Confronting the Problem of Backyard Burning: The Case for a National Ban

Abstract

Backyard burning of domestic waste in rural areas of the United States has quietly emerged as a serious waste management issue due to increasing levels of synthetic chemicals in domestic waste. Several recent U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) studies have found per unit emissions to contain high concentrations of hor monally active organochlorine compounds, indicating a clear public health threat. W hile urban to rural migration has contributed to pressure on local and state policymakers to ban the practice, rising rural waste disposal costs have created greater incentives to burn in areas where it is still legal. Currently there is no federal regulation of backyard burning, resulting in a patchwork of protection at the state and local levels. Recent events in New York suggest that state-level bans are difficult to achieve. In part this is because the public health impacts of burning are almost impossible to empirically measure. In order to provide all U.S. citizens with equal protection of the law, a national ban under Rural Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) authority is needed.