Calls grow to ban and remove wood heaters from Tassie homes

Wood heaters should be banned from new build homes and removed when houses change hands according to new calls from an Asthma advocacy group. READ THEIR CONCERNS >>

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WOOD heaters should be banned from new build homes and removed when houses change hands in a move Asthma Australia says would save almost 70 Tasmanian lives per decade.

The level of wood fire smoke in Tasmania’s urban areas is an issue every winter and researchers say it is time for change.

Research from the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research found that over 10 years, biomass smoke was linked to an estimated 69 deaths, 86 hospital admissions, and 15 asthma Emergency Department visits in Tasmania.

Almost three-quarters of those cases could be attributed to wood heater smoke, the study found.

Wood fire heater smoke is the largest source of winter air pollution in areas including Sydney,

Canberra and Tasmania. In this state, 13 per cent of residents say they use a wood fire heater as their main source of heating.

The researchers calculated that wood smoke exposure in Tasmania resulted in $309m in

health costs each year, and that wood fire heater smoke was responsible for nearly 95 per cent of costs.

Asthma Australia says wood heaters should be banned from new homes and removed from existing ones. AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTO Pic. Afp

“People with asthma around Australia tell us smoke from wood heaters is a major trigger for their symptoms during the colder months,” Asthma Australia chief executive Michelle Goldman said.

“This research shows just how serious the impact of smoke exposure is and it should compel governments to introduce measures that reduce the harm from wood fire heaters.”

“While home heating can be vital during the colder months, it shouldn’t cause health problems for neighbours.

“With healthier heating alternatives available, Asthma Australia wants to see wood fire heaters phased out. We know it is expensive to switch to efficient, reverse cycle airconditioning, and this is where governments need to step in.”

Ms Goldman said its helpline was inundated each winter with complaints from people with asthma and other lung conditions.

The Asthma Australia said a survey of 25,000 people, completed in November last year, found most people, particularly those with asthma, supported leaving wood fire heaters behind for better, healthier alternatives.

Three-quarters of the general population surveyed agreed that wood fire heaters should not be allowed in urban or built-up areas and over half agrees they should be phased out or banned completely.

Support for regulation was even higher among people with asthma with 84 per cent supporting regulation of wood fire heaters in urban built-up areas and 65 per cent wanting to see them banned.

The Menzies Institute research was led by PhD student Nicolas Borchers-Arriagada and supervised by Associate Professor Fay Johnston.

“Biomass smoke pollution is a growing public health issue, but the impacts can be reduced through improved and innovative fire management and encouraging the use of more modern and efficient heating solutions over wood heating devices that can be highly polluting, especially when not operated optimally,” Mr Borchers-Arriagada said.

Associate Professor Johnston said winter air pollution not only made asthma worse it also contributed to the development of heart and lung diseases.

“It is important that people can have reliable and affordable heating that is safe for the wider community,” Associate Professor Johnston said.

Associate Professor Fay Johnston who is a health expert on the effects of outdoor smoke on people. In relation to wood heater usage in Winter. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“There are lots of ways to achieve this including better regulation and standards for wood heaters, and incentives for homeowners to change to heating options that don’t cause so much pollution. Fewer heaters will mean cleaner air,” Associate Professor Johnston said.

“Current wood heater emissions testing protocols in Australia don’t represent real world operating conditions.

“Its still quite possible to create a lot of pollution from heaters that meet the latest standards.”

Asthma Australia has made six recommendations in its policy statement to the Federal Government.

That installation of wood fire heaters in new homes be prohibited. that the heaters be removed when a home is sold, that state, territory and local governments introduce financial support programs to remove wood fire heaters and replace them with low emission alternatives.

It also wants governments to implement localised air quality monitoring in areas with high wood fire heater usage, including the use of low-cost monitors and for councils to enforce environmental regulations by investigating complaints of excessive wood fire heater smoke and issuing infringement notices when needed.

More public education is also needed, Asthma Australia said.

A winter nightmare for asthmatic

DANIEL Cope has suffered from asthma since childhood and dreads the winter because his health condition is triggered by wood fires when the weather gets colder.

“I suffer really badly in winter when there is a lot of wood smoke around,’ he said. “I am already wheezing hard at night.”

Mr Cope, of Burnie, said he loved the ambience and warmth derived from a wood heater but not the health complications.

Burnie asthma sufferer Daniel Cope

“My condition has eased since I moved in here with a heat pump,’ he said.

“When I lived in Launceston, with its valley smoke layer, my condition was chronic. Now I can feel my asthma worsening when I even drive into that city in winter,” he said.

“I would support a phase out of wood heaters. Pellet heaters for instance give the same warmth as a wood heater without the emissions.

“It will take effort and the support of government but phasing out wood smoke could only be a good thing for people like me and the environment.”