[EQAB-list] Open burning - useful resource on air pollution aspects and cost-benefit relationships

[Ellen Smith <smithellen at comcast.net>]

While looking for something completely different, I ran across this UT report evaluating the potential benefit of 21 different possible measures to reduce air emissions in the Nashville area: http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/mediaroom/docs/2005/Nash%20EAC%20Report-February%202004.pdf 

One of the measures that was evaluated was a ban on open burning. Pages 44 to 57 of the PDF are a detailed evaluation of the benefits and costs of banning open burning of various different types of materials. 

The executive summary near the beginning of the report summarizes the results of the evaluations done. Open burning comes out as the largest reducible source of PM-2.5 (fine particulate material, which is an important health concern and one of the air pollutants for which the Knox metro area is in nonattainment), accounting for all but a tiny fraction of the total potential reductions in PM-2.5.  I think the authors may have overestimated the amount of open burning that occurs, so they may have overestimated the size of the potential reduction, but the fact remains that this is by far the single largest reducible source of PM-2.5. (See pages 7-8 of the PDF for the table listing the results.) Open burning also was the single largest reducible source of carbon monoxide. 

I didn't study the cost-benefit analysis, but I note that the estimated cost per ton of emissions reduction from banning open burning is relatively low. 

I think these results are a very useful basis for making a case for strict regulation of open burning in Oak Ridge.

-- Ellen