Extract from Lung Net National News
May 1999

Smoke and winter fog makes a nasty mixture which we call smog!  Its not very nice to breathe in, and it can have serious affects on your health, particularly if you have a lung condition. 

The Tasmanian Branch of The Australian Lung Foundation is involved in a community campaign to help reduce the incidence of wood smoke pollution and the harmful effects it can have on our health. 

A study of air pollution in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley from 1991 to 1994 found high levels of particle pollution in winter, giving the city of Launceston even higher levels than industrial and urban centres like Newcastle, Dandenong and Port Pirie.  In the Tamar Valley 96% of the airborne particle pollution was caused by burning wood. 

This problem is not confined to Tasmania.  There are other pockets of serious air pollution in other southern Australian states, especially in populated valleys where wood is used for home heating. 

The campaign currently running in Tasmania has some lessons for us all. 

Firstly, if you can’t avoid using wood for home heating: 

• Don’t burn anything except clean, dry hardwood
• Use plenty of dry kindling to start a fire quickly
• Don’t overfill the heater leave plenty of air space around the logs
• Always run the heater on high after lighting and re-loading
• Don’t close the damper until the wood is charred
• Check the flue for visible smoke
• Service and clean the flue every year to remove creosote
• Replace old, inefficient heaters
• Choose the correct size of heater big heaters burned slowly create more smoke.

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