Now there are fears about health risks from the blazing pyres as they release cancer-causing dioxins into the air. The government insists the public health risk is minimal, but has nonetheless launched an investigation into the impact of the pyres on people living nearby.
Dioxins are a group of chemicals known to increase the likelihood of cancer.
Environmental campaign groups describe them as among the most dangerous toxins known. The government says that a pyre's output is equivalent only to that produced by two bonfire nights. But others point out that while this is the case, the pyres are concentrated in small areas rather than spread throughout the nation. Precisely how much dioxin is being released, or where it will land, is still to be confirmed. In this case, there are fears that dioxins, drifting through the air, could settle on soil or crops and somehow pass into the food chain.