CLEWISTON — Contrary to what some activists would have the public believe, the Glades has good air quality, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

In celebration of the start of U.S. Sugar’s 90th harvest season, U.S. Sugar has published a “State of Our Air Report,” compiling data available online to anyone from state and federal databases, that shows the rural communities south of Lake Okeechobee enjoy air quality ranked at the highest level by the EPA, even better than air quality of the coastal communities.

“We are excited about getting ready to start our 90th harvest season,” said Judy Sanchez. She said they published the report to provide the data to the community members.

The report includes data from the two air quality devices monitored by FDEP in Palm Beach County — one in Royal Palm Beach and one in Belle Glade.

“The EPA does not locate monitors around every corner,” explained Sanchez. The “official” air quality monitor for Palm Beach County is the one in Royal Palm Beach. “They do operate an additional monitor in Belle Glade, just to reassure the people in the Glades community they are monitoring in the Glades.”

The data show that month after month, the air quality in the Glades is better than the air quality in the more populated coastal communities.

While this flies directly in the face of the allegations that people in wealthy areas are provided better air quality, the state and federal data are online, available for any member of the public to evaluate for themselves, she continued.

What about the ash from burning sugarcane fields? Modern technology has made the age-old practice of burning cane fields before harvest safer than ever.

In 2019, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced enhancements to the state’s prescribed burning program, which is authorized by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Florida Forest Service.

“Because of the sophisticated science and weather modeling we have today, we can actually measure on-the-ground weather conditions,” explained Sanchez. “When we apply for a permit, Forestry can actually look to see what is going on today and this morning.”

Before it issues a permit, the Florida Forest Service uses the weather conditions to determine which way the smoke will go. They can see conditions where you want to burn and see what that smoke is going to impact, she continued.

“That’s why over time this program and this permitting process has gotten so sophisticated and so safe and protective of our community,” Sanchez said, adding that she and other U.S. Sugar employees make their homes in the communities south of the lake. They care, too, about the air quality of the communities where their own families live.

She said before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of coastal residents enjoyed tours of the cane fields and watched burns.

They could see for themselves where the smoke goes.

For those who have never visited a cane field, “what gets lost is the idea of the concept that each individual field permit is based on actual on-the-ground weather conditions that morning or that afternoon surrounding that particular field,” she said.

The process is “as protective of our community as possible,” she added. She said the technology is continually improving.

They have upgraded the program twice since Commissioner Fried came into office, she said. In addition, burn managers are required to go complete training for certification.

Florida Forest Service issues permits on the day of a burn for either morning or afternoon. An average sugarcane field is 40 acres. It usually takes only 15 to 20 minutes for a field that size to burn, said Sanchez. An individual field is only burned once a year. Ash from the fire usually falls back on the field or on surrounding sugarcane fields.

“The majority of our fields are located in the middle of other fields,” Sanchez explained. “Most of them are miles from town, surrounded only by other sugarcane fields.”

All zones are taken equally into account when a burn permit is issued, she said.

Neighborhoods have always been considered sensitive areas. As neighborhoods have grown, the population areas have increased. All of that has always been taken into a account within the field permit burning, she said.

“For there to be a health risk, there has to be exposure, there has to be concentration, there has to be duration,” she explained. A person has to be near that field to be exposed to that smoke.

“That does not happen,” she said. Smoke rises up and away from that field.

The public is more in danger from the brush fires and other wild fires common to Florida.

“That’s what makes it different from a wildfire and from other types of open burns,” Sanchez said. “Smoke goes straight up into the air. Once it is out of the breathing zone, there is no exposure.”

The air quality data show the air quality in the Glades during the months of October through May was little different — and in some cases better — than the air quality data during the months when cane is not burned.

“Some of the lowest readings (for particulate matter) we had were in December,” she said.

Technology is not only improving air quality in the EAA, it’s also making it easier for anyone to check and track air quality in their own area. If you have an iPhone, the maps application lists the daily air quality number along with weather information, or you can go online from any computer device to airnow.gov and type in your zip code for the air quality in that area for that day.

For those who live and work in the Glades, it’s no surprise the air quality is good. As a state, Florida enjoys good air quality because of ocean breezes, said Sanchez.

In the agricultural areas in the center of the state, the fields of plants provide produce plenty of oxygen. Aside from the sporadic, 15 to 20 minute burns, “the rest of the time, we’re just out here growing plants,” said Sanchez.