The Control of Open Burning

Preface:
Open burning is very common due to the living habits of the public. The substance to burn includes organic waste from farming, flammable waste from construction, woods or trees from land development or some household waste at rural areas. The pollution characteristics of these pollutants include short-lived, small scale, highly polluting, and in large quantity, in particular, it is difficult to regulate systematically. Open burning poses a certain degree of danger to air quality and public health.

According to the statistics, in 2004, there are about 1590 inspection cases, 357 evaluation cases and 14 indictment cases. By the end of August 31, 2005, there have been 1294 inspection cases, 259 evaluation cases and 10 indictment cases. To improve the above pollution situations, this plan is activated and a special project to operate the open burning inspection and control. The project is in attempt to improve the air quality and reduce the damage to public health by the open burning.
Objectives:
1. Draw up a county promoting and inspecting plan to counsel the farmer to recycle the straw for other usage. This plan is called for mid-term and long term strategies, in an orderly fashion to gradually improve the air quality.
2. Collect and analyze the past years open burning waste locations information (pollution sources database). The information will be used for the basis and the reference for the future pollution sources control and the air quality standard modification.
3. Enforce the counseling of the farmers to stop the straw burning. Provide the farmers some better methods to handle the straw, to stop the practice of open straw burning.
Execution:
To make the inspection operation more effective, the inspecting agents must fill-up a schedule check list and have all the equipments ready before the inspection trip duty. The following is a list of the open burning inspection operation guidelines.
1. Prepare all the necessary fire extinguishing equipments and inspection operating tools.
2. Designate the areas and the responsible personnels respectively, and follow up the open burning inspection guidelines.
3. Practice stake-outs at nights and enforce the inspection during weekends and holidays, to reach the goal that no controlling has blind spots, no inspecting has let down.
4. When an incident is sighted, the first priority is put out the fire immediately to prevent the pollution from causing more damages.
5. Enforce the promotion and inspection against open burning during the busy farming seasons.
6. Enforce the advertising promotion and the collaboration with the Farming Administration to promote rice straw recycling and reuse.
7. Place promoting flags on the harvested farm fields for warning and prevention.