Bushfires are increasingly affecting Australian towns and cities directly and indirectly from episodes of severe air pollution. An approach to manage bushfires is to reduce fuel loads by setting planned fires under stable weather conditions, yet this strategy is controversial because of community concerns about ecological sustainability and negative health impacts from smoke.
The relative importance of air pollution from planned and unplanned bushfires vs. wood heaters, agricultural burning and other sources of air pollution will be determined. Our study will enable evidence-based bushfire smoke management, help formulate national air quality standards and shape policies regarding biomass smoke and bushfire management.
A team of ecologists and epidemiologists will rank the importance of air pollution on human health from planned and unplanned bushfires, wood heaters and agricultural burning relative to background air pollution. The study will be conducted in Perth, Sydney, Hobart and regional towns in WA, NSW and Tasmania. The team has a proven track record and a unique skill-set, having previously found a strong relationship between bushfire smoke, even below current air quality guidelines, and several respiratory diseases in Darwin.
View the Hobart Smoke Camera.
| Supervisors | David Bowman |
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| Members | Grant Williamson |
| UTAS Collaborators | Fay Johnston |
| External Collaborators / Partners |
Tasmanian Department of Health & Human Services Tasmanian Department of Tourism, Arts and the Environment WA Department of Environment and Conservation Tasmania Fire Service NSW Department of Health Department of Health, Western Australia Geoff Morgan - University of Sydney Owen Price - University of Wollongong |
| Funding Source | ARC Linkage Grant |
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