Green

The Hazards of Residential Open Burning

Residential open burning refers to the act of burning anything on the outdoor premises of a private family home, such as in the garden or backyard. Unlike chimneys, enclosed burn chambers or smokestacks, open burning allows smoke to rise freely, thus contaminating air and posing risks for air pollution. While there are country as well as state laws that protect the environment against impractical burning practices such as this, people fail to understand the true hazards that make this burning activity a bad, bad idea.

First of all, all forms of open burning creates smoke, which pollute the air and are often toxic to all life forms. In fact, smoke from burning at least five pounds of leaves would contribute at least one pound of pollution in the air. What happens during open burning is that a ground-level ozone is formed, making the air around living humans, plants, animals and even buildings and homes heavily dense with pollution. Little do we realize that it’s this dense, polluted air that actually causes buildings their untimely ruin. If such air can cause a building to degrade, what more can it do to vulnerable life forms like humans, plants, and animals? Residential open burning can come with a lot of health problems like irritation of respiratory systems (hence the coughing, sneezing, watery eyes and nose).

If the burned materials have toxins, the particles can enter the lungs and cause severe, irreversible damage. Polluted air also slows down mental capacity and oxygen consumption. So before you even think about burning, it is worth looking at these risks. Also, make sure you know your state’s laws regarding residential open burning before you light a match.