Summary
The Oregon Toxics Alliance hosted a town hall meeting tonight (Wednesday) to talk about the effects of exposure to field burning smoke.
Story Published: Nov 15, 2007 at 1:10 AM PDT
The Oregon Toxics Alliance hosted a town hall meeting tonight (Wednesday) to talk about the effects of exposure to field burning smoke.
The organization has collected more than 500 signatures in support of a petition to end field burning and seek a court order to stop burning in Oregon.
"It's not illegal however because of the new research that's been done about how dangerous breathing field burning smoke is to lungs we now know it's a public health nuisance," said Lisa Arkin of Oregon Toxics Alliance.
Arkin says the smoke from field burning can increase the rates of asthma, chronic disease and heart problems however, many farmers who oppose a ban, say field burning is an integral part of farm life.