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Certainly Has a Right

As a professional with a PhD in horticulture and a background covering 40 plus years in pesticide research, development, and regulatory affairs I was disappointed to find a graduate in botany and master gardener making statements that were unnecessarily alarmist and factually inaccurate. In her Aug. 6 “Ask the Landscape Professional” column [a paid advertisement], Linda Lille stated that all weed and feed products, a combination of herbicides for weed control and fertilizers, “contain toxic chemicals that are poisonous to a wide range of living things, including you!” Further, Ms. Lillie stated “In addition to the toxins listed on the label, the ‘inert’ or ‘inactive’ ingredients in the bag can often be worse.”

These statements ignore the extensive data required, and comprehensively reviewed, by the U.S. EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) for registration of pesticide active ingredients. These data include, but are not limited to: Mammalian acute, sub-chronic, and chronic toxicology testing plus studies addressing endocrine disruption, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and mutagenicity; acute and chronic ecotoxicology (including, but not limited to, avian organisms, aquatic invertebrates, fish, and mollusks); environmental fate studies (including soil, water and plants); applicator and re-entry studies; and more. These studies must demonstrate that the pesticide (including herbicides) meets the agency’s stringent requirement for “no unreasonable adverse effects to man or the environment.” OCSPP also requires rigorous testing of pesticide formulation inert ingredients, ensuring they also do not cause adverse effects.

Ms. Lille certainly has a right to her personal and business preference for organic approaches. However, as the writer of a weekly newspaper article she has an ethical obligation for dissemination of factual information. Regrettably her Aug. 6 article failed to meet this obligation.

Don Carlson

Westbrook

Editor’s Note: “Ask the Landscape Professional” is a paid advertisement; it is not subject to oversight by the editor of the Harbor News.