Burning Smokes Out Citizens

By Camilla Mortenson
The Eugene Weekly
Published: Thursday, July 19, 2007

Was there a tickle in the back of your throat last week? Field burning season began as scheduled after the Fourth of July and the first burn of the season went amiss.

The temperatures were heading up to 100 degrees last Tuesday when the smoke from a 55-acre field burn south of Harrisburg made its way into the lungs of Eugene residents.

The smoke blew out in the afternoon, but when winds shifted, it returned to the valley that evening.

According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), conditions were "optimal" at 11:40 am when the farmer's burn was set. But the burn should have been set with "rapid ignition." Instead, it began to smudge. Rather than blow out over the Coast Range as planned, the smoke headed to Eugene.

ODA and Lane Regional Air Regulation Authority (LRAPA) promptly received a large number of complaints. An email from Kathy Coba of the ODA blames the hundreds of complaints on "heightened awareness" of the issue "because of the legislation and debate on field burning."

"If this is the agency in charge of the program, we are all in trouble. They allowed a burn knowing this was to be the hottest day of the year. How incredibly stupid," says Charlie Tebbutt of the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC), one of the groups working to end field burning in Oregon.

Data collected on the LRAPA website from the day of the burn shows a spike over 10 parts per million (ppm) in the fine particulate matter at Amazon Park and at the downtown air quality monitoring stations.

A study by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare says that increases over 10 ppm in fine particulate matter result in a significant increase in strokes.

Information from the Idaho report was sent by WELC to Oregon's Environmental Quality Commission, which is currently being asked to end field burning due to the health issues it causes for Oregonians.

Oregon Toxics Alliance and WELC will have a community meeting to discuss the effects of field burning and a possible lawsuit to stop burning at 7 pm on July 19 in the EWEB Community Room, 500 E. 4th Avenue, Eugene. For more information call 465-8860 or go to the www.oregontoxics.org website