OLYMPIA, Wash. - Gov. Gary Locke's recently drafted fertilizer-reform legislation will probably see some last-minute changes now that state scientists have discovered higher levels of dioxins than expected in some of the waste-derived fertilizers they tested.
Carol Jolly, a top aide to Locke and chair of the fertilizer advisory group, explained the state began testing for dioxins in several fertilizers late this summer and just last week got the results back.
Although the scientists had expected to find dioxins in the tested fertilizers, Bob Arrington, official with the state's Department of Agriculture, said the results came as a surprise.
"We hadn't expected the levels we found in some of them," he conceded. Dioxins are colorless, odorless byproducts suspected of causing cancer and reproductive problems. They can result from such manufacturing processes as waste incineration, steel production, pulp and paper manufacturing and oil refining.
According to a fact sheet released by the Department of Ecology, dioxins were discovered in all of the five waste-derived fertilizers tested. In these recent tests, scientists assumed the tested fertilizers would be regularly applied to farmland at their recommended maximum annual rates
At those rates, they found that application of two of the fertilizer products - cement kiln dust and granular zinc from tire ash - would not result in farmland exceeding the EPA estimated average background soil concentration level for North America, which is 8 parts per trillion.
But they found that applications of two of the fertilizers would result in minimal increases over that background level. Granular zinc fertilizer from steel mill flue dust, for example, would result in an increase of .004 parts per trillion, and wood ash, a byproduct of burning wood for electricity or steam generation, would result in an increase of one part per trillion.
Wood ash is not used on food crops.
Soil concentrations of the fifth waste-derived product, liquid zinc fertilizer, have not yet been determined.
For Washington farmers, especially Eastern Washington farmers, this is a critical issue, primarily because some of the waste-derived fertilizers found with dioxins are widely used because they contain zinc, an essential micronutrient.
Unfortunately, the solution to this dilemma is not a simple matter of keeping the byproducts out of those fertilizers.
"We think most sources of zinc come from manufacturing processes," Greg Sorlie of Ecology said. "If there's a zinc mine where you can extract it in its pure form, I'd like to hear about it."
Crops sensitive to zinc deficiencies include corn, beans, hops, onions and some varieties of potatoes. Symptoms of zinc deficiency have also been seen in wheat, sugar beets, alfalfa, peas, sudangrass and soybeans.
In spite of these recent findings about dioxins in some zinc fertilizers, Arrington of the Agriculture Department said he doesn't expect farmers to have problems finding sources for zinc fertilizer this year.
Meanwhile, state scientists and health officials point out that federal studies indicate plants do not readily absorb dioxins from the soil. But they say they don't know what contribution, if any, fertilizers are making to accumulation in animals and subsequent exposures to people. One dioxin expert said livestock ingest some dioxins because they eat a small amount of soil as they graze.
"We have no current evidence that human health is threatened by the fertilizers used on farmland in Washington," said state Department of Health Secretary Bruce Miyahara. "We will continue to push for improved information to ensure that health is not compromised, and we will support efforts to tighten regulation of fertilizers, develop better standards, and improve information through research and analysis.
Erika Schreder of the Toxics Coalition said the group had recommended the state test for dioxins.
"We've been saying all long that fertilizers containing waste byproducts probably contain dioxins," she said.
But she was quick to express her disappointment that the governor's proposed legislation didn't go as far as to prohibit steel mill dust from being used in fertilizers.
"In no way, did the legislation close that loophole," she said, referring to federal ruling that exempts the dust from hazardous-waste laws if it is used as fertilizer.
But Sorlie of Ecology said the state agencies will consider broader testing of fertilizers for dioxins and will be encouraging fertilizer manufacturers to look for the cleanest products possible to use in cases such as this.
And he pointed out that the state Legislature has the option of replacing the federal exemption regarding steel mill dust with its own regulations.
"We know that dioxin is a scary word for folks," he said. "EPA has done risk assessment studies and is continuing to look at this. We're hoping they'll speed this up."
He conceded that one of the problems the state faces in coming up with regulations pertaining to dioxins is that there are no standards anywhere in the world for dioxin levels in fertilizers.
"We're wrestling with this," he said. "We're trying to determine what we should do. People all over the country have been wrestling with this."
Meanwhile, the state agencies involved in fertilizer reform met this week with the fertilizer advisory group, which is made up of representatives from the agricultural and fertilizer industries, as well as representatives of the environmental community, in order to provide further input on the issue of dioxins.
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