This was posted last week at www.mastercomposter.com :
electric co. sprayed my organic farm with poison
Sunday, 09-Jul-2000 13:32:03
64.89.129.98 writes:
I am Pam Kirkland in Monticello KY, 606-348-3439. I have lived
here since May, 1996. I came from the middle of Manhattan (17th
St. and 6th Ave) when a series of events allowed me to fulfill my
dream, to live on and "off" of a beautiful 6-acre plot of land
here in little mountains country. I am 52 yrs old. I spent the
first 2 yrs building a beautiful straw-bale house, hence i got
into excellent shape.
Even while building and since then i have been planting: many
trees (chestnuts, gingkos, pecans, english and black walnuts,
figs, several apples, several peaches, plums, cherries, several
hawthorn berries, white pines and other firs, and other trees). I
have many plots of herbs that have been there for 3-4 yrs (many
echinacea (purpurea) plots, which take 3-4 yrs to be viable,
etc.). Of course, it is all organic, using horse manure gotten
free from a stable here. And composting, etc.
I had also begun using much of the wild "weeds and shrubs" (dried
herbs and wildflowers, sumac, etc) for crafts. Many friends here
and in NYC and Milwaukee wanted what i was creating.
this year i planned to harvest the huge blackberry crop (the most
bountiful i've seen since moving here!) and then mow bigger rows
for larger scale planting of trees, herbs and other foodstuffs.
all organic of course!
and then, on June 29, 2000 all this came to a dead end. What was
a beautiful future, a healthy and bountiful one, was killed in 15
minutes of spraying deadly poison: the combination of Arsenal and
Accord herbicides.
I must say that i have notes in different places, paper, puter,
etc. This was such a shock and soooo devastating as i found out
more and more about what was sprayed, etc. I wasn't as organized
as perhaps i should have been. at any rate, here is what i now
have organized (Also, when i say "my" land, i mean that only in
the sense of being a caretaker of the land, and i was a good
caretaker, the land was beautiful and bountiful. A friend who is
a nursery man (who i have argued many a time about synthetic
chemicals with) was constantly amazed by how well the trees (his
main interest), etc. have taken off. He said the pH of my land
must be excellent for plants and trees....*tears*)
The following is some of what i wrote at the time after the
spraying and since:
Thurs, June 29, 2000 ,,,
today the electric co sprayed my land. 2 half-naked men on spray
truck got close to my driveway before i was able to stop them.
when i did finally stop them and yelled out "WHO ARE U? WHAT ARE
U DOING?" one got on a cell phone .... and when he got off he
said his boss would be right here and they took off fast. boss
never showed up.
when i first saw them, i said to myself, what the heck, are they
watering under the lines? took me awhile to take it all in... to
realize that something horrible,,, unthinkable!,,, was happening.
called recc. they gave me somerset #. called somerset, talked
first to someone (male, have name somewhere) who said he would
call the guy in charge who would call me back. i must say it
was evident i was extremely distraught, my voice was quavering
with fury and fear! Paul Merrick did call me back. sounded
very worried, said he would have contractor call me right away.
called back to say he couldn't get contractor on phone. Merrick
said he would keep trying and he would reach him at home tonite,
if necessary, and contractor would be here first thing tomorrow.
merrick told me what they sprayed: Arsenal and Accord.....and
then
assured me there was no problem, these were very safe products.
My sister Terry, came out with a camera, so that i could take pix
of where they sprayed, to start a record. I walked up my field to
one of my gingko trees, a tree planted 3 yrs ago, and that is
when i felt the wetness from a blade of grass, on my ankle. There
was no way anything would still be wet from dew at 5 p.m. on a
very hot sunny day. That gingko is well beyond the 15-ft. right
of way (not that they
should have come near my land without my permission in the first
place!!!!) took a shower immeidately after.
have looked arsenal up on net. (crying) ... everything they say
in official literature sez not to spray on place like this. i
can't read any more ,,, it is too frightening and depressing.
can't type anymore about it either,,,
6/30/00
Lloyd Sebastian, L&L Bushhogging contractor and paul merrick
(recc right of way maintenance came here around 9 a.m. Seb handed
me some flyers on what they sprayed. started talkin about how
this won't hurt the land, just get rid of cherry trees and the
like. i said i wanted those cherry trees. every single one in
that field was there because i wanted it there. and i would have
taken care that not one of them came near to threatening any
power line. (btw, why didn't he give me the MSDS sheet on
Accord?) (have u ever tasted a wild black cherry? last year i had
a bumper crop of them, and i discovered how luscious they are,
luscious and,,,,sensuous. i could not wait for the many trees in
my field to mature!)
after he (Seb) finished his spiel about how it won't hurt the
land, i
asked him if he knew how long the stuff stayed in the ground. he
said it's here somewhere, started leafing thru flyers. couldn't
find it. i said i have looked it up and it's 6mos to 2 yrs. (i
now believe this is an underestimation!) he said "oh no ,,, can't
be ,,, 3 mos. at most". He said he had taken classes on this
stuff and he really knew it didn't hurt the land. I said there
are billions and billions of dollars being spent on
"anti-science" gibberish, to teach guys like u to smooth talk ppl
like me into believing all is well, when in fact death and
destruction is being wrought. And Monsanto is one of the leaders
in this "field." (I think they both had hard time with a woman
who could talk back, especially with facts.) Sebastian finally
said, well we talk to 1,000's of ppl and only 1 in a 1,000
object. I said: I should have been given that chance, shouldn't
I?! He looked despondent and said, well, yess and Paul merrick
said the same. (Merrick looked verrrreeeee stressed!)
i asked why they came onto my land without my permission. Seb
said they didn't know anyone lived here. I said there's no way
those guys spraying didn't see my house wayyy before i stopped
them. And didn't see the single-lane-road-sized paths i have mown
all around, or the huge mulch piles i have around the trees and
herb plots i've planted. I said how did u even find my land, seb
said the guy who did the bushhogging last time drew out the map.
I said, so then he DEFINITELY knew someone lived here, since i
talked with him/them, the crew. (This is 3 yrs ago. I had talked
to them about how happy i was that they were bushhogging rather
than spraying! One of the guys said, oh no, we can't spray around
here, there's too
many creeks and springs!)
i asked why they sprayed wayyy beyond the 15 ft on each side of
wire rule? he said he didn't think they had. I said i KNEW they
did, and at any rate, we will find out soon enuff, won't we, when
it all dies. i said i had many trees and herbs planted up there,
herbs that take 3-4 years to be viable, have been there for 4
yrs, and now are poisoned. That the blackberries were just
starting to ripen, and the biggest crop i've seen since i've been
here. he said they would pay for replacing anything i lost. (i
now know that this is a ridiculous remedy, even the latest issue
of Kentucky Living (recc's magazine to coop members) brags that
the
effects of spraying arsenal and accord will last easily for 5
yrs!! and i'll bet it lasts longer!!) i can't plant anything, and
therefore i can't make a living from that area of work!
at some point i asked, why are u spraying anyway, the guys who
bushhogged 3 yrs ago said they would never spray around here. and
i answered for him, i said because of $, right? is it cheaper? at
this point Merrick (who had hardly said anything, just looked
miserable) started to say, well,,,not reallly,,,, and was cut off
forcefully by Seb who said YES, that's right, it is cheaper. and
the
coop members want us to do it in as inexpensive a way as
possible.!
(i wish i had talked to Merrick then, and said something about
how it's NOT
really cheaper, is it? the chemical co's get u hooked on a long
term project that ends up being even more expensive than the less
environmentallly detrimental methods!)
at end Seb said, i'm sorry, big mistake (Paul Merrick, just
looked totally despondent, nodded away). "Big mistake and i
can't undo it". I said, that's all i want, for u to undo it, make
it so it never happened. Sebastian sez, "that's the one thing i
cant' do".
my tears would not hold back, i walked away sobbing.
Bad headache today, started in afternoon and went into the night.
saturday:
Spent most of day at Louis's with terry, dova, kathy, matthew,
jill, etc. they are all outraged and feel something must be done!
bad headache, but good company.
Sunday
Bad headache again and do i have a sore throat?
excerpts from an email to a friend, Sun. 7/2/00:
i am beginning to think that it is criminal for them not to have
evacuated me and mine. It is at least criminal that they have not
given me any warnings on what or what not to do around this
poison (even when the "boss" and recc guy came here they still
gave me no warnings!).
,,,,,
If the poison extends to 300 ft (and even that is probly an
underestimation!) then nowhere am i safe on this land. even
moreseo, if u are to NEVER spray on a "slope" (notice it duzn't
say not to spray on a "hill", "mountain", etc. "slope" is the
word) then everything slopes down to my house. There is
practically nowhere on my land that duzn't at least slope. [as a
friend said, the only thing on my land that doesn't slope is the
floor of my house!]
There is NO way those sprayers didn't see my house WELL before i
finally stopped them.(end of excerpt)
monday:
Called EPA in Atlanta, got # from the net. Most ppl were out for
holiday, but talked to one woman, Andrea. She said she would
contact KY Dept. of Agriculture, this is the procedure. When i
started talking about the fact they sprayed close to my house, on
a slope, etc. she said, "whoa, we can only go by what the label
on the products say." I said i had the label for Arsenal but not
Accord, and that the label seems highly inadequate in what they
say (tho at least it sez those spraying should wear long-sleeve
shirts, etc.). She said there's nothing to be done about that,
the label is ALL they can go by. What a crock of u know what! (i
didn't say that, tho.)
Today i am mostly just mourning my land, my beautiful land that
is now dead.
no, worse than dead, the land itself is poison.... trying to type
and look up info, but the more info i look up the harder it is to
go on..... screen blurry from tears....
bad headache and a definite sore throat (sore like there is a
lump in my throat, as if i was about to cry, getting more and
more painful). it could be because i am almost always about to
cry,,,, but i don't think that is the only reason.
7-4-00
happy independence day....NOT!
Bad headache came back and sore throat constant and getting
worse, can hardly swallow without extreme pain. I am now positive
i should have left here immediately. I am thinking that a huge
plume, cloud of mist (probably not the right word) rolled down
from the field right smack into my house. Last nite i hardly
slept for more than an hour at a time, but it isn't nightmares
keeping me awake, it's reality. Slept a little towards morning (5
a.m.) woke up, sheets and pillow wringing wet. Maybe i should
close my window that fronts where the spraying happened.
7-5-00
Closed my windows today and sleep was a little better and I
didn't wake up with wringing wet sheets or pillow. But sore
throat is still with me!
strange thing this a.m.: (probly around 8:30-9-9:30, walking dogs
on sexton rd (since i can no longer walk thru my poisoned field).
at this point i was about 1/2 way between my
driveway and bertram's trailer....and a big brown truck with
little orange lites on top came to top of ridge just before
bertram's, saw me, stopped, and backed up in a hurry. i ran to
see if i could see who it was, but they were too fast,
high-tailed it back down Sexton Rd! i am sure it is the same
truck as sebastian and merrick used on friday...sure of it!
didn't have headache today, but intense sore throat is now
constant. I am now convinced that i have been drastically
affected physically by the spraying. (And the psychological
effect is ,,, devastating to say the least.)
I am now asking myself why i didn't leave immediately. Frankly, i
think that even with as much as i know about these horrible
chemicals, i somehow (is this human nature?) felt "it can't be
that bad." Denial is a big part of it, i'm sure! And i have 2
dogs and 2 cats and ,, well,,,,i was just naive, i guess. And of
course, RECC was saying, Hey, no prob! why did i fall for it? I
am blaming myself for all this, but it is NOT my fault.
And what of my dogs, they roam free as they always have. I at
least knew this was a prob in the beginning and i tried to tie
them up, but they would not stand for it and got free every time.
And what of the birds, insects, and li'l critters? Does anyone
know the answers to these questions?
I think i must take samples of the dogs' hair and my own. and get
a blood test perhaps and a checkup.....
i will end this now and send it out. It is not totally complete,
i still have notes on paper and puter that i haven't
incorporated, and of course, there are more days to recount, but
it is enough for now. (I was a typesetter for over 20yrs in NYC
(working at Sports Illustrated, Time, Glamour, etc.), and i have
carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital (elbow) tunnel syndrome, but i
think these are some of the least of my problems right now. But
it is hard to type so much, and research-- clicking that mouse is
a killer!) Thank u for reading it and any comments, suggestions,
etc. will be greatly appreciated.
Pam Kirkland
today i noticed something else. my little beagle/terrier mix dog
had been developing bald spots on his haunches since the
spraying. Today (Sun., 7/9) I noticed that there are very black
spots (1/4 inch around and smaller) on these bald spots and the 2
areas seem inflamed. *tears*
also, many blackberries are ripening and are being eaten, i'm
sure by birds. what is to come of them?
I am now certain that there is evidence of the spray even on my
house. Is there any way to test for this? What can i do??
i am sorry to take up so much space on your msg board, i hope u don't mind!
i must spread the word!
pam kirkland pskirkland@kih.net
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