February 23, 1996
Endosulfan Responsible for Alabama Fish Kill
In August 1996, pesticide contaminated runoff from cotton
fields resulted in a huge fish kill in Alabama. State
personnel estimate that more than 240,000 fish of all locally
known species were killed along a 16 mile stretch of the Big
Nance Creek that flows into the Tennessee River. Water
quality tests at three locations indicate that concentrations
of endosulfan, an organochlorine insecticide applied to
cotton fields, were at levels almost two times higher than
that known to kill fish. In addition to being extremely toxic
to fish and other aquatic life, endosulfan is reported to
disrupt the endocrine and reproductive systems of both humans
and wildlife.
According to state officials, a pesticide product was sprayed
with both airplanes and tractor-type applicators on about 10
farms in early August near Big Nance Creek. The product, made
by FMC Corporation of Philadelphia, contains a combination of
methyl parathion and endosulfan. Heavy rains occurred in the
area shortly after some of the applications. In addition to
the Big Nance Creek incident, pesticide runoff is also
suspected as the cause of several smaller fish kills in the
area during the same period.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the
Departments of Agriculture and Industry, Public Health and
Conservation and Natural Resources announced after a three
week investigation that "heavy rains, an epidemic of cotton
worms and improper labeling of a pesticide all played a role
in the fish kill." According to their findings, there was no
indication that endosulfan was applied in an illegal manner.
The director of the plant protection division of the
Department of Agriculture and Industries stated, "It was
primarily a runoff situation of normal or proper application
of a pesticide to a crop site."
Investigators also found that labels on the pesticide
containers did not include a warning that it should not be
applied within 300 feet of lakes, ponds, streams and
estuaries because of its toxicity to aquatic life. They
stated that some of the fields where the pesticide was
applied may be slightly less than 300 feet from the creek,
the recommended buffer zone. FMC Corporation stated that
literature distributed with the pesticide product contains
the warning, but confirmed that it is not included on
container labels. FMC officials offered no explanation for
the lack of warning information, but stated that the issue is
"under investigation." The product literature was not
distributed to farmers using the pesticide in this region.
There are no charges pending at this time.
One farmer stated that she only used endosulfan because beet
army worms and bud worms had reached epidemic levels after
becoming resistant to the pesticides normally used to control
these cotton pests. After learning that the chemical was
suspected as causing the fish kill, the farmer stated that
she sent all endosulfan stocks on her farm back to the
distributor.
Source: Alabama Department of Environmental Management press
release, August 24, 1995; Decatur Daily, August 25, 1995;
Journal of Pesticide Reform, Winter 1996.
Contact: PANNA.
===========================================================
| Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) |
| |
| Phone:(415) 541-9140 Fax:(415) 541-9253 |
| Email: panna@panna.org http://www.panna.org/panna/|
| PANNA, 116 New Montgomery, #810, San Francisco, CA 94105 |
| |
|*To subscribe to PANUPS send email to MAJORDOMO@igc.apc.org|
| with the following text on one line: subscribe panups |
| To unsubscribe send the following: unsubscribe panups |
| |
|*For basic information about PANNA, send an email message |
| to panna-info@igc.apc.org |
===========================================================