From January 1, open fireplace fires will be banned in Paris and in several municipalities in Ile-de-France, in order to limit exposure to fine particles.
Everyone dreams of a roaring log fire on these harsh winter days. But Parisians will have to find another way to warm up in 2015. Because from January 1, any open fireplace will be banned in the capital as well as in several municipalities of Ile-de-France.
Effects as harmful as in 20 m2 with 8 smokers
This decision was taken by the Ile-de-France prefecture, as part of the atmospheric protection plan (PPA). It is based on the finding of a study by the Regional and Interdepartmental Directorate for the Environment and Energy (Driee), according to which “wood heating contributes 23% to total emissions of fine particles in Ile-de-France. de-France, that is to say as much as the exhaust of road vehicles ”.
Data contested by Laurent Denormandie, president of France Bois Forêt, who criticizes the decision to ban, taken at the initiative of “elected environmentalists in the region”. According to him, the emission rates of fine particles attributed to the combustion of wood in fireplaces opened by the regional services of the environment and energy (DRIEE) represents “5%” of the emissions of fine particles, when the motor traffic is responsible for 40% ”. But another CNRS study published Monday, November 24, shows that “the air breathed in Paris at the height of a pollution peak, is as harmful as that of a 20 m2 room with 8 smokers and contains up to 6 million fine particles per liter of air. “
Carcinogenic particles
Fine particles are microparticles less than 0.25 micrometers in diameter and are present for a longer or shorter time in the atmosphere. According to Dr Michel Aubier, pulmonologist at Bichat hospital (Paris) and quoted by Le Parisien, “the fumes inhaled in a closed space cause effects comparable to passive smoking”. Children, smokers and people with chronic bronchitis are most at risk. Only fires with closed hearths or in wood stoves will be authorized.
Any violation of this ban will be punishable by a fine of 6,000 euros. But some Parisians and lucky Parisians who have a real fireplace intend to resist. One of them has already declared to the newspaper Le Parisien that “he would not give up lighting a fire in his Hausmanian fireplace”.
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