Medical groups back Oregon field burning ban

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A measure to prohibit Oregon's grass seed farmers from burning their fields has gained the backing of the Oregon Medical Association and the American Lung Association, who say field burning causes health problems for many Oregonians each summer.

"The reason the Oregon Medical Association cares about this is because particulate pollution can aggravate asthma," said Paige Webster, spokeswoman for the organization that is made up of 7,300 physicians statewide.

A grass seed industry spokesman said, however, that field burning accounts for only a fraction of such pollution each summer and that backers of the bill are overstating the health consequences.

The comments came on a bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Holvey, E-Eugene, to ban field burning, a practice that Oregon grass seed farmers say has made them the world's leading supplier of grass seed by helping them produce some of the purest seed available.

Each summer, after the grass is cut and the seeds are harvested, Willamette Valley farmers burn away the stubble to kill off weeds and pests and sanitize their fields for the next planting.

However, the practice creates giant plumes of smoke that often generate complaints from people who say the smoke causes eye and throat irritation or aggravates their asthma.

Holvey said Tuesday that his bill is expected to receive a hearing soon in the House Health Care Committee, and that he is prepared to make the argument that field burning "constitutes a major threat to public health in Oregon."

He was joined at a news conference by Dana Kaye of the American Lung Association of Oregon, who said there's scientific evidence showing a link between exposure to particulate pollution and increased incidence of asthma and heart disease.

"It doesn't have to be a weeklong exposure" to cause health problems, Kaye said. "We're seeing things happen in just a few minutes or hours."

However, Dave Nelson of the Oregon Seed Council said field burning takes place only on sporadic days and accounts for only 2 percent of overall particulate pollution in the Willamette Valley during the summer months.

"Field burning has never been said to cause significant health problems," Nelson said. "It might irritate someone who has asthma or emphysema."

Nelson also argues that a ban would hurt the competitiveness of Oregon's $500 million-a-year grass seed industry because it would force growers to pay for chemicals and more frequent tilling to cleanse their fields.

He noted that Holvey's bill, as written, would ban other forms of agricultural burning as well, including the burning of material left after Christmas tree harvesting as well as propane flaming of mint fields.

Backers of Holvey's bill said health concerns should be the main consideration.

"Oregonians have the right to breath clean air," said Kaye, the Lung Association spokeswoman.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)