OTTUMWA — Burning some leaves may not give you asthma, but it could hurt your neighbor.

“In somebody with pre-existing lung disease — chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma — any dust or smoke can irritate the lungs and cause progression of the underlying condition. They are best spared exposure to [that] smoke,” said Dr. Kenneth Wayne, a pulmonary specialist in Ottumwa. “That’s not to say anyone with healthy lungs, in a well-ventilated area, is going to get a lung disease from burning leaves — I’m not saying that.”

The fire department and the city health inspector said they get calls from people bothered by smoke drifting in their window. Some residents in Ottumwa have been recommending “burn barrels” be done away with inside city limits; others say a burn ban is unnecessary.

Dr. Ron Graeff, an Oskaloosa allergy and lung doctor, agreed those with healthy lungs conducting proper burning could be spared health problems. It’s those in the surrounding area who need to be worried when someone is burning debris.

“Those people who do have airway problems are much more likely to have attacks requiring rescue-inhaler use, and/or steroids,” said Dr. Graeff.

However, both doctors said they would judge risk via some specific factors, like what is being burned, the intensity of the smoke and the duration of exposure.

But what’s “too much smoke” is different for everybody, Graeff said.

“For the person with underlying lung disease, it can trigger chest tightness, congestion, wheezing, shortness of breath ... on either an allergic basis, an irritant basis, or both,” Wayne explained.

“Most people with allergies have an irritant component to their rhinitis (nasal breathing difficulty), whether it’s strong perfume, cigarette smoke or burning waste,” added Graeff. “The reaction can be similar to [having had] a virus that caused airway inflammation.”

There’s an overlap for patients with allergies or asthma.

“Eighty-five percent of people with asthma [also] have an allergic component,” said Graeff. “So people with both allergies and asthma are going to have a double hit, to both their nose and their lungs.”

Wayne explained airborne particles cause different disturbances based on what’s burning. Some substances are worse than others.

For example, burning plastic, which Wayne grouped under the heading “inorganic” material, can be toxic to healthy body tissue as various chemicals are released, then breathed into the body. In fact, even those with healthy lungs, such as firefighters, would be better to avoid exposure to those toxins, he said.

Though plastic is not supposed to be burned in Ottumwa, city inspectors say they often find melted plastic at the bottom of burn barrels. But Wayne said it’s important to distinguish inorganic from organic matter; yard waste in most cases is not toxic.

“Leaves are more likely to [cause] an irritant or an allergic reaction,” Wayne said.