Julie

When we  lived at Henley Beach we had a wood fire which we used every night in winter. Moving to Marino the house has air conditioning so we didn’t feel the need for a wood stove.

During our first winter in Marino, when we saw and smelt neighbours’ wood smoke,we realised what we must have been subjecting our Henley Beach neighbours to. It’s not just the smell on the washing, on the dog, smoke getting into the house, it’s the health impacts especially if you’re an asthmatic, pregnant, are older or younger.  We’re older with some heart problems.

Is it really such a problem?  It’s not hard to find media articles and current research that explain what our wood fire had been doing to ourselves and neighbours: when inhaled the fine particles in smoke can affect lung, heart, diabetes, foetal issues and more recently wood smoke can be linked to dementia.  

So it’s no surprise that Asthma Australia and the AMA want wood heaters banned and/or phased out of new accommodation.

Being new to Marino we didn’t want to make a problem with our neighbours who we were getting to know.

Who could help us address the problem? The EPA? The EPA passed us onto Marion Council.  The very pleasant young Council safety officer admitted they didn’t know much about wood smoke – as smoke enveloped us while we showed her the billowing flue.  

The curious question is why don’t authorities, political decision makers, respond?  One of the biggest head scratchers with wood smoke is how come people don’t know the problems? Whenever we’ve describe the problem, almost everyone without exception says they had no idea wood smoke has such an impact on people’s health.  Humans have used smoke for millennia.

How come the excellent research, much of it by Australian scientists, doesn’t filter out to people’s general understanding?  If sewerage was running through your property, we all know the danger and how to attend to it.  Wood smoke is just as toxic.

We’re so pleased that CAir5049 is beginning to spread the word!

During our first summer in Marino, the grand kids complained about the grey dust on the floor, but that’s another story.

JMac, Marino