Saturday, November 15, 2008
Should AEP be spraying hazardous chemicals?
From the RoundTable blog
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David Barudin
Barudin is a resident of Roanoke County. He is technology account manager for the American Society of Association Executives in Washington, D.C.
I noticed AEP spraying along Crystal Creek Drive in Roanoke County in August to clear brush and weeds away from power lines. I received the labels of the chemicals being used. Both labels carry an environmental hazard classification of "acute."
Further checking confirmed harmful effects to people, wildlife, pets and landscape trees and shrubs. The chemicals are toxic to aquatic life and waterfowl that live along our creeks, including Back Creek that follows Crystal Creek Drive, often just below the road.
AEP's use of the chemicals is legal under environmental impact laws and regulations that have been relaxed under the Bush administration. Should county residents be concerned?
According to the labels of DuPont Lineage Clearstand and DuPont Krenite S: "Do not apply to areas where surface water is present. Growth of treated plants stop soon after treatment ... death of the plants may require several more weeks. Do not apply to conifers grown as ornamentals. Applications may result in damage and mortality to other species of conifers (besides loblolly and slash pine). Should only be applied when the potential for drift to adjacent sensitive areas (e.g., residential areas, bodies of water, known habitat, non-target crops) is minimal (e.g., when wind is blowing away from the sensitive area). Both chemicals are toxic to rainbow trout, bluegills, minnows, ducks and quail. Ingestion by animals causes diarrhea and vomiting, liver enlargement, weight-loss and weakness."
Could the spraying in August have caused or contributed to the death of a fawn along Back Creek shortly afterward?
Residents of Crystal Creek Drive will meet with Roanoke County and AEP to discuss a county-wide ban on spraying "environmentally acute" herbicide and brush control agents. The meeting will be held Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Roanoke County Administration Building (Bernard Drive), in the 4th floor office of the Cave Spring Magisterial District Supervisor.
AEP's spraying is an issue that impacts water quality and, thus, human and environmental health. Some local experts have weighed in, including Don Kain, water monitoring and assessment manager with the DEQ Valley Regional Office; Bill Tanger, conservation chairman for the Float Fishermen of Virginia and chairman of the board of Friends of the Rivers of Virginia, and Bill Hopkins, an environmental toxicologist at Virginia Tech.
Gary Robertson, co-executive director of the Western Virginia Water Authority, said, "Clearly I would not be comfortable with either product used near our reservoirs."
Rupert Cutler, board chairman of the Western Virginia Water Authority and a well-known environmental advocate in Virginia, said he will attend the Nov. 19 meeting. Cutler served as Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment in the U.S. Deptartment of Agriculture from 1977 until 1980.
In this post he halted spraying of agricultural chemicals on public land such as national forests; specifically, the herbicide 2,4,5-D, a carcinogenic dioxin contaminant. He also convened a national conference on the environmental impacts of herbicide use.
