WHY ARE TRASH AND VEGETATION BURNING REGULATED?
The primary purpose of the Open Burning Regulation is to reduce air pollution and protect human health. Backyard trash burning is far more harmful to our health than previously thought. The pollutants produced by backyard trash burning can increase the risk of heart disease, aggravate respiratory ailments such as asthma and emphysema, and cause rashes, nausea, or headaches. Backyard trash burning also produce harmful quantities of dioxins, a group of highly toxic chemicals that settle on crops and in our waterways where they eventually wind up in our food and affect our health. Backyard trash burning is the biggest source of dioxin emissions in New Mexico. Download brochure: The Hidden Hazards of Backyard Burning The open burning of slash, weeds, and yard waste produces particulate matter and hydrocarbons, which contain a number of toxic, irritant, and carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds. The smoke also contains carbon monoxide. The air pollutants produced by burning vegetative mat
