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The smell of burning sugar cane has become, for the inhabitants of a residential area in La Garita, Alajuela, unbearable.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.