If the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has its way, burn barrels will soon disappear. We hope it has its way.

DEC has proposed a regulation that will outlaw open burning anywhere in the state. Currently, burning is against the law in any town with a population of at least 20,000. The new regulation would drop the population exemption, meaning all towns in the state would then fall under the prohibition.

That would be a most welcome development for the environment and for long-suffering neighbors who have been forced to abide people's thoughtless ignition of who-knows-what in an open burn barrel. The fires not only are a supreme annoyance to people under the cloud of smoke wafting their way, they are a potential threat to spread flames toward vulnerable property, and they can sicken or even kill neighbors with lung ailments.

The fires are generally the product of people who are either too lazy or too cheap to properly dispose of the material in a landfill.

The current rules governing burning in towns of fewer than 20,000 residents allow the fires but specify which materials are disallowed.

The new rules would ban burning but grant a few exceptions. They are:

Fires for cooking or campfires with either charcoal or untreated wood. Those fires must not be left unattended until extinguished.

Burning of certain agricultural wastes on lands devoted exclusively to farming.

ELiquid-petroleum smudge pots to prevent frost damage to crops.

Ceremonial bonfires fueled with untreated wood and properly extinguished. This also includes the proper disposal of a flag or religious item.

Burning of dangerous materials or contraband by police.

Controlled burns for fire training. But all toxic materials must be removed from whatever is being burned before it is ignited.

If a community has a more restrictive measure than these rules already in effect, it takes precedence. Any less restrictive law would be superceded.

Astonishingly, a few state legislators have expressed reservations about this new set of regulations, claiming it is unnecessary. They apparently have not had the excruciating experience of being near an open burn barrel when it is in full flower. The smoke is noxious and persistent.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency and DEC have studies that clearly document the harm to the atmosphere and human lungs -- far greater than in a municipal incinerator, which burns with a much hotter fire.