|
By COOKSON BEECHER
SEATTLE,
WA - 12/7/01 -
Calling for tougher standards on fertilizers that contain
toxic waste, more than 150 citizens pitched their pleas
during last week's public hearing held by the federal
Environmental Protection Agency.
The Seattle hearing was set
up to gather comments on EPA's proposed rules on zinc-based
fertilizers containing recycled industrial waste. Depending
on where it comes from, that waste can contain dioxins, as
well as heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, arsenic,
mercury, nickel and chromium, all potentially harmful to
human health.
Nationwide, it was the only
hearing held on this subject, although citizens have been
sending in written comments since last November.
"People no longer want
farms to be the dumping grounds for toxic waste," said
Erika Shreder of the Washington Toxics Coalition. "EPA
needs to stop polluters from putting waste in their
fertilizer."
A representative from the
fertilizer industry said that in most of the Pacific
Northwest, this is a moot issue.
"The net effect of this
(EPA's proposed rule) on our members is almost
negligible," said Pete Fretwell, spokesman for FarWest
Agribusiness Association. "We're already down the road
on this. But by forcing the industry away from using
recycled waste products, it has raised the price of
fertilizers to farmers."
Zinc-based micronutrient
fertilizers make up a very small part of the fertilizers
used in Washington state. But for growers, especially those
in Eastern Washington, zinc is essential for a wide variety
of crops, among them corn, onions, potatoes, dried edible
beans, hops, flax and most tree fruits.
History
Starting in 1988, the EPA
encouraged the use of hazardous waste from sources such as
pulp mills, mining tailings and steel mills in the
manufacture of fertilizers.
EPA's philosophy was that it
made more sense to use these in fertilizers, where they
would be spread out in infinitesimal amounts on large tracts
of land, instead of dumping them into landfills. The agency
also saw recycling these byproducts as a wiser course than
mining zinc, since mined zinc can also contain cadmium and
other heavy metals.
But few people, including
farmers, realized that micronutrient fertilizers contained
these heavy metals - and in some cases, dioxins. In 1997
when the Seattle Times did a series about this practice,
public sentiment quickly swelled in favor of fertilizer
reform.
The following year, the
state passed new regulations on fertilizers containing
recycled industrial waste. That same year, the Washington
Toxics Coalition and Sierra Club sued the EPA, demanding
that the federal agency regulate recycled toxics in
fertilizers.
EPA's proposal
EPA's rules are expected to
be completed by April and could go into effect in early
2003. Here's what EPA is proposing to do:
Create stricter limits on
the amount of lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, nickel and
chromium in recycled-waste zinc fertilizers. Levels would be
set based on the lowest amount achievable through
technology.
Limit the allowable amount
of dioxin to levels found naturally in the soil.
Tighten up regulations for
steel mill waste.
Reaction
Shreder calls the proposed
standards a "good start" but says they don't go
far enough. During the recent hearing, the Washington Toxics
Coalition and Washington Public Research Interest Group
called on the EPA to ban toxic waste in fertilizer, starting
with the wastes containing dioxin.
They also asked EPA to
eliminate loopholes giving special treatment to steel-mill
and mining wastes. They want EPA to require labeling and
reporting, as well as a tracking system for all wastes going
into fertilizer.
Among those calling for
tougher standards were four doctors from the Washington
Physicians for Social Responsibility, and representatives
from March of Dimes; Puget Consumer Co-op; League of Women
Voters; Diocese of Olympia and Lutheran Public Policy
Office; Seattle Audubon; and Washington Sustainable Food and
Farming Network.
Lynn Sheridan, who works in
the state Agriculture Department's fertilizer registration
division, said those testifying "definitely raised some
good points."
When asked if Washington
state's new fertilizer regulations are helping reduce levels
of recycled byproducts in fertilizers, Sheridan said they
have.
Nevertheless, Sheridan said
scientists still don't know "the fate" of heavy
metals in fertilizers.
"Where will they end up
- in the soil, the dust, the water, the air?" she said.
"We really don't know."
Questions like this are
driving the research on this topic, she said.
Comments about EPA's
proposed fertilizer rules can be sent to:
Christine T. Whitman, 1101A,
US EPA Headquarters, Ariel Rios Bldg., 120 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW, Washington, D.C. 20460.
Comments will be accepted
through February.
|