2 December 2004

Heat rising on indoor fire ban

Anyone within the Auckland region who currently has an indoor domestic fire will not be affected by the Proposed Regional Plan: Air, Land and Water.

The Auckland Regional Council is concerned there may be confusion over the rules governing the discharge of contaminants into the air from indoor domestic fires. The Proposed Regional Plan: Air, Land and Water manages the discharge of contaminants into the air from domestic fires. Environment Management Chair Dianne Glenn says one third of all houses in the Auckland metropolitan area and one half of all rural homes in the Auckland region have indoor domestic fires.

“Indoor domestic fires are the second largest contributor to the Auckland Region’s air pollution and are likely to be the largest source of fine particulate during winter”, says Cr Glenn.

”As a first step in fixing this problem the ARC believes that new indoor domestic fires should be as clean as possible. Therefore it is important to clarify that the rule requires anyone who wants to install a new indoor domestic fire after 1 September 2005 must comply with the Australian/New Zealand Standard for air emissions.”

The Proposed Air, Land and Water Plan acknowledges that significant reductions in motor vehicle and domestic fire emissions will be required in order to meet the Auckland Regional Air Quality Targets and the Ministry for the Environment’s National Environmental Standard. The ARC is working closely with the Government on reducing vehicle emissions and has been consulting with the public and industry on the best options for reducing domestic fires.

Smoke from domestic fires also contains formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These compounds can adhere to the fine particulate that are inhaled deeply into our lungs, and some may pose a cancer risk with prolonged exposure.

ENDS

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