Allotments 4 All
General => News => Topic started by: ceres on July 23, 2008, 16:46:15
-
Just this minute got an email from the PSD:
"Dow have now indicated that they are withdrawing products which contain aminopyralid from sale and PSD is formally suspending their authorisations whilst we investigate the options for preventing a recurrence of this problem. A key issue in our consideration will be whether the conditions of use regarding manure are sufficient, or sufficiently well known."
-
Brilliant!!!! Makes you think there must still be some sense in the world!
Well done with your campaigning!
-
One for the little people - gardeners of the world unite!
Ha ha! Just finished doing a photoshoot with my MP for the local press. He will be impressed - NOT! Although he had written to Hilary Been whose office sent me the news, so I suppose he can take some of the credit.
-
Excellent - well done you!!
-
It's a good first step. The pressure needs to be kept up so that it stays off the market and it's use becomes banned and stockpiles destroyed.
Keep signing the petition folks!
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Aminopyralid/ (http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Aminopyralid/)
-
:D :D :D
Thank you so much for all of your hard work to make sure that this issue did not disappear off of the radar.
It is brilliant news.
What a result - have you thought about running for office ?? :o ;D
-
well done ceres, and everyone else!! my M.P. is on the case as well, but it seems us little people have had a result! ;D ;D
-
Well, at the end of a sh*t sh*t day :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( where all I want to do is have a stiff drink and ponder why do I do what I do, that has to be the best news of all. Well done, if enough little people like us can make enough noise and bring these atrocities to the attention of the world so that the big bullies can stop riding roughshod over us.
And I've just had a phone call that this morning's nightmare :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( has turned out well. :) :) :) :)
-
congratulations to ceres and everyone who fought this for us, ;D
and glad your nightmare's over, asbean :)
-
yippie :)
-
Fantastic!! Well done!!
-
Well done Ceres and thanks :D
-
Well done you! Signed it.
;)
-
Well done Ceres. ;D
-
Excellent news well done.
-
Thanks all! There's an awful lot of people have made this happen. We need to keep pressing now so that it isn't allowed back and so that existing supplies are withdrawn. Please, if you have been affected, let the PSD and Dow know. They'll only act if it is recognised as the big problem we know it is. If you know anyone who has been affected and hasn't reported it persuade them to do so. It needs individual reports, not reports on behalf of sites. And even if you haven't been affected, you can still express your concern to them.
And don't forget the petition - 1000 by the end of the week?:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Aminopyralid/ (http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Aminopyralid/)
-
really good news, well done. power to the people!!
petition signed
-
ceres
on behalf of a good few of us at stroude lane thank you, we have all signed the pettition and 17 of us rang a number that allegedly hadnt had many calls and i hope we helped, but we would have had no where to go with out all of your efforts, your time etc so thank you
-
Ceres and everyone else who put themselves out to get this problem highlighted and dealt with a GREAT BIG THANK YOU (((HUG))) ((MWAH, MWAH, MWAH!!)) ;D ;D :-* :-*
you are all brilliant.
twinkletoes
-
Not to put a damper on things as I think the temporary withdrawal is great. I think if anything it has shown the power of email and the Internet. In earlier days we would have each been unaware of the wider issue and also not have been able to have reached as many influential people so quickly.
However, now isn't a time for complaisance - this is only the start. At this point aminopyralid products have been withdrawn by the manufacturer only on a temporary basis. Even if the chemical was withdrawn permanently it needs to be appreciated that herbicides that contain this ingredient will have been used already this year. According to available information the herbicides used this year could be affecting our supply of manure for at least two more years and probably for longer than that depending on how manure is stored prior to distribution. It is therefore, crucial that gardeners are made aware to only buy manure from trusted sources - that is from sources who know exactly what has been used on the product from the very beginning of the chain of supply.
We also need to convince the powers that be that if the product is not to be withdrawn permanently then strict safeguards need to be put in place to prevent this years problems from happening again!
-
FANTASTIC news!!! ;D ;D ;D I agree with everyone else, SIGN THE PETITION and fingers crossed that this becomes a TOTAL ban not just a temporary one.
-
Sorry, I just need to correct something here. The statement from the PSD does not discuss a TEMPORARY withdrawal or define a time limit on the withdrawal. Here is the text again:
"Dow have now indicated that they are withdrawing products which contain aminopyralid from sale and PSD is formally suspending their authorisations whilst we investigate the options for preventing a recurrence of this problem. A key issue in our consideration will be whether the conditions of use regarding manure are sufficient, or sufficiently well known."
-
Very well done ceres and to all those who have assisted in any way!!!!!!!!
Without wishing to put a damper on anything, Dow aren't angels.
Remember Bhopal? Dow bought out Union Carbide & have done NOTHING to rid the plant & areas surrounding of hundreds of tons of stored toxic waste.
Wasn't me Sir!
-
I think I have more faith in the PSD after this - they have worked very quickly in civil service terms to withdraw their authorisations. Although the level of scrutiny new products are given prior to granting authorisations in the first place may still be up for question.
I would have thought that to regain permits to use products like this in the UK again, DOW are going to have to provide an awful lot of data to show the product isn't damaging and this will also have to include environmental data (after all what happens to run off from manure heaps and silage clamps?), and also food safety data. I am guessing the level of persistance wasn't anticipated.
-
Cere's well done,
But if this is the case why have the farming industry not done something about this in the past surely if they are manuring their land and their animals have eaten comtaminated siledge will this have not shown in their crop yields :)
-
Thanks Mr Smith.
It's the farmers who use these products so they have access to the warnings on the label. For them it's a good product, they don't have to spray as frequently so presumably it's cheaper and probably more effective too.
Having said that, this article from Farmers' Weekly Nov 2007 shows that potato growers were being caught out during the 2007 growing season.
http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2007/11/30/108626/damage-to-potato-crops-caused-by-manure-or-slurry.html (http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2007/11/30/108626/damage-to-potato-crops-caused-by-manure-or-slurry.html)
Just a pity no-one got on top of it earlier.
-
Ceres
in recent years I have noticed my boobs getting bigger so what is that all about, I' ;)M A MAN
-
Mr Smith I believe that yur own problem may lay elsewhere and be totally unrelated to hormone weedkiller. nuf said!
-
Our allotment site in Leeds has been badly affected and it's great that DOW have had to withdraw this product. My hubbie and I have both signed the petition and we are also writing to our MP. We must keep up the pressure
-
Sorry to hear you've been affected too. If you can report it to Dow and the Pesticides Safety Directorate and ask others on your site to do so too, that will help.
information@psd.hse.gsi.gov.uk (http://information@psd.hse.gsi.gov.uk)
ukhotline@dow.com. (http://ukhotline@dow.com.)
-
Jolly good show Ceres, signed. ;D ;D ;D
-
Ok we know what the cause of this is but do any of you know if it is safe to eat the produce from these plants and if so is DEFRA and the other main boidies suporting this.
-
The initial advice was that although the risk to human health was believed to be low, it was probably best not to eat any produce grown in contaminated manure.
On 11 July, the Pesticides Safety Directorate (the part of DEFRA that deals with these things) issued an update saying:
"PSD has now assessed additional information from the manufacturer that confirms that using manure, which may contain residues of aminopyralid, does not have implications for human health.
Based on reasonable worst case assumptions: that cattle are only fed grass, or silage made from grass, treated with aminopyralid; that vegetables are grown in soil mixed with manure produced from the animals; and that all the aminopyralid released from the manure is taken up into the plants; the highest residues would not be a concern for health, so vegetables should be safe to eat.
The manufacturer also provided some information on studies of residues in treated food crops which indicates that actual residues will be much lower than estimated, which gives additional reassurance.
The substance is an effective herbicide/weedkiller, but of low toxicity to mammals. The problem has arisen in part because the substance can persist in grass, hay or silage, and passes through the mammalian digestive system largely unaffected, rather than being broken down."
http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/garden.asp?id=2480 (http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/garden.asp?id=2480)
Sorry, but I don't really understand what you mean when you ask are the bodies supporting this? DEFRA has agreed to Dow's request to withdraw the products and suspend the licenses. Is that what you mean?
-
I ment that there are other bodies eg: RHS who have more clout than us. If what you say is that DEFRA are withdrawing the licenec this is a good thing.
-
I ment that there are other bodies eg: RHS who have more clout than us.
Darn! Wish I'd known that before. Could have left it to the big hitters and saved myself the time and effort. Ah well, I'll know better next time.
-
Your time and efort are not wasted but was looking for some backing from the big boys. Ok I see what the PSD were saying and thats all I wanted to know
-
Hi everyone,
I have read through the whole thread but not sure if / how I can find out for sure if my manure is contaminated or not.
All my raspberries have died but I don't know if its due to this or a disease like raspberry root rot ( as I don't know what to look for ) the leaves started to die off then the canes and it moved right along the rows.
Some of my potato plants haven't grown very well, low,slightly yellow foliage but tubers seem ok.
is there any way /organisation who can test our soil, damaged plants to confirm if the contaminated manure is the problem ?
regards Gail
-
Hi Gail. Sorry you've got poorly plants.
If your manure is contaminated, it produces very distinctive distorted foliage. All plants will show the same distortion - cupped, spooned, fern-like growth. If your plants don't have the distorted foliage, it's likely you need to find another cause for the problems. The RHS has advised that testing isn't conclusive - the amounts of herbicide residue are so miniscule, they may not show up in tests, which are hideously expensive. You can take photographs (detailed as possible obviously) and send them to the RHS Advisory Service and they'll give you an opinion by post or email. If you're a member, you can take plant samples to Wisley and they'll also advise you.
gardeningadvice@rhs.org.uk (http://gardeningadvice@rhs.org.uk)
Here are a couple of pics - sorry I don't have one yet for rasps:
[attachment=1]
[attachment=2]