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On Thursday, December 27, 2001, the Los Angeles Times published an article, "Potent Toxin Taints Efforts at Composting." The URL is: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000102506dec27.story . The story is well summarized in the lead: "Residue from a herbicide deadly to several common vegetables has turned up in compost from San Diego to Seattle, threatening the rapidly growing composting industry and the urban waste disposal projects that depend on it. Washington State University sources and experience with the problem in its own composting operation are mentioned in the LA Times story. The purpose of this fact sheet is to assist Northwest media in any followup stories it may do on the contaminated compost issue. WSU also maintains a Web site on composting, which has information that may be of interest to journalists, as well as gardeners and the composting industry. The URL is: http://compost.wsu.edu/ . --Terence
L. Day
What is Clopyralid? (Pronounce it: Clo-PEER-uh-lid.) Clopyralid is a broad-leaf herbicide used to control broadleaf weeds in lawns and many agricultural crops, including turf grass and cereal grains. The chemical kills clover, thistle and dandelions. Clopyralid is manufactured by Dow AgroSciences and sold under many brand names. Clopyralid is very persistent and passes through animals and through the composting process with very little breakdown. The Problem Some garden and commercial crops are extremely sensitive to clopyralid, which is so toxic to some plants that it can harm them at concentrations as low as 1 part per billion. This is the equivalent of six people in the world's population. Clopyralid kills weeds such as clover, thistle, dandelions, knapweed and hawkweed, but also kills peas, beans, tomatoes, potatoes and sunflowers. Who Has Regulatory Authority? In Washington, the State Department of Agriculture is the lead agency for enforcement of federal laws and rules pertaining to the manufacture, sale, distribution, use and disposal of pesticides. The State Department of Ecology has regulatory authority on compost, as part of its responsibility for solid waste. WSDA has investigated complaints of damage to some vegetables grown in soil amended with compost and is considering new rules to restrict the use of clopyralid. A technical advisory committee is considering options ranging from banning use of clopyralid to placing additional restrictions on its use and prohibiting clopyralid-treated vegetation from use in compost facilities. Committee membership includes representatives from the state Department of Ecology, the lawn care, agriculture and compost industries, Washington State University, City of Spokane, Seattle Public Utilities and other entities. The Department of Agriculture intends to have rules in place prior to the 2002 growing season, which begins around April. WSU's Role in Contaminated
Compost Issues As Washington's land-grant university, Washington State University has conducted research and public educational programs to help provide science-based guidance to the state's citizens. What WSU Has Done
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