Sugar
Cane
Burning
Bothers
Alajuela
Neighbours
The
smell of
burning
sugar
cane has
become,
for the
inhabitants
of a
residential
area in
La
Garita,
Alajuela,
unbearable.
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For such
a
neighbour
went to
the
Constitutional
Court
and
filed an
injunction
against
the
company
doing
the
burning.
The
victim,
who
lives in
the
urbanization
called
Montisel,
said in
his
filing
that he
and his
neighbours
continually
suffer
form the
problem
of
pollution
from the
burning
of sugar
cane,
"which
is being
done for
long in
places
like
Tacares,
Grecia
and that
the wind
the
ashes
and
smoke
spread
for
miles".
The
residenta,
before
appealing
to the
Court
had
filed a
complaint
with the
Ministerio
de Salud
y al
Ministerio
de
Agricultura
y
Ganadería
(MAG),
but got
nowhere.
The
magistrates
of the
Constitutional
Court,
on
hearing
the
case,
ordered
the
ministra
de Salud,
María
Luisa
Ávila
and the
MAG to
oversee
the
sugar
cane
burning
in the
area of
Tacares,
that it
be
carried
out in
strict
accodedance
with the
rules
established
to
minimize
or
mitigate
its
negative
impact
on the
environment
and
health
of the
population.
Sugar
cane
plantations
are
burned
to
remove
sharp
leaves
from the
plants
and to
rid the
fields
of
poisonous
snakes.
Burning
sugarcane,
before
harvest
is a
common
practice
in Costa
Rica,
especially
in the
areas
west of
Alajuela
Centre,
Grecia
and
Sarchi,
where
sugar
cane
plantations
are
abundant.
Problems
With
Burning
Sugar
Cane
While
burning
sugar
cane
makes
harvesting
the crop
easier
for
farmers,
this
process
causes
environmental
damage
in the
long
run,
according
to an
article
titled
"Sugarcane
Ethanol:
Sweet
Solution
or
Bitter
Issue?"
published
in The
Cornell
Daily
Sun
newspaper.
Soil
erosion
and
compaction
are few
of the
offshoots
of sugar
cane
burning
in
Brazil,
in
addition
air
pollution
caused
by the
aerosolized
particles
emitted
in the
burnings.
Considered
an air
pollutant,
emissions
from
burning
sugar
cane
crops
have
health
ramifications.
A study
conducted
by the
National
Institute
of
Environmental
Health
Sciences
indicated
that the
emissions
created
by
burning
sugar
cane
crops
could
ignite
asthma
and
other
respiratory
problems
in
certain
populations.
As part
of the
NIEHS
study,
researchers
closely
observed
the
hospital
records
of
children
and
elderly
residents
in a
southeastern
Brazilian
city
during
times
when
sugar
cane
harvests
were
burned.
The
researchers
determined
that the
incidences
of
children
and
elderly
admitted
into
hospitals
for
asthma
and
respiratory
related
illnesses
increased
during
harvest
burning
periods.
As part
of the
NIEHS
study,
researchers
closely
observed
the
hospital
records
of
children
and
elderly
residents
in a
southeastern
Brazilian
city
during
times
when
sugar
cane
harvests
were
burned.
The
researchers
determined
that the
incidences
of
children
and
elderly
admitted
into
hospitals
for
asthma
and
respiratory
related
illnesses
increased
during
harvest
burning
periods.
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