Wood burning is reintroducing lead pollution into the air, US scientists find [View all]

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Last edited Sat May 16, 2026, 07:20 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/15/wood-burning-for-heat-reintroducing-lead-pollution-into-the-air-us-scientists-find

Study of samples from seven winters suggests neurotoxic metal coming from wood itself rather than old paint

Gary Fuller
Fri 15 May 2026 01.00 EDT

Wood heating is reintroducing lead into the air of local communities and homes, a systematic investigation by academics has found.

Overwhelming evidence of lead’s neurotoxicity meant the metal was banned as an additive in petrol more than 25 years ago. The research by academics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst began by analysing samples of particle pollution from five suburban and rural towns in the north-east US. They looked for tiny particles of potassium that are given off when wood is burned and also particles containing lead.

Samples from seven winters revealed associations between potassium and lead. When there were more wood burning particles in a daily sample, there was more lead in the air, with clear straight-line relationships in four of the five towns.

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The project was extended to 22 other towns across the US. The relationships between lead and potassium varied from place to place, being strongest in the Rocky Mountains. By factoring in the effects of temperature, moderate to strong associations in their analysis strengthened the conclusion that the extra lead came from wood burning.

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Henegan, P., Bartlett, A., Traviss, N. & Peltier, R. E. Back to the future: trace lead in ambient air from wood fuel combustion. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 1–9 (2026) doi:10.1038/s41370-026-00874-7.