And my nextdoor neighbor has poison all over her yard and our property line...I think her worker was using up the "rest of the tank" with all the spraying in the public areas...Which is where people go to smoke and sit off the property...We cannot smoke here, but it's OK to spray poison where ever you want...
I told our county council how they have killed 2 shop owners with their spraying in town where people walk gassing, even me in my face at 8am...Both died 9 days later...Heart problems...Pesticides make your blood clot and stick together...
Pesticide use needs to be outlawed completely...
When I get the Ag pesticide misuse they come and cover up for who or whatever...Pretending...even calling and warning the office of the HUD housing where I live...That has turned out to be the Pesticide Mixing House Area for the Wailuku Sugar Mill. Nothing was done...I'm just starting to walk right after 7 years...
Our only protections is ground cover...Last month ...in 10 minutes prisoners from the jail were brought through and took away every bush...
We have chickens who scratch everywhere...Under my louvered bedroom windows...I have had a sore throat, runny nose cough and even a fever...I realized I did not have a cold after a month and closed off the bedroom and detoxed...House and myself...It is very gross...I covered all the dirt and construction TOMPs (Toxic Organic Micro Pollutants.) with a sheet to keep out the chickens...I might have to make another report to the main office...But, these people know nothing except lawsuits!
D of Health has found 2-4xs the "SAFE" amount of Arsenic and Dioxin in the soil here...
"Dioxin is a known human carcinogen and the most potent synthetic carcinogen ever tested in laboratory animals. A characterization by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of cancer causing potential evaluated dioxin as over 10,000 times more potent than the next highest chemical (diethanol amine), half a million times more than arsenic and a million or more times greater than all others.
The World Health Organization said
“Once dioxins have entered the environment or body, they are there to stay due to their uncanny ability to dissolve in fats and to their rock-solid chemical stability.”
That is because dioxins are classed as one of the persistant organic pollutants, POPs, also known as as PBTs (Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic) or TOMPs (Toxic Organic Micro Pollutants.)
POPs are a small set of toxic chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods and accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals. They are extremely toxic and cause all manner of illnesses. You can find out more about POPS here"
And this family's story :
Most of our friends and family already know what our family is going through at the moment, but I am setting this post to 'public' so that it can be shared in Eugene, Portland or surrounding areas. (Or beyond)
Please, please, please feel free to share this post. Fellow Eugene residents have a right to know how our local businesses conduct themselves on an environmental basis. These issues affect all of us.
First of all I want to say, people have a right to grow pesticide free food on their own property. They have a right to let their pets and children play in their own backyard without having to fear they're being exposed to concentrated toxins. We pay our rent every month for the right to call this piece of property home. We've spent a year and a half transforming our backyard into a sustainable space where we can grow our own food, dry our laundry without use of electricity, raise our own chickens and tend honey bees. I cannot begin to calculate the amount of work we've invested here.
My family and I are Eugene residents. On Tuesday morning, July 21st, an employee at the business behind our house, Dust Busters Plus LLC, sprayed herbicide (Round Up mixed with Crossbow) along our shared fence line, inadvertently damaging almost all of the vegetation in our backyard, including our large, organic garden. We have spoken with the business owner personally, as well as hand delivered a letter detailing what happened along with an itemized bill for damages. He is not currently taking responsibility for the damages and has not offered any compensation to us at this time. In fact, he completely denies knowledge of having any herbicides on his property or telling his employee to do the spraying, even though I witnessed the employee spraying and spoke with him directly.
The employee stated to me "I'm just doing what my boss told me to." and didn't even know which chemicals he had mixed.
When we asked the owner about compensating us for the damages to our property he stated that he would "possibly consider compensation if we didn't involve the Department of Agriculture." He didn't even bother coming to look at what he had caused.
I contacted the Oregon State Department of Agriculture and a pesticide investigator came out to our house Thursday morning and took photos and samples of the vegetation in our yard which will be sent to their labs in Portland for examination. They are opening a case against the business.
At this point, due to the short time frame in which the damage to vegetation became visible, we believe that the employee that did the spraying did not dilute the concentrated herbicide before applying it. We've lost over $1000 dollars worth of plants already, not to mention all of the contaminated soil that will have to be removed from our raised beds, hauled away and disposed of.
As soon as the state report has been finalized we will be obtaining a copy and opening a civil suit against the business for damages to our property.
As I've researched these herbicides and the laws surrounding them, I've discovered that there really aren't many penalties for businesses who abuse pesticides in this manner. Chemicals like Round Up and Crossbow do not require any sort of licence to be used on personal property. In our case, it was a very young man who was told by his employer to mix the chemicals and apply them, without any supervision whatsoever. The weather conditions that morning were warm and windy, causing a large drift of herbicides to engulf our property, as well as possible volatilzation. The victims of negligence like this; families like ours who have lost thousands of dollars of investment, have very little recourse.
We have lost a year and a half's worth of work and all of our garden harvest for this year. It will take weeks to remove all of the dying vegetation and contaminated soil. It will be months before we know if this has affected our honey bee colony. As well as months before we see any resolution. It has been a heart breaking week to say the least. We still haven't fully decided if we will attempt to grow another garden in our backyard next year, fearful that this situation with repeat itself due to the negligence of this company's business practices.
We moved to Eugene because for the most part, I believe that it is an ecologically conscious community. As far as I am concerned, Eugene has no place for businesses like this one, who have a blatant disregard for our environment, wildlife or other people's property. They have created a toxic environment in our backyard, where our pets and children play. The business owner's answer for me was to simply fire the employee, as if the young man should be punished for doing what his employer instructed. I am honestly just appalled at the way he conducts himself and his business.
Lastly I just want to say, this can happen to anyone. Your fence WILL NOT protect you. If you find yourself in this situation, don't let them get away with it. Fight!
Call your State Agricultural department and report it. We all deserve the right to have healthy, uncontaminated space. Our children deserve a safe place to play and grow. No business or person should be able to take those things away from us. Let your voice be heard!
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