July 12, 2002

For Immediate Release

PUBLIC ADVISORY: Herbicide Spraying in State Forests Begins Monday

Citizens Criticize DCNR for Lack of Public Involvement, Environmental Analysis

Clarion, PA - Citizen groups issued a public advisory today to inform the public about the potential health concerns of herbicide spraying plans on 3,400 acres in 10 state forests. The herbicides Accord (a.k.a. Roundup) and Oust will be sprayed in 10 counties across Pennsylvania including many areas near state parks and hiking trails. The Public Advisory is being issued by Allegheny Defense Project (Clarion, PA), Communities for Sustainable Forestry (Kane, PA), Greenwatch (Jersey Shore, PA), and Pennsylvania Environmental Network (Fombell, PA).

The citizen groups issued the advisory along with a ringing criticism of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) that sounded eerily familiar. The citizen groups questioned the agencyÕs failure to publicly disclose information about and invite public comment on plans to spray potentially harmful herbicides on 3,400 acres in 10 state forests. The criticism by the groups echoed earlier criticisms about the DCNRÕs handling of a plan to open 218,000 acres of state forest and park lands to oil and gas drilling.

The citizen group Allegheny Defense Project immediately contacted the DCNR after learning of the agencyÕs plans on Monday, July 8th, to begin spraying exactly one week later on Monday, July 15. The DCNR provided the information to the citizen groups late Thursday, three days after the groups first learned of the plan. The groups are familiar with the impacts of these herbicides based upon research conducted in the Allegheny National Forest. Several the groups are currently in federal court over the U.S. Forest ServiceÕs failure to adequately assess the herbicideÕs impacts on public health and the environment.

"After the stink that was made about the oil and gas auction this spring, it is shocking that DCNR Secretary John Oliver would do nothing to reform transparency of the DCNRÕs management activities," said Bill Smedley with Greenwatch and the Pennsylvania Environmental Network. "The DCNR has been totally unresponsive to public concerns about the agencyÕs procedure of operating without public input and environmental analysis."

The citizen groups wrote Secretary Oliver today demanding that documentation be released under the CommonwealthÕs Right to Know Law. The citizen groups cited the potential harms of the chemicals as well as research done in the Allegheny National Forest demonstrating that these chemicals are depleting native biological diversity.

"We are deeply concerned that supporters of our organization may already have plans to visit these areas and may be unknowingly exposed to chemicals that could cause adverse health effects," explained James Kleissler, Forest Watch Director for the Allegheny Defense Project. "These two chemicals have serious potential impacts to the environment and public health and the public has a right to know what they might be exposed to. I was exposed to these herbicides in the Allegheny National Forest four years ago and experienced nausea, headaches, and irritation in my eyes, nose, and especially throat."

PUBLIC ADVISORY

Accord (a.k.a. Roundup)

Accord, which includes Glyphosate the same active ingredient as the more commonly known Roundup, has the potential for harmful side effects on persons who come into contact with it. According to the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides who conducted a review of all of the available literature on Glyphosate, Roundup is "Éaccutely toxic to animals, including humans. Symptoms include eye and skin irritation, headache, nausea, numbness, elevated blood pressure, and heart palpitations." Laboratory studies have found indications of medium-term toxicity, long-term toxicity, genetic damage, effects on sperm health, and is a possible carcinogen. Glyphosate has been known to persist with a half-life of persistence in soils as long as 100 days recorded in New York.

Oust

Oust, which include the active ingredient Sulfometuron methyl, is only acutely toxic at high levels. The Northwest coalition for alternatives to pesticides cautions that Oust has been documented to break down into two chemicals, sulfonilamide and saccharin, which have been associated with cancer and genetic damage in laboratory tests. While Oust is considered moderately persistent, Oust has been documented to persist in soils in New Brunswick long enough to kill spruce seedlings ten months after spraying. In four states, Oust persistence has been measured at one month. Oust has been documented to have potential significant impacts to the "Émicrobial ecological balance of the soil." Dozens of grasses, thistles, and other plants have developed natural resistances to these types of herbicides. The inert ingredients in Oust are kept as industrial secrets by Du Pont despite the E.P.A.Õs concern that these ingredients may make pesticides more toxic.

Accord and Oust

In most cases, the two herbicides will be sprayed mixed together in a single tank. The synergistic effects on public health of mixing the two chemicals have never been measured. Applications will be done using the air-blast machine spraying technique which involves the spraying of herbicides from tanks mounted to the rear of large vehicles.

Environmental Impacts

The U.S. Forest Service has documented that application of these herbicides is resulting in a conversion of the forest towards a single species dominated forest Ð black cherry. The Forest Service has also documented that the application of these herbicides in combination with other practices such as fencing has caused plant diversity to decline and that this is a problem for the long-term health of the forest. In addition, research completed by the U.S. Forest Service shows that any reductions of weed species such as hay-scented fern, a primary target of the planned spraying, is temporary and that the ferns will return and dominate the site several years within spraying. Other targets of the spraying include American beech and striped maple, important species for healthy wildlife habitat.

Read the coalition's letter to DCNR Secretary John Oliver about the spraying program.

Download a spreadsheet detailing the DCNR's summer 2002 herbicide plans.

For more information on the toxic effects of Glyphosate (Accord/Roundup) and Sulfometuron methyl (Oust) visit the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides website at http://www.pesticide.org

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