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Latah and Whitman Counties physicians letter
Kootenai County physicians letter
The letter to the North Idaho Farmers Association
January 23, 2002
Idaho State Legislature
Committee on Field Burning
Honorable Legislators and Esteemed Committee People:
We, physicians of Latah and Whitman Counties, join our colleagues in Sandpoint and Coeur D'Alene in calling for an end to agricultural field burning in North Idaho. Scientific evidence conclusively documents that particulate air pollution, such as that generated by agricultural field burning, increases the incidence of disease. For years our first-hand experience caused by field burning is particularly harmful to our patients, especially those with heart and lung problems.
We recognize that farming bestows benefits on our communities and that growers have legitimate concerns about ending field burning. However, we feel that the suffering of those adversely affected by field smoke is without adequate justification. We support efforts to preserve the economic viability of agriculture in our communities while, most importantly, binging the practice of field burning to an end before the health of others is needlessly endangered.
Stephen Bergmann, M.D.
Lennis Boyer, M.D.
Janice Boughton, M.D.
John Brown, M.D.
Richard Caggiano, M.D.
Donald Chin, M.D.
James Clark, M.D.
Stacey Dean, M.D.
Stephen Hall, M.D.
Jennifer Hammond, M.D.
Lawrence Hammond, M.D.
Richard Howe, M.D.
Randy Kloepfer, M.D.
Kurt Martyn, M.D.
Carl Melina, M.D.
Lon Miller, M.D.
Sam Monger, M.D.
Barbara Morgan, M.D.
Dennis Peterson, M.D.
Wayne Ruby, M.D.
Vicki Short, M.D.
David Spencer, M.D.
Morgan Wright, M.D.
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