Senate Committee: Comments on Woodsmoke
6.40: "The committee was disturbed by
the disproportionate contribution made by wood smoke to urban air pollution,
given the relatively small number of households using it as a heating source."
6.12 “the additional health costs attributable to
the impact of wood smoke by 2030 could be up to $8 billion in NSW alone.”
6.13: "In Sydney, improving wood heater pollution
standards to 1g/kg would represent 1% of the cost of meeting the air quality
targets of the NEPM, while representing 66%of the necessary abatement in PM10
levels." p58)
Senate Committee: Recommendations
6.43 The committee recommends that Australian Governments immediately adopt minimum efficiency and maximum emission standards for
all newly installed wood heaters in Australia.
6.44 The committee recommends that local councils
continue to manage the use of wood heaters in their own jurisdictions through
the use of bans, buy-backs, minimum efficiency standards, and other mechanisms
as appropriate to protect the health of their local communities.
Comments: immediate implementation of 1 g/kg was said to be cost-effective and achieve 66% of air quality ‘targets’
for 1% of the cost. Unfortunately, the current wood heater test does not measure real-life emissions, so a better option is to replace wood-heaters with affordable, non-polluting heating such as an efficient 7-star heater-air-conditioner that can deliver 6 times as much heat to the home as it uses in electricity, and 5 times as much when the outside temperature is 5 degrees below freezing.
There is no safe level of PM2.5 pollution - most
health damage occurs when PM2.5 measurements are below the ‘target’. A 1 gkg heater has estimated health costs of over
$5,000 per year in Sydney
(Table 1, below right). The most important strategies are therefore to develop of new tests to measure real-life emissions, and discourage wood heater use until new health-based standards based on the new tests are available. Wood heater PM2.5
emissions are disproportionate and excessive because local councils have neither the
expertise nor resources to manage this major source of pollution.
/Wood heating industry's peak industry body, the AHHA, told untruths. The AHHA's claims that the failure to strengthen national woodheater standards was because of a "Standards Australia reshuffle" were found to be untrue. The Inquiry confirmed (para 6.35, p 63) that the failure "was
the result of a failure of the technical committee to reach consensus
within the meaning of Standards Australia's rules, which according to
the minutes supplied to the committee was a result of opposition from industry representatives." This in not the only time the AHHA has used misleading or questionable tactics to promote their product. This pdf file summarizes 16 of their misleading and questionable tactics. Important
Issues from the Senate Committee Report
1)
Immediate introduction of National Woodheater standards should mean what it
says:
6.43 The committee recommends that Australian Governments immediately adopt minimum efficiency and maximum emission standards for
all newly installed wood heaters in Australia.
6.13: "In Sydney, improving wood heater pollution
standards to 1g/kg would represent 1% of the cost of meeting the air quality
targets of the NEPM, while representing 66%of the necessary abatement in PM10
levels."
p58
Given the obvious benefits of limiting emissions to 1
g/kg, this limit should be introduced nationally before 2014. In addition, because heaters rated 1 g/kg are
estimated to have real-life emissions of 6.4 g/kg, there should be an immediate
a cost-benefit analysis comparing the costs of woodsmoke pollution from a new
heater compared with the benefits of using that heater. Wood heater use should not be permitted in
areas where pollution costs exceed the benefits of using wood heaters.
2) Pollution measurements need to be available for all highly polluted areas
Many areas with
high woodsmoke, e.g. Armidale, NSW rely on measurements funded by the local
council, which lacks the necessary expertise to make them available to the public, let alone in real
time over the web. Funding and expertise
should be made available to ensure that pollution is measured in all areas
where national air quality standards are likely to be exceeded, and that all
past and current results are made available on the web for comparison with
measurements elsewhere.
3) Funding needed to develop and implement
a National Woodheater standard based on real-life emissions
A “standard” that does not reflect real-life
emissions is of very little use in protecting our health. It is dangerous to
give people a false sense of security by suggesting that a product that
produces harmful emissions is safe.
Under the precautionary principle, such products would not be
allowed. Immediate research is therefore
required to
4) Funding needed develop & implement
a National Woodsmoke Reduction program, including responding to complaints from
people whose health is affected by woodsmoke
6.44 The committee recommends that local councils
continue to manage the use of wood heaters in their own jurisdictions through the
use of bans, buy-backs, minimum efficiency standards, and other mechanisms as
appropriate to protect the health of their local communities.
Current pollution
measurements demonstrate that local councils have neither the funds nor the
expertise to manage air pollution and that national or state-wide programs
would be much more effective. For
example, despite continued attempts to reduce air pollution since 1999, PM2.5
measurements in Armidale, NSW are now worse than in 1999. Emissions from one part of Sydney disperse and affect the air quality of
the entire city.

A national program would be able to manage resources
for education on the health effects of woodsmoke, including average PM2.5
emissions from a new wood heater compared with other sources of emissions, improving
insulation to reduce heating bills, provide a 24-hr hotline to help people who
are affected by woodsmoke and solve problems created when one person’s
woodsmoke affects the health or lifestyle of neighbours, provide funds to
replace wood heaters with alternatives, and (in conjunction with the BOM)
‘don’t light tonight’ to encourage people to use non-polluting heating These programs should have sufficient funds
to enable all communities to meet all NEPM air quality standards as soon as
possible.
5) Penalties for untrue claims likely to affect public health. The Senate
Inquiry also confirmed the failure to strengthen national woodheater
standards "was the result of a failure of the technical committee
to reach consensus within the meaning of Standards Australia's rules, which according
to the minutes supplied to the committee was a result of opposition from
industry representatives" (para 6.35, p63).
Like many other claims made by the AHHA, this claim to the
Senate Inquiry was found to be untrue.
Making false claims about health-hazardous air
pollution emissions is likely to affect public health. Appropriate penalties are required to protect
our health from unscrupulous claims by organisations who profit from selling
wood heaters.
6) Correct the inaccuracies in the National Pollutant Inventory. The inaccuracies, known since 2008, in the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) which under-estimates particle emissions from woodheaters by about 50% should be fixed immediately. Other major inaccuracies in the NPI (e.g. the lack of accurate data for PM2.5 and for toxic chemicals such as ethylbenzene) should be fixed at the same time and new protocols developed to ensure that major errors in the NPI are fixed in a timely manner.
Major health benefits from
reducing woodsmoke
When the number of households using
wood-burning stoves in Launceston fell from 66% to 30%, wintertime particulate
pollution fell by 40%. Deaths from
cardiovascular diseases in winter fell by 20% and respiratory deaths by 28%. On a year-round basis, male mortality fell by
11.4 per cent, with reductions of 17.9% in total cardiovascular deaths and
22.8% in respiratory deaths[8, 9].
These benefits are so large and significant that very few people would
consider wood heaters worth the large increase in early deaths from heart and
lung diseases.
The toxic PAH pollution in woodsmoke has
also been linked to genetic damage in babies, reduced IQ as well as behavioural
problems such as anxiety and attention problems when children start school – http://woodsmoke.3sc.net/pah.
Two Canadian studies reported serious
health effects of woodsmoke at 10 ug/m3 PM2.5[10, 11] – less than half the current Australian
advisory standard of 25 ug/m3.
Another Canadian study with median PM2.5 concentrations of 7.3 ug/m3
showed an increase of 3 ug/m3 was associated with a 9% increase in
deaths from ischemic heart disease and 3-4.5% increases in all deaths.[12] In
Quebec, woodsmoke accounts for 61% of fine particle emissions.[13]
In Armidale, NSW, woodsmoke concentrations
were noted to increase 4-fold within 40 metres, indicating that even individual
wood heaters can cause serious health problems for neighbours.[14]
Real-life emissions from
a new wood heater in a new house in Armidale (AS4013 test rating < 2.5 g/kg).
Armidale's policy required all heaters installed in new houses to have emissions ratings < 2.5 g/kg. The level of emissions shown in the photo (left) has been observed on many occasions for a considerable period of time from the heater installed in this new house.
References
1. Cohen, D.D., et
al., Fine particle characterisation,
Source Apportionment and Long Range Dust Transport into the Sydney Basin: A
long term study between 1998 and 2009. Atmospheric Pollution Research,
2011. 2: p. 182-189
2. WHO,
Review of evidence on health aspects of
air pollution – REVIHAAP. Available at http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/environment-and-health/air-quality/publications/2013/review-of-evidence-on-health-aspects-of-air-pollution-revihaap.
2013.
3. ABS,
4602055001DO001_201103 Environmental
Issues: Energy Use and Conservation, Mar 2011. 2011.
4. NSW
OEH, Economic Appraisal of Wood Smoke
Control Measures. 2011, AECOM Australia Pty Ltd. Prepared for the Office of
Environment and Heritage. Available at:http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/woodsmoke/smokecontrolopts.htm.
5. ALA.
American Lung Association Cautions
Against Wood-burning and Urges Cleaner Alternatives for Winter Heat. 2008
[cited.
6. Wright,
M., Why I have six air conditioners,
in Climate Spectator. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2011/10/5/smart-energy/why-i-have-six-air-conditioners
(accessed 13 March 2012). 2011.
7. Morgan,
G., Daily mortality and air pollution in
Sydney, in Proceedings of the Health
& Urban Air Quality in NSW Conference. 1996, NSW Health Department: Sydney.
8. The
Australian, Switch out of wood-burning
stoves saves lives. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/switch-out-of-wood-burning-stoves-saves-lives/story-e6frg8y6-1226550224035.
9 January 2013.
9. Johnston,
F.H., et al., Evaluation of interventions
to reduce air pollution from biomass smoke on mortality in Launceston,
Australia: retrospective analysis of daily mortality, 1994-2007. BMJ:
British Medical Journal, 2013. 346.
10. Allen,
R.W., et al., An Air Filter Intervention
Study of Endothelial Function among Healthy Adults in a Woodsmoke-impacted
Community. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., 2011. 183(9): p. 1222-1230.
11. Gan,
W.Q., et al., Associations of Ambient Air
Pollution with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hospitalization and
Mortality. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,
2013. 187(7): p. 721-727.
12. Crouse,
D.L., et al., Risk of Non-accidental and
Cardiovascular Mortality in Relation to Long-term Exposure to Low
Concentrations of Fine Particulate Matter: A Canadian National-level Cohort
Study. Environ Health Perspect, 2012.
13. Lung
Association of Quebec, Wood heating: a
public health issue for the Montréal region. http://www.pq.lung.ca/environment-environnement/wood_smoke-fumee_bois/enjeu-montreal/.
2009.
14. Robinson,
D.L., J.M. Monro, and E.A. Campbell, Spatial
variability and population exposure to PM2.5 pollution from woodsmoke in a New
South Wales country town. Atmospheric Environment, 2007. 41: p. 5464–5478.
5.1 The impacts of diesel and two-stroke engine emissions on health were a key concern raised throughout this inquiry.
Marine engines, recreational diesel engines and appliances
5.23 Diesel engines are widely used in recreational engines, small power generators, and domestic appliances such as lawn mowers. These engines are not subject to any standards and emit a disproportionately large quantity of emissions compared to their size. For example, despite their small size, a lack of emissions standards means that an Australian lawnmower may emit up to 40 times the pollution of a small car per hour.
Senate Inquiry Recommendations - Diesel Engines
Recommendations 10 and 11
5.31 The committee recommends that the Commonwealth develop a national emissions standard for diesel engines.
5.32 The committee recommends that the Commonwealth implement a national emissions standard for small non-road engines equivalent to the US EPA standards.