Concerns were raised after it was revealed State Forests was using a poisoning program to thin trees in areas which are expected to supply the charcoal factory.
The managing director of Australian Silicon, Peter Anderton, says under the timber supply agreement with State Forests, the company has the ability to reject trees which do not meet specifications.
“One of the specifications is that they will not be poisoned, so to say that they are being poisoned for the facility is one issue.
“The fact is, at the end of the day, we wouldn’t accept them.
“You can’t use trees that have been poisoned and we will not use trees that have been poisoned.”
© 2002 ABC
