I suppose some of us realized it was a bad thing to do, but didn't exactly know why. I was in this camp until someone challenged me to say why it was harmful beyond "pollutes the air and introduces harmful stuff into the environment". It took about 5 minutes of research to learn why.
Sorry if I'm preaching to the choir, but the summary is that it releases dioxins and furans. Below are some quotes I cut and pasted from various web-sites, posted below each. Hardly academic, but maybe of interest to someone:
What are Dioxins and Furans?
“Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), commonly known as dioxins and furans, are toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative, and result predominantly from human activity. Due to their extraordinary environmental persistence and capacity to accumulate in biological tissues, dioxins and furans are slated for virtual elimination under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the federal Toxic Substances Management Policy and the CCME Policy for the Management of Toxic Substances.”
(
http://www.ccme.ca/ourwork/air.html?category_id=91)
Where do they come from?
Six priority sectors accounting for about 80% of Canadian emissions in a 1999 inventory were identified as priorities for early action. These are waste incineration (municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, sewage sludge and medical waste); burning salt laden wood in coastal pulp and paper boilers; residential wood combustion; iron sintering; electric arc furnace steel manufacturing; and conical municipal waste combustion. Canada-wide Standards for Dioxins and Furans were developed for all but residential wood combustion, which is being dealt with through the PM and Ozone process.
(
http://www.ccme.ca/ourwork/air.html?category_id=91)
How do they get into our bodies?
Dioxins are linked to many serious health concerns including increased risk of cancer, developmental problems in children, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, harm to the immune system, endometriosis and hormonal disruption.
The health risks do not come so much from breathing the air containing the pollutants as they do from eating food. Poisons released into the air by garbage burning eventually fall back to earth and contaminate plants, soil and water. Animals consume them and they make their way up the food chain. Dioxins accumulate in the fat of animals and fish and are passed on to people when we consume their flesh or milk. It is this long-term, gradual exposure in the fat of the human body that is the problem.
(
http://www.realaction.ca/backyardburning.htm)
What are the health hazards associated with these
chemicals according to Health Canada?
The studies show that dioxins and furans have the potential to produce a range of effects on animals and humans. Health effects associated with human exposure to dioxins include:
• skin disorders, such as chloracne
• liver problems
• impairment of the immune system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions
• effects on the developing nervous system and other developmental events
• certain types of cancers
(
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/en ... in-eng.php)
Some other interesting links about burning plastic:
Illegal, too:
http://nfuontario.ca/upload/files/userf ... lastic.pdfCampfires aren’t hot enough:
http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/burning-plastic)
"Most toxic chemicals known to science":
http://www.ejnet.org/dioxin/Sources of Dioxins and Furans:
http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/topich ... e_from.htmHere’s a nice brocure:
http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/publi ... in-eng.pdf