DEQ hopes to stomp out field burning
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - The issue of grass burning may reignite soon in Oregon.
The state Department of Environmental Quality is working on a bill that calls for annual reductions in field burning, and a near phase-out in 4 or 5 years.
Farmers, especially those in the Willamette Valley, ordinarily burn about 50,000 acres of seed fields after the harvest each year.
The flames help ensure the purity of the lawn seed they produce, rid their land of mice and dispose of tons of straw stubble.
Winds tend to blow smoke particulate from any kind of fire in the Willamette Valley to populated areas like Eugene and Corvallis.
Medical studies have linked particulate exposure to reduced lung function, heart attacks and in rare cases, death.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
