Open Burning: Health Risks and Alternatives
02/09/10 by Staff Writer
Smoke from outdoor fires is hazardous to your health.
When a trash pile burns, at least 8 percent of the material ends up as air pollutants, according to the N.C. Division of Air Quality, which enforces the state’s open-burning rules. Pollutants vary, depending on the type of material that is burned, but these emissions can include dioxins, ash, furans, halogenated hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and dioxide, lead, barium, chromium, cadmium, sulfur dioxide, arsenic or mercury, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Ash can irritate the eyes and throat. It can also damage the lungs and cause bronchitis and emphysema. Those who suffer from asthma and other respiratory conditions are particularly vulnerable to the smoke, and long-term exposure can cause cancer and heart disease.
And that’s not all. These pollutants have also been linked to health problems like nervous system damage, kidney and liver damage and reproductive and developmental disorders, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Since burn barrel temperatures rarely exceed 500 degrees Fahrenheit, everything is not consumed by the fire. Pound for pound, garbage burned in a burn barrel gives off twice as many furans as a municipal incinerator, which typically operates at 2,200 degrees. A burn barrel also emits 40 times as much ash.
In North Carolina, it is illegal to burn garbage, paper and cardboard; tires and other rubber products; building materials, including lumber wire, plastics and synthetic materials; asphalt shingles and heavy oils; paints, household and agricultural chemicals. Homeowners can burn yard trimmings, except for logs and stumps, only if the local ordinances allow it, no public pickup is available and it doesn’t create a public nuisance.
You can avoid open burning altogether by reusing and recycling material. You can compost brush, grind it up for mulch, pile it up for wildlife habitat or just let it rot. You can recycle newspapers and other materials. You can also give reusable items to a charitable organization like the Salvation Army or Goodwill.
Finding alternatives to open burning will help protect your health and prevent air pollution.
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For more information on state open burning rules, call the N.C. Division of Air Quality, 919.733.3340. For information on local ordinances in Rowan and Cabarrus counties, contact the Division of Forest Resources in Rowan County, 704.216.8993 or 704.216.8994; Cabarrus County Fire Marshall, 704.920.2143; Salisbury Fire Marshall, 704.638.4467; Kannapolis Fire Department, 704.920.4260; Concord Fire Department, 704.920.5517.