A24-Lancast*r Farming, Saturday, May 17,19 M
BY JACK HURLEY
LITITZ An agricultural
chemical spill in Lancaster County
last weekend killed fish and othei)
aquatic life along a half-mile
stretch of Lititz Run, as well as in
one of the waterway’s tributaries.
The incident took place on a farm
owned by Irl Baffin of Lititz. A
local farmer leases Baffin’s land
for field crop production.
The accident occurred last
Saturday about 5 p.m., when the
farmer was crossing a small
tributary several hundred yards
upstream from Lititz Run with a
spray tank hitched to his tractor.
The tank’s hitch broke, causing the
tank to tip rearward and spill
about half of its 300 gallons of
herbicide mixture before the flow
could be stopped.
The mixture, containing
atrazine, Lasso, 2,4-D and
tozaphene, flowed into the feeder
stream, turning the stream white,
according to nearby resident,
Daniel Garrett, who operates a
horse stable several hundred feet
downstream. Officials from the
Environmental Protection
Agency, the Department of En-
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Lititz-Area Ag Chemical Spill Results in Fish Kill
vironmental Resources and the
Pennsylvania Fish Commission
were contacted and an in
vestigation began Saturday
evening.
Members of the Rothsville Fire
Company alerted residents along a
one-mile stretch of the stream,
warning that humans and livestock
should avoid contact with the
water for four days.
According to EPA officials, the
spill contained a three-percent
solution of the four chemicals.
Lasso and atrazine are two her
bicides widely used for pre
emergent weed control in corn
fields, according to Lancaster
Extension agronomist Arnold
Lueck. The growth regulator 2,4-0
is commonly used for broadleaf
weed control. Toxaphene is an
insecticide used to control cut
worms, Lueck said.
“ The one we’re most concerned
about is the toxaphene,” said Fish
Commission assistant regional
supervisor Barry Pollack, pointing
out that the insecticide is highly
toxic to fish and other aquatic life.
EPA spokesman Robert Caron
concurs. “It was more than likely
the toxaphene that was causing
distress in fish,” he said. Ac
cording to an EPA publication,
only existing stocks of toxaphene
may be used at the present time,
and all use of the chemical must be
discontinued by Bee. 31,1986.
As late as Monday, Fish Com
mission personnel reported seeing
the effects of the chemical about
one mile below the spill, and area
resident Logan Myers reported
dead fish in a pond located within
half a mile of the spill. “The fish
seemed to be trying to get out of
the water, then they started to go
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belly-up,” Myers reported from
Sunday observations.
Because the mixture traveled
almost directly into moving water,
cleaning up the chemicals was not
an option, according to EPA’s
Caron. He described the incident
as “minor,” and said he expected
the waterway to purge itself of the
toxins.
“We expect next to no long-term
effects,” Caron said, adding that
groundwater contamination was
unlikely due to the small amount of
chemicals involved. “The small
creek Ojat received the initial spill
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of the ALFALFA and CLOVER leaves because of leaf
shatter. Some rotary head tedders can beat much of the
protein-rich leaves off the stems - leaving them in the
field. (That can cost you money in lost nutritional value
because 80% of the protein is in the leaves.)
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may have impact for several
months,” he said.
Farm superintendent Elmer
Kreiner emphasized that the in
cident was accidental. “It was no
neglect,” said Kreiner. “We’re
backing him (farmer) 100 per
cent.”
Although prosecution is possible
in chemical spill situations, neither
DER nor the Fish Commission
would speculate as to whether
penalties would be imposed, since
a chemical analysis of water
samples taken at the scene had not
yet been completed.