondon's air pollution history - the Victorian pea-souper fogs, the deaths of 12,000 people in the 1952 smog and the Clean Air Acts that followed - are well known. Dublin, just 285 miles (460km) away, has a different history. Here it was smog in the 1980s that prompted a ban on the sale of bituminous, or "smoky" coal in 1990. Smoke pollution dropped by 70% and there were 17% fewer deaths from breathing problems. The ban was rolled out to other Irish towns and many of these also recorded a reduction in winter deaths. Related: Pollutionwatch: wood burning is not climate friendly Continue reading...