Residential wood combustion, cancer risk frequency and costs in Sweden : A review of instruments using the MCA methodology

Sammanfattning: Air pollution cause approximately 5000 premature deaths in Sweden each year. Residential wood combustion of solid biomass (RWC) is responsible for at least 1000 based on a relative risk coefficient of 17 % per 10 μg/m3 exposure. The carcinogenic properties of RWC emissions is linked to their content of particulates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s). The ambition of this study is to answer whether cancer risk may be used as indicator for out dated heating technology with high emissions of carcinogenic air pollutants, and which socioeconomic costs that can be linked to such a scenario. The efficacy of different instruments that are discussed in Swedish environmental policy is also discussed. A transdisciplinary approach, constituting of a literature review, statistical analysis, gap analysis and multi criteria analysis was applied as study design. A literature review resulted in a mapping of the state of the art concerning RWC particulates and their impact on cancer in Sweden together with its related socioeconomic costs. The study is focused on PM2,5 and B(a)P emissions. A statistical analysis examined the potential relationship between short-lived micro nuclei (MN) in Swedish 12-year old school children, and their exposure to the carcinogenic PAH Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) from RWC in Sweden. The results suggest that higher rates of lung cancer incidence, and socioeconomic costs may be found in areas burdened with high rates of RWC emissions from outdated heating technology. The MCA suggest that a combination of instruments is most suitable to achieve the targeted specification for B(a)P in the Clean Air objective, as found in previous CBA’s, and that other instrument may lack efficacy.