Sydney radio interview about wood smoke
Research scientist Dr Dorothy Robinson was interviewed about wood smoke pollution on ABC Sydney radio.
Dr Robinson, who is a DSAWSP board member, explained that wood heaters “are not good for us, and they’re not good for public health.” And they are very polluting, responsible for about 42% of man-made air pollution in the Sydney metropolitan area—“not just in winter, but year-round”—and about 51% in the Melbourne area.
“If you think cigarette smoke is harmful, just think that an evening’s heat [with a wood heater]… will produce something like the toxic chemical equivalent of 200,000 cigarettes.”
Dr Robinson also pointed out that current Australian standards for wood stoves are not sufficient to protect health, with the industry’s influence on government regulation of wood heaters being a significant part of the problem.
Listen to the 15 minute interview on the ABC website.
