And pulp mills too dont forget!!! not just the rich complaining down on north nechako!

Government and industry should be able to present a pretty good spin on polution for $30,000 of the taxpayers money.

And don't forget the 3 bee hive burners still in operation between Vanderhoof and Houston. Most of the wind blows from west to east.

And what about the open burning that the Fire Department allowed over the past few weeks? How about an outright ban on open burning?

Ministry of the Environment? They are not exempt either. Stop all open burning and figure out another way to get rid of the wood.

We don't need another $30,000 flung at this issue to begin doing something about it. Chester

$30 thousand? Can I get to see the receipts?

Open burning of wood has been done since fire was discovered. Smoke from clean wood is basically harmless, unless of course you inhale great lungfulls by leaning over the smoke. Otherwise, the smoke rises and dissipates in the air. Quickly, I might add.

On the other hand, "waste chemicals" from industry which are being "burned off" are basically invisible but they mix with the smoke and, since they create a heavier smoke mix, it "hovers" over our city. Unfortunately, money usually makes the "problem" go away (from the table).

Oh yes, and $30 thousand from the back yard burner's pockets? I would like to see the receipts too.

"Open burning of wood has been done since fire was discovered."

People used to think there was no harm from smoking too.

Mother Nature set things ablaze as well, without our help.

"Smoke from clean wood is basically harmless" .... that, of course, we know not to be true by now through scientific studies which were not exactly available to our ancestors. Go the PACHA website at pachapg.ca to the links and view some of the linked studies on such things. One of the links specific to your area of questioning is this one: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/air/particulates/fpwtaaht.html

"unless of course you inhale great lungfuls by leaning over the smoke" ... there is typically an immediate reaction with tearing of eyes, etc. when that happens and the body's defense mechanism will typically cause an individual to remove themselves from the situation.

However, in lower doses, the body will not react in that fashion. Lower doses can happen around an open fire on a day with no draft ... in other words, the smoke might look like it is rising, but will only rise a short distance, then start dissipating very slowly. In other words, an inversion. The kind which is especially critical in a contained area such as a valley, a bowl as in PG, a grouping of houses. Such "pockets" can be mini pockets such as the latter, or larger pockets that are almost regional based. Obviously the larger the pocket, the greater the amount of smoke needed.

So, large amounts of smoke ... such as a forest fire .. as we saw last year drifting down here from the Tumbler Ridge area in August I think it was. There was an episode of high particulates and visible haze hanging over the city that came from some 200+ km away.

The same principles of dilution in the air on good venting days hold for other types of emissions as well, no matter what they contain - whether clean smoke, or sulphur-laced emissions form an industrial stack.. On non-inversion days, the system works ... at least locally.

Going a few hundred, and even thousand, kilometers downstream, one sees another story after decades of operation and after one source gets added to another and another. in the case of Sulphur .. acid rain effects on bodies of water, vegetation and building materials.

Just because you can't see it, does not mean it is not there .... whether "natural smoke" or emissions from human created waste.

Just because it is "natural" does not mean it is harmless .... anything in excess, even natural products can be harmful .... even pure, clean water.

Yes to the Clean Air forum especially the Asphalt emmission discussion! Cancer and lung problems know no economic boundaries and North Nechako is not just wealthy residents. We have friends that reside in one of the two trailer parks and we all appreciate the work other residents in the area have done on all of our behalf. I think this forum is an important step towards making sure 'all' people have the chance to breath clean air.
Thanks for the information. Will try to attend.Its important.

Just for fun ..... this is the who's who of the chemicals and elements found in "Natural" goode olde down home country smoke .....

Chemical Composition of Wood Smoke

Carbon Monoxide
Methane
VOCs (C2-C7)
Aldehydes
Formaldehyde
Acrolein
Propionaldehyde
Butryaldehyde
Acetaldehyde
Furfural
Substituted Furans
Benzene
Alkyl Benzenes
Toluene
Acetic Acid
Formic Acid
Nitrogen Oxides (NO,NO2)
Sulfur Dioxide
Methyl chloride
Napthalene
Substituted Napthalenes
Oxygenated Monoaromatics
Guaiacol (and denvatives)
Phenol (and denvatives)
Syringol (and derivatives)
Catechol (and denvatives)
Total Particle Mass
Particulate Organic Carbon
Oxygenated PAHs
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)
Fluorene
Phenanthrene
Anthracene
Methylanthracenes
Fluoranthene
Pyrene
Benzo(a)anthracene
Chrysene
Benzofluoranthenes
Benzo(e)pyrene
Benzo(a)pyrene
Perylene
Ideno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene
Benz(ghi)perylene
Coronene
Dibenzo(a,h)pyrene
Retene
Dibenz(a,h)anthracene
Trace Elements
Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni
Cu, Zn, Br, Pb,
Particulate Elemental Carbon
Normal alkanes (C24-C30)
Cyclic di-and triterpenoids
Dehydroabietic acid
Isopimaric acid
Lupenone
Friedelin
Chlorinated dioxins
Particulate Acidity

If this reads like a start of the list of what is contained in cigarettes, it ought to. They both come from natural plant material.

http://burningissues.org/table2.htm

ah... gee thanks owl...(I think) if you have the time and energy to type all that,why wouldn't you dig up the evil in pulp mill pollution instead? I would think that a lot of the ingredients in wood smoke are naturally occuring chemicals which our bodies will tolerate (to some degree).Chances are that what comes out of those stink holes across the river is every bit as bad or much worse and in much stronger concentrations.

You realize that the evil in Pulp is made from wood too right? Although I would imagine that its preferable to sell and recover as much as possible seeing how wood chips aren't free.

"I would think that a lot of the ingredients in wood smoke are naturally occuring chemicals which our bodies will tolerate (to some degree)."

that one needs a little more thought.

How about the smell of burning $30,000 in five dollar bills? Investigative and with almost the same results.

"if you have the time and energy to type all that"

......pssssst ...... "cut and paste"

;-)

go to the pacha site I gave you ... click under inventory ... and you will have your answer for the key indicators ....

I'm with owl on this one and he is 100 per cent correct--I can read and I can understand a scientific report. I cannot measure arctic ice and have no intention of doing so, but real science also says that climate change is the norm; not the exception. While you are researching wood smoke, what the hell-- read up on the truth about climate change and how Al Gore spends 30,000 dollars a year just for his electricity bill. Is he really an environmentalist or just a political opportunist? Reading will educate you.

The conference is needed to address the hysteria about air pollution. All's that happened is some old fart on North Nechako got a cold one day, saw old age looking in the mirror and panicked. "The sky is falling. the sky is falling!"