Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Page A-5
how to take the sting out of spring burning
Kelpie Wilson
Wilson Biochar Associates
Spring is here, and as soon as
we get a few sunny days, I know
my neighbors are all going to be out
trying to incinerate massive piles
of brush and tree limbs that came
down in this winter’s epic storms.
The valleys will fill with smoke
and people will grumble about this
tiresome chore, wondering why there
isn’t a better way.
Good news – there is a better
way! For the past several years, my
company has been working with
volunteers from the Umpqua Biochar
Education Team to come up with
clean burn methods that also produce
biochar. Biochar is just charcoal, and
it’s easy to make it in your burn pile
if you follow a few simple practices.
Biochar is good for soil.
Sprinkle some in your garden beds;
use it in tree-planting holes or in
horse barns and chicken coops to
absorb odor. Biochar helps retain
moisture and nutrients and it
promotes beneficial microbes in soil.
Biochar can be expensive to buy, but
if you have burn piles, you can make
your own biochar and have a cleaner,
safer fire as well.
There are five requirements
you need to follow to if you want
to make biochar in your burn pile.
These principles will also ensure
that your fire is as smoke-free as
possible:
First, use only dry wood. That
means waiting a bit before you burn.
Small brush that is up to 2 inches in
diameter needs to dry in the sun (or
part sun) for about 30 days. Bigger
branches and logs up to 6 inches
will need about 60 days to dry. If
you have a moisture meter, you can
check the wood and wait till it is 25
percent moisture or less.
Second, separate the small
from the large pieces. Small brush is
the stuff you really need to get rid of
for fire safety, and it dries quicker, so
go ahead and burn that during spring
burning season. Bigger logs can wait
till fall or get used as firewood.
Third, build small piles that are
loose with good airflow and no dirt.
A good size is 5 to 6 feet wide and
about 5 feet tall. This will let you
meet the fourth requirement, which
is to light the pile on the top, and
not near the bottom. We know that
heat rises, so common sense tells us
that to get a pile going, you need to
light it on the bottom. Not true. Heat
transfers just as well by radiation,
so a flame on top will light up the
layers below. Keeping a flame on top
at all times is the secret to a clean
burn, because the flame burns up the
smoke. A loose pile of small brush
will burn up very quickly with barely
a wisp of smoke.
Old boards can be hard to burn. Stack them like this and light
on top for a clean, fast burn. Photo: Wilson Biochar Associates
SEE BIOCHAR ON A-9
AP FACT CHECK: Fukushima radiation not cause for alarm in U.S.
Patrick Mairs
Associated Press
Radiation from the Fukushima nuclear
reactor disaster in Japan has reached North
American shores, but — despite a number of
reports shared on social media— scientists say
the levels of radiation are so low that it poses
no risk to public health.
Late last year, researchers announced that
Cesium-134 was discovered in waters off the
coast of Oregon and in one sockeye salmon
in a British Columbia lake. Cesium-134 is
considered the fingerprint radiation of the
Fukushima disaster, because its short half-
life means it could only come from the plant
that suffered meltdowns following the 2011
Japanese tsunami.
The news reports have been used as the
basis for viral stories about the radiation. One
story from alternativemediasyndicate.com
carried the headline: “Fukushima Radiation:
Your Days of Eating Pacific Ocean Fish
Are Over, Or Worse.” Another story from
organicandhealthy.org labeled the discovery
of the salmon as “bad news for everyone”
and described the U.S. West Coast as
“contaminated.”
Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at
Massachusetts’ Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, has traveled to Japan numerous
times since 2011 to study the Fukushima
disaster’s effect on seawater. He also leads
a sampling project to study the radiation as
it makes its way across the Pacific Ocean to
North America.
It’s fair to be concerned about radiation,
he said, but the levels detected are far too
small to make anyone sick: They are 1,000
times less
than what a
person would
be exposed
to during a
routine dental
x-ray.
“It’s
even less
than things like CT scans or flying in a plane
or even living at high altitude. Personally I’m
not concerned about those levels,” he said.
Research scientist John Smith, who
works for Canada’s fisheries and oceans
department, said the “crazy low levels” of
cesium found in the salmon were suspected all
along.
“It’s absolutely no surprise there would
be a little bit of Fukushima cesium in this
fish and it’s really at a level we would have
expected it to be,” he said.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission said in a 2015 report on the
impact of seaborne Fukushima radiation on
the U.S. that evidence showed the levels
“fall well short of posing any U.S. health or
environmental risk.” In January, state officials
in Alaska announced that tests of seafood in
the state’s waters found no detectable amounts
of radiation from the plant.
“This has been going on since the
beginning of the Fukushima accident,” adds
Smith of some reports that have surfaced
online since the disaster. “All this kind of fake
news and scary news.”
___
This story is part of an ongoing
Associated Press effort to fact-check claims in
suspected false news stories.
ALL CustoM jeweLry designs
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Tues - Fri 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM
sAT 10 AM - 2 PM
sun & Mon Closed
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K e r b y , or
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$
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Ripe, Delicious
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4
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99
ea.
49
Asstd. Koyo
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Ramen Noodles
2
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89
¢
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2
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MACAROONS
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ea.
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Bananas ...........................
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Yukon Potatos ...................
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4 59
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89 ¢
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pkg.
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Cheese
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4
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3
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ea.
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Deli
Grilled Turkey Grill Menu
Bacon Sandwich
Udi’s Asstd. Gluten Free
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Reg. $5.79 lb.
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$
ea.
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Plain, garlic & spinach.
Asparagus ........................ $
Groceries
open to tHe public
3 99
$ 89
4
Indian Life Foods
$
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pkg.
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iv senior Center
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An uncured 100% grass fed beef. Reg. $9.49 pkg.
Asstd. Kettle Chips
1
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Reg. $9.39 pkg.
Applegate Organic
Hot Dogs ...........................
20% Off
Per Pound
6 09
7 79
$ 89
7
$
Niman Pulled Pork ...........
Beeler’s Ham
Only
$
lb.
Meat
Deli SPECIAL!
Reg. $4.09 lb.
$
ea.
Reg. $8.89
Reg. $21.29
JP Auto &
Metal Recycling
6 69
Salad Case
Loaded
Potato Salad
5
$ 39
lb.
Red potatoes, bacon, cheese,
green onion, sour cream,
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Breakfast
Breakfast
Muffin
2
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12 oz.
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8 oz.
Goat Cheese Log ...............
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ea.
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ea.
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$ 39
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One egg, Beeler’s Ham (only),
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Reg. $2.69
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