New ordinance on small firing installations to ensure improved air quality | Umweltbundesamt

According to a recent study carried out on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the new environmental requirements for wood-fired heaters, woodstoves, and other small firing installations using solid fuels will make considerable improvements in particulate emissions. The results of the study done by the University of Stuttgart Institute of Process Engineering and Power Plant Technology (IVD) and Ingenieurbüro Lohmeyer of Karlsruhe claim that pollution levels in affected residential areas will drop by five to ten percent as a result of the amended 1st Ordinance for the Implementation of the Federal Immission Control Act (1. BImSchV) alone.  Since actual pollution from small firing installations depends quite heavily on local circumstances, UBA commissioned the development of the ‘BIOMIS’ PC application with which city planners can carry out independent estimates for individual residential areas. The application is now available for download from the UBA website. “The particulate emissions so harmful to health must be reduced by a bundle of measures. The new requirements for woodstoves and wood-fired heating systems will do their bit as will the green zones introduced in many cities“, explained UBA President Jochen Flasbarth.