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Masterton, NZ by Googling 'wood smoke'
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NZ appears to be struggling with the wood smoke
problem like everyone else. Politicians struggle just to get green
house gases recognized and are 40 years behind the times on that,
not even mentioning carbon soot. Bans of old equipment are just
starting when cutting edge science is indicating even certified
stoves violate new coming U.S. dioxin standards as well as pm
standards quite commonly. The pattern of slow evolution which allows
violations of the law to continue goes on here as it does in most
places violating basic rights and threatening life and health.
Christchurch, Kaupoi and Ashburton have started to
ban wood burning by banning old equipment before 1995.
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Climate
change information
From:
The Ministry of the
Environment
Many of our daily activities release
chemicals and particles into the air we breathe. For
example, motor vehicles release chemicals from their
exhausts, and if we use fires and log burners to heat
our homes, particles and other chemicals are released
out of the chimney. Chemicals and particles that have
the potential to affect our health and the environment
are called contaminants or pollutants. When they build
up in the air, they cause air pollution. The
amount of pollution in the air depends on the amount
of pollution produced and the rate at which the
pollutants disperse.
| The diagram above compares the size
of these particles (PM10 and PM2.5)
to a strand of hair and some beach sand.
They are tiny – too small for the human eye
to see. The amount of exposure to pollutants
is often measured in units of micrograms of
substance per cubic metre of air (µg/m3). |
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