WOOD HEATERS
Wood heater smoke is like any other smoke...it is toxic and it is harmful.
However, it is nowhere near the biggest source of particulate pollution
in Tasmania.
You only have to look at the figures produced by the EPA in 2009 using 2008 figures to see
that deliberate forestry burning emitted many times more particulates to our airsheds than
all other sources of outdoor air pollution put together.
Read how the Pollution
figures were officially 'underestimated' and see the pie chart below. The words
'Regeneration Burns' is a misnomer; these are the forestry burns we are talking about, the
grey ones that take up most of the chart.
It has been easy for the forestry industries to blame wood heaters in the past for smoking
communities out. However, the number of wood heaters installed has diminished
significantly as a result of, for example, the heater buy-back program, but smoke levels
are still unacceptable across Tasmania for many months of the year whilst planned burns
are taking place. In 2008 7.2 million tonnes of green, wet wood was burnt by
forestry.
Even so, there are ways emissions can be reduced from wood heaters:
Heaters should meet the latest design standards.
Dry, well seasoned wood should be used.
can be used to reduce
emissions. See the awards this device has won.
It is important for people to be warm and for their houses to be mould free -
especially asthmatics.
Wood heaters, if used properly, play their part in achieving this when other forms of
heating are out of the question.
In Tasmania we need home heating for about 6 months of the year. We certainly do not need
forestry smoke for 6 months of the year!
Wood heater smoke should not be at the top of the list when particle pollution, or
smoke, is mentioned in Tasmania (as is the case on the EPA's educational website).
Forestry smoke should automatically be thought of as the major contributor....because it
is.