Those who reckon we have more domestic wood heater smoke than forestry smoke in Tasmania please read on.
The forest smoke figures for fuel reduction, regeneration, agriculture and bushfires in 2008 were underestimated in the National Pollution Inventory by a staggering 330 to 460 times.
Although the figures in the NPI claimed to be for ALL forest burns, it seems that our smoky, heavy fuel-load, regeneration burns were not included in the figures.
As we pay for this in more ways than one, we can only wonder if this was a genuine mistake, and what other mistakes have been made over the years.
Instead of woodheaters in 2008 being blamed for contributing about 14 times more particulates than forest burning (a ridiculous figure), this has now been revised by the EPA to read that forest planned burns contributed approximately 24 times the amount of PM10 particles into the airshed than domestic wood heaters.
It is great to see the revised figures while we sit here choking, but as the EPA points out the wrong figures have been used in good faith by a number of agencies and organizations in the past and are still on public record.
Forestry burning must cease. It contributes by far the most toxic particles into our airsheds, and take it from me, into our lungs and bloodstream.
You can read the EPA report: HERE
And there is a slightly different version: HERE, which is also the source of the picture
