National Woodheater Audit Program Action Plan

National Woodheater Audit Program Action Plan Introduction Along with motor vehicles, woodheaters are a major contributor to particle pollution in Australia. In some regions, woodheaters can contribute as much as 85% of the atmospheric particle pollution during the cooler months, and can lead to the National Ambient Air Quality standard for particles being regularly exceeded. Woodheater emissions are also a significant source of many air toxics, including benzene, formaldehyde and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Current strategies to manage woodsmoke pollution in most States and Territories are principally based on regulations which require that woodheaters for sale are certified to comply with the Australian/ New Zealand Standard for woodheater emissions (AS/NZS 4013). This Standard specifies a maximum allowable particle emissions of 4g per kilogram of wood burnt, under controlled test conditions. The Standard also stipulates that models tested must comply with (a) design drawings submitted by the manufacturer and (b) specified labelling requirements. However, there are doubts that the emissions performance of woodheaters available for retail purchase actually comply with the Standard, as testing for certification purposes is conducted on a prototype model rather than a mass-produced model. To address this issue, woodheaters are routinely audited in many states in the US but, until recently, audits have not been ...