ALABAMA A&M and AUBURN UNIVERSITIES

PESTICIDE CLEAN DAY DEFUSES TICKING TIME BOMBS

AUBURN, SEPT 10---They’ve been described as ticking ecological time bombs: thousands of cans of discarded pesticides stored in barns and sheds, rusting with age and leaking chemicals that ultimately threaten drinking water.

"There are lots of old pesticides that farmers have in storage that no longer are approved for use by the federal government or that were never used by the farmer," says Jesse LaPrade, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System environmental specialist. "The problem is these containers age and become leaky over time.

In the worst cases, containers are dumped behind houses where they are constantly exposed to the elements, LaPrade says. Over time, rainfall washes chemicals from these leaky containers into groundwater aquifers and even into nearby lakes and streams. While most farmers would be happy to rid themselves of these containers, they often lack the financial means to do so.

"Sure, farmers would love to get rid of these things but for only one farmer to do so would be cost-prohibitive," LaPrade says.

In order for discarded pesticide containers to be disposed of properly, they must be turned over to a certified company specializing in waste disposal.

"Out-of-state companies have to come in and pack the material to ship it to a location where it either can be incinerated or, in the case of solid material, encapsulated

and buried underground," LaPrade says. "It may take several hundred dollars per pound to dispose of these containers if only a small quantity is collected."

On the other hand, if groups of people are willing to work together and organize a central location for a pickup, disposal costs generally are far more affordable.

  With this in mind, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and several state and federal agencies organized a Pesticide Clean Day recently at Auburn University’s research facility in Belle Mina on behalf of farmers in a 15-county region in North Alabama.

TVA and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management underwrote all of the disposal costs, which totaled more than $100,000.

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries secured the disposal contract through the Resource Conservative and Development Council. Meanwhile, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System publicized the event through their local offices.

Cleanup days, such as the Belle Mina, are essential in order to safeguard the region’s water resources, LaPrade says.

"All farmers strive to be good environmental stewards, but in the case of pesticide disposal, they need a helping hand," LaPrade says. 'By establishing a regional collection point and making it cost-free, farmers have every incentive to get rid of the material. It’s a win/win situation for everybody."

"The consequences of accidental spills or inadvertent dumping of these chemicals would be monumental," he adds. "All Alabamians benefited from the cleanup event because thousands of pounds of obsolete pesticides no longer threaten Alabama ground or surface water."

North Alabama farmers removed more than 50,000 pounds of unwanted pesticides at the Belle Mina cleanup. Most of the pesticides brought in for disposal were more than 5 years old and some were as much as 12 years old.

The 15 North Alabama counties participating in the event included Cherokee, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan and Winston.

 SOURCE: Dr. Jesse LaPrade, Extension environmental specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, (334) 844-5533.