Ogden Burn Plan Has Some Residents, Air Quality Advocates Hot Under The Collar

This is a story that hits very close to home for me since I live about 30 miles south

of Ogden and will be affected environmentally and potentially wise by what they are doing. The city of Ogden, Utah is planning to burn down 40 condemned homes near the Ogden River to help make way for new development. The city is planning on burning the homes to help save money as opposed to demolishing them with heavy equipment and to provide training for fire departments located outside of Ogden.

While this plan may save the city money and provide useful training to fire departments it will also become a serious health hazard for local residents and others in neighboring communities due to the release of toxins into the atmosphere that will occur due to the burning of the homes. Local air quality experts and some local residents have been protesting the cities plan.

Even though this can be done under state rules I feel that harm this burning will cause far outweighs the costs savings or the training afforded to the fire departments. Utah state rules allow individual fire departments to burn 2 homes per year as long as all asbestos has been removed and that on those burn days the local weather would allow the smoke generated to dissipate in a reasonable time. There are many problems with this scenario and the state rules.

First while it is possible to remove the vast majority of asbestos from old homes it is highly doubtful that they will be able remove it all and that highly toxic "residue" will be released directly into the environment. Asbestos is only one toxin that could possibly enter the environment from these burns. Vinyl tiles have been used in homes for many years and are undoubtedly still in these homes are extremely toxic when burned. "In a fire, PVC vinyl releases toxic gases, such as hydrogen chloride, even before it ignites. Hydrogen chloride, according to the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Safety and Health Administration, is a corrosive poisonous gas.

It can cause burns, permanent respiratory damage and death. Burning PVC vinyl also releases more dioxins and, Greenpeace reports, 100 other toxic compounds". It these homes don' have vinyl tiles then they probably have carpet in them. New carpet contains toluene, benzene, formaldehyde, ethyl benzene, styrene, acetone and a host of other chemicals, older carpet also contains numerous toxins and contaminants. Older carpets can be more of a hazard than new ones: Not only do they contain the chemicals banned from more recent production, they also have had years to accumulate pounds of dust mites, dirt, pesticides and other toxins brought in on shoes, feet and pet's paws.

Older carpets are so toxic that your chances of being exposed to hazardous chemicals are 10-50 times higher in a carpeted room than outdoors. I only list two sources of possible of toxins in these homes and the number is already staggering!

While I understand the need to save money as well as provide training for fire departments I feel that the health risks posed by burning these homes FAR outweigh any benefit that could be realized by burning them.

by: Patrick Hayes

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