One of the factors in choosing a school for our children was considering it's location in relation to the traffic, but what we hadn't factored in was how much wood smoke would be an issue. We are in a densely populated urban area. Wood burners are fashionable and are two a penny in this area. The children at the local primary school are playing outside in Autumn & Winter (and colder Spring days) breathing all this in, as people are using them during the day, not just evenings and weekends. I think as more people are working from home, this has become a bigger issue.
One of my children struggles every winter with chest issues and I am convinced that the wood smoke plays a large part in triggering this. I am still amazed at how many people aren't aware of just how polluting wood smoke is and don't realise how their heating choices (it is a choice for people in this area) affect their neighbours. We can and do choose not to burn wood, but we still end up breathing in wood smoke from all the houses around us. I get incredibly upset about the lack of control we have and the lack of regulation and monitoring of air quality. I want to be able to protect my children from this harm and I feel quite helpless that I can't.
Julie, Sheffield*
*name has been changed