Was a full health and safety assessment carried out before this operation.
Bracken spores are believed to be carcinogenic, especially at this time of
year (July & August), and there is a known danger of Lyme disease from
bracken, especially on those parts of Dartmoor grazed by cattle. I believe
that proffesional bracken clearers wear full leg protection and face masks
when clearing it.

Jon

On Wed, 2 Jul 2003 17:32:49 +0100, Alex Hunt <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Below I copy a news release from the Dartmoor Preservation Association on
a programme of bracken bashing (and yes, there is an archaeological
aspect....).
>
>From: Dartmoor Preservation Association
>
>News Release: For Immediate Publication
>
>DPA BASHES DARTMOOR BRACKEN
>
>
>At the crack of dawn (09.45 to be precise, but it felt like the crack of
dawn) on a Sunday morning, 30 DPA volunteers from young children to senior
citizens plus a few dogs, set off from East Rook Gate across the rugged
slopes of South Dartmoor on a mission to "Beat Bracken" on and around the
remains of the medieval farm house at "High House Waste".  Bracken is
prolific in this area and the rhizomes can do great damage to
archaeological structures.