THE Executive has been urged follow the Republic and take action on polluting domestic solid fuels.
New standards for domestic solid fuels will be introduced across the south by next September, with the most polluting solid fuels to be no longer be available.
Yesterday minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan announced the regulations, which are still being being finalised, advising solid fuel suppliers to plan accordingly and continue to invest in less polluting alternatives.
This time next year the entire state will be a low-smoke zone - currently only 42 towns and cities do not sell smoky coal.
All coal and related products, including manufactured solid fuel and peat briquettes, will be required to emit less than 10g of smoke per hour when burned (five grams by 2025) with sulphur content also halved over time.
Wood sold for heating will have to have a moisture content of 25 per cent or less reducing to 20 per cent within four years and wet wood will have instructions to the buyer on how to dry it.
British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland (BHF NI) urged the Executive to follow.
Fearghal McKinney of BHF NI said "air pollution does not respect borders" and is "a common problem that requires both governments on the island to work together for the greatest impact so that all people who live on the island can benefit from improved air quality".
The charity funded medical research showing high levels of air pollution can have a harmful effect on health, increasing the risk of a potentially fatal heart attack or stroke.
It revealed particulate matter (PM) - tiny particles not visible to the naked eye - can remain in the bloodstream for at least three months, worsening the build-up of fatty materials inside the arteries, increasing blood clotting and potentially affecting heart function.
There is more household burning of solid fuel in urban areas of Northern Ireland compared with those in the rest of the UK, where domestic coal and wood-burning accounts for almost 40 per cent of background levels of PM2.5.
Most households in the north still rely on oil as their sole source of central heating.
Mr McKinney said its analysis "suggests that if we don't take action now, heart and circulatory disease deaths related to air pollution on the island of Ireland could total 12,000 by 2030".
BHF NI wants the first Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to include a commitment to a ban on smoky coal and wet wood.”
The charity and the Irish Heart Foundation have recently received a grant from the new All-Island Community Fund, which is designed to strengthen the voice of civil society across the island.
