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State Environment Division.

What doesn't our Minister for Environment understand about the following?
It all seems pretty clear.

The Tasmanian Environment Division made these claim on it's website on the 4th May 2008 when this page was first published.

"Clean air is one of our most precious resources, essential for our survival and quality of life."

and

"Air and water quality is indispensable to the health of individuals, communities and the natural environment.
The Department is working to address air, noise and water pollution issues." ??

  and

"The state of Tasmania's environment is important to the health and safety of all Tasmanians.
We aim to ensure that our environment is clean and healthy by protecting our air, water, soil and ecosystems,
and by avoiding and remedying adverse effects of activities on the environment." ??

Is the Minister meeting these aims? The answer is no.

They went on to say:

The health effects of poor air quality due to woodsmoke are far reaching, but principally affect:

• the body's respiratory system - the lungs
• the cardiovascular system - the heart and blood vessels.

At high concentrations these tiny particles can aggravate breathing problems like asthma, bronchitis and infections like pneumonia and in some cases can cause permanent lung damage or other lung diseases. Individual reactions to air pollutants depend on the type of pollutant to which a person is exposed, the amount of which the person is exposed, and the individual's health and genetics.

The health effects caused by air pollutants may range from:

• subtle biochemical and physiological changes
• difficulty breathing
• wheezing
• coughing
• aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiac conditions.

For many of us, smoke will make us cough and may make our eyes and nose run. However, the young, elderly and sensitive populations with existing conditions of either cardiovascular disease or respiratory disorders such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis or allergy problems, may find they become very sick and need special treatment on days when there is a lot of smoke in the air. These effects can result in increased use of medication, increased doctor or emergency room visits, more hospital admissions, and even premature death.

As a society, we pay for the health effects of air pollution in many ways. Additional health care costs for the treatment of these effects may come from:

• hospital admissions
• visits to the emergency room or doctor's office
• homecare service
• medication such as inhalers for asthma.

Other considerations include lost productivity in the workplace, lost wages due to sick time, out of pocket expenses incurred while ill (eg additional child care costs), lost quality of life, or ultimately loss of life itself.

Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA)

The Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA) is the primary environment protection legislation in Tasmania.

The fundamental basis of EMPCA is the prevention, reduction and remediation of environmental harm.
While this is defined very broadly in section 5 of the Act as:

"any adverse effect on the environment (of whatever degree or duration) and includes an environmental nuisance" (the latter is defined as 'the emission of a pollutant that unreasonably interferes with, or is likely to interfere with, a person's enjoyment of the environment')".

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