For Release: Friday, November 5, 2004

New York Joins Regional Initiative to Halt Backyard Burning

Resolution Calls for Cooperation To Prevent Dangers to Health and Environment

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Erin M. Crotty today announced that New York has joined the environmental commissioners of seven other Northeast states in signing a resolution calling for regional action to reduce air pollution from open, uncontrolled burning of household trash.

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont joined New York in supporting this measure, which was also signed by New England's Regional Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EPA's Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey.

DEC Commissioner Crotty said, "Under the leadership of Governor George Pataki, New York State is a national leader on air quality issues and we are committed to measures that will help reduce the amount of uncontrolled air pollution resulting from the open burning of household waste. DEC will continue to educate communities and enforce State regulations to prevent the risks open burning presents to the health and safety of our children, families, and natural resources."

Some residents routinely burn household trash and other material in the back yard. This is often done using burn barrels -- typically a 55-gallon drum used to contain the fire. The disposal of household trash in the inefficient, low-temperature combustion typical of open burning may release excessively high amounts of dangerous toxic pollutants.

A study by the EPA, New York State Department of Health (DOH) and DEC measured the types and amounts of many chemicals in the smoke from burn barrels. Burning about 10 pounds of trash in a household burn barrel may produce as much air pollution as a modern, well-controlled incinerator burning 400,000 pounds of trash. The EPA/DOH/DEC study showed that smoke from burning trash in a barrel may contain particulate matter, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, benzene, styrene, formaldehyde, arsenic, lead, chromium, benzo(a)pyrene, dioxins, furans, and PCBs.

Exposure to smoke from open burning may have immediate and long-term health effects, including coughing, nausea, headaches, dizziness, asthma attacks, increased risk of cancer, and aggravation of respiratory symptoms, especially in people with heart or lung disease. Not only can open fires have adverse health effects, they can also spread into dangerous wildfires.

The resolution announced today included the following commitments by the EPA regional administrators and State environmental commissioners:

Work together to understand the magnitude of the problem and its potential impacts;
Collaborate in educating the public about the risks associated with uncontrolled open burning of trash and the importance of using safer alternatives;
Support state and local authorities that enforce bans and issue permits restricting open trash-burning;
Support proper solid waste management options, including recycling, that are both convenient and cost-effective;
Strengthen state and local restrictions or broaden bans, where appropriate; and
Share state and local outreach and assistance projects to learn from those experiences.

Ken Colburn, Executive Director of Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) said, "Barrel burning presents a unique challenge to everyone who cares about clean air. Every day, burning trash in rural back yards releases dioxin compounds, heavy metals and other pollutants that pose serious threats to public health, and among those most at risk are the families living in the immediate area. With this resolution, environmental leaders throughout the Northeast have pledged to coordinate their efforts to bring this problem to the fore and, with hard work, to an end."

In New York State, any type of burning by a commercial or industrial enterprise is illegal unless a special permit is obtained from DEC. Agricultural operations are exempted from this provision of the law. Under State law, open burning is prohibited within incorporated villages, cities, or any town with a population above 20,000 people. Outside of those areas, depending on the location of the residence, residential burning may require a DEC permit. To find out if a permit is required, individuals should contact their nearest DEC regional office. DEC strongly discourages individuals from open burning or the burning of trash to dispose of waste in an area where burning is allowed.

Instead of burning, DEC encourages people to reduce their generation of waste by purchasing products that have less packaging, reusing as much material as possible, composting kitchen and organic waste, and recycling what can't be reused (including paper, cardboard, cereal boxes, magazines, glass, metal containers, and many kinds of plastic).

Individuals should never burn the following items: plastic, foam cushions, furniture, rugs, floor coverings, appliances, rubber, tires, metals, glass, tree stumps, roots, asphalt shingles, any roofing materials, drywall, insulation, or creosote treated wood. Additionally, individuals should never use the ashes from a burn barrel to fertilize a vegetable garden. The ashes can contain numerous hazardous materials that would be harmful if ingested.

For more information on the negative effects of backyard burning and waste disposal alternatives, go to the DEC website or www.epa.gov/msw/backyard/ on EPA's website.

04-131