Reducing wood-smoke through standard test methods: lessons from Australia

Particulate air pollution from biomass fuelled cookstoves in developing countries is causing serious health problems. In Australia, efforts at reducing particle emissions from wood fuelled heating appliances have proved successful, largely as a result of adoption of a standard method for measuring particle emissions. By quantifying emissions, manufactures have been able to design and build cleaner appliances, regulators have been able to restrict sales of poorly performing heaters, and consumers have reliable information for selecting clean burning models. The better heaters produce only one tenth the smoke of typical heaters seven years ago. This paper argues that development of an internationally accepted method for measuring smoke emissions from cookstoves could lead to large improvements in air quality and health in developing countries.