Burnoffs turn into hot issue

Controlled burnoffs are still a target for debate in Hawke's Bay.

The haze hanging over Hastings must be lifted but change has to come from within the orchard industry.

Regional councillor and chairman of the environmental committee Rex Graham says greenwood burnoffs at orchards throughout the region need to stop - and industry leaders agree. Now it is about making things happen, but for a new policy to work it would need to be functional for both the community and those implementing the changes.

As it stands, the council allowed burning as part of orchard redevelopment, he said. Inspectors checked to ensure fires were burning hot, the wind was blowing in the right direction and that material being burned was within their guidelines.

Last week, burnoffs of green material near Mr Graham's St Georges Rd home caused him to raise the issue. "I have talked to quite a few industry leaders.

"They have a big responsibility to the community. Everyone I spoke to was keen to find something that works for them and is acceptable to us - and that's not burning green," he said.

"This is not a situation which is sustainable. The industry recognises that we have to come up with a plan."

The science behind what smoke can do to health is affected by variables, including heat of the fire, type of wood and whether it has been sprayed.

Regional council senior climate and air scientist Kathleen Kozyniak said emissions from biomass burning included a range of contaminants, such as particulates, volatile organics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins among others, depending on those factors.

"I believe it is long-term exposure to biomass burning that has been linked to heightened cancer risk, as well as respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and short-term exposure tends to exacerbate the latter two, particularly in vulnerable populations," she said.

"Obviously, it is better to avoid exposure and I would like to more fully explore the impacts of this activity."

Trees piled up along Havelock Rd near the roadside would be legal to burn as greenwood, provided they were burned within council guidelines.

Wayne Wright of the Resource Management Group said: "They can burn it, so long as it doesn't impede the vision of traffic. The wind will have to be blowing the right way."