Chronicles of Chaos

June 19, 2007 | Print

Herbicides in My Neighborhood

It’s always lovely to drive down the street and see a truck with a splashing vat of herbicide strapped to it’s back cruising along, stopping every so often to spot spray the edge of lawns where my kids walk on their way to the park.

And pick up rocks and splash in puddles.

So I chase down the truck. In my most casual way, I ask the driver “Hi, I live down the street, just wondering…what are you spraying?”

We’re treating the knapweed.

I know there are noxious weed laws making what they’re doing legal, in fact if the city and county don’t take action against noxious weeds (which kill off indigenous plants, etc.) the laws say there’ll be trouble, for them.

I continue in my most pleasant voice, I might even smile, “Oh, what’s in the tank?”

Curtail.

Curtail contains the potent 2,4D and gets into groundwater clopyralid. When we first moved here I was stunned by the spring and summer spraying, I over-educated myself on the common chemical treatments.

I smile a bit tighter, “Oh. Do you know [my street], did you spray there yet?”

Actually we didn’t see any weeds on that street so no, we didn’t spray.

“Great, thanks.” I wave.

I note the company name on the truck and drive home. The kids (sitting in back as my witnesses) are mom’s being weird something interesting might happen silent. I’m sort of furious, appalled, shocked, fearful and relieved that I can at least hang onto the concept that our lawn remains untouched.

I also consider immediately moving out of state. In the back of my mind a little voice tells me that this kind of thing likely happens everywhere, in small towns you just have a better chance of finding out about it.

Which I think is good.

I get home and start my research. Call the landscape company and find out the EPA number (including the dashes) of the Curtail. There can be different chemical combinations under the same product name. And sometimes applicators use a chemical combo of different products, recommended of course by the manufacturers.

The landscape company is helpful. I play pleasant again, even naive, because this phone call is not my opening to change anybody’s mind. I’m collecting information.

I talk to the city official who oversees the weed issue for the city. I get the sense that she’s careful, hires applicators she trusts, and would rather not use chemicals but she has a job to do. There were notices in the paper (in the small text of the legal notice section) and the radio. They fulfilled their legal requirements.

Also, it’s a lot better than when she started her job. Years ago she tells me, they hired a company from another town to come in with a boom sprayer and spray all the rights of way–something like 10 feet into people’s yards (as many streets don’t have sidewalks) whether or not there were any weeds.

Then I call the EPA’s National Pesticide Information Center, the place I’ve found most helpful in assessing the exposure issues and determining how to mitigate spraying–does hosing off the areas with water help or make it worse, etc.

They give me more details on the chemicals, how they move in the soil, attach to plants, the half life of the chemicals (how long it takes for them to reduce their potency by half).

Everyone tells me these chemicals aren’t that bad, they cause skin and eye irritation from direct contact and that’s about it. My kids won’t be exposed to them in that way, so there’s no issue.

I just think it’s bullshit. Especially when I’m not concerned about one chemical exposure, I’m thinking cumulative. I’m thinking about my dog running through a sprayed area, tracking the chemical inside where my toddler walks and picks up anything he can find and tastes it.

I’m thinking that the small print from the manufacturer of Curtail advises users to keep livestock off treated fields for 14 days.

I’m thinking about the people who didn’t see the spray truck. Who let their kids play in the sprinklers later that afternoon, running barefoot over the chemicals.

No one studies the cumulative effects of chemicals from casual exposure, what they do in combination with the other chemicals that we’re exposed to, what they do to small children whose bodies absorb them at a higher rate due to their small size. That’s the problem.

And I can listen to lots of experts telling me not to worry, my children are safe. But the truth is, they don’t really know. They only have the science, the studies, on direct exposure.

I call the EPA hotline because they compile lots of data and apply it sort of to my situation. They advise me not to let my kids splash in any puddles around spray areas, which I’ll do. I’ll keep them out of those areas for 14 days. I’ll keep my dog on a leash.

Once my anger (rage really) fades about a spraying incident, I always feel sad.

Weeds are a problem. I wish we had more thoughtfulness, patience and resources to use something other than these chemicals.

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