
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994                   TAG: 9403290133
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EPA PROVIDES FUNDS FOR FREE PESTICIDE-DISPOSAL PROGRAM

The Virginia Department of Agriculture has received money from the Environmental Protection Agency to help clean up farms that may contain unused or outdated pesticides. The Pesticide Disposal Program is a way for farmers in 21 counties and the city of Lynchburg to dispose of these chemicals free of charge. Ordinarily, it costs $800 to dispose of a five-gallon container of pesticide, and up to $1,500 to get rid of a 55-gallon barrel of pesticide.

"The main thing we're trying to do is get these chemicals out of the county and cleaned up safely," said Floyd County extension agent, David Gardner.

Surveys were sent out last fall to every landowner in the cleanup area, to find out what kinds of pesticides were being stored and how much was in each county. Response to those surveys was low, said Carroll County extension agent Gary Larrowe, but he hopes more people will respond once the cleanup crews arrive in June to dispose of the chemicals.

"I think it's just one of those things where mail piles up, and no one has time or has paid much attention," he said. "And also, the thought of a pesticide inspector on your property can be intimidating."

However, there will be no fines or penalties to dispose of unused or illegal chemicals, he said. And disposal is completely free, making it "a real service to the people," Gardner added.

Clean Harbors, a Virginia toxic waste disposal company, has been contracted to help with the disposal program. The company, along with a Department of Agriculture inspector, will pick up and test each chemical beginning in June. They also will identify and take away unknown chemicals.

Chemicals such as DDT, which causes egg-shell thinning in birds; chloridaine, a chemical used to rid homes of termites; and 245T, a brush killer that has been linked to agent orange, are the kinds of chemicals that extension agents like Gardner and Larrowe would like to see taken away.

"There's no problem having the chemicals," Gardner said, because some of them have been sitting in outbuildings or were buried in the back 40 back when they were still legal, "it's just that you can't get rid of them legally without paying a lot of money."

Farmers are not the only ones who can take advantage of the free disposal program, Larrowe said. Nurseries, golf courses, greenhouses, pesticide dealers and others who live in the 21-county, one-city disposal area are eligible. "Local governments aren't eligible, but they can contact Clean Harbors and get a reduced rate," Larrowe said.

"Of course, a homeowner whose just got a bunch of old cans of Raid at their house won't count," Gardner said.

The following counties are included in this year's regional disposal program: Albemarle, Amherst, Augusta, Bedford, Carroll, Charles City, Culpeper, Fauquier, Floyd, Franklin, Greensville, Henrico, Isle of Wight, James City, Montgomery, New Kent, Pittsylvania, Prince George, Pulaski, Roanoke and Sussex. Lynchburg also is participating.

In previous years, the EPA has granted money to other counties in Virginia for the disposal program. Eventually, said Larrowe, the entire state will be cleaned up.

"This is basically a one-shot deal," he said of the current program. "Once that truck pulls out, you can't come and say, 'Hey, I've got some old DDT that I need to get rid of.'"

For further information on collection dates in your area, call your county extension agent.

by CNB