Agriculture

The agriculture industry of today looks nothing like it used to decades ago. As late as the 1970s and ‘80s, family farms were seen everywhere and made good livings selling high quality, good-tasting produce in a localized area. As the costs of land got more expensive in what had once been rural farming areas (but now were becoming the suburbs), a larger number of smaller farms started to close down. Real estate prices had skyrocketed, and small local farms were selling their land and cashing out. In the larger farming areas of the country, family farms, which had always been the backbone of the industry, started to get squeezed out by corporate farms that were able to grow much more product in the same size space. Farms in the suburbs became housing developments. In addition, corporate farms started buying up neighboring farms to increase the size of their operations even more. These large corporate farms were able to ship produce further out from the farming areas, putting even more strain on local and regional family farms. Efficiency became more important than anything as the size of corporate farms grew larger still. All the different varieties that once were the most popular and tasty were dropped in exchange for varieties that travelled better in trucks and stayed longer on grocery shelves. 

 

 

Today we apply 40 times more nitrogen fertilizer than we used 75 years ago while crop yields have only doubled according to publicintegrity.org. These millions of pounds of chemicals are going into the groundwater we drink, the air we breathe, and the nearby waterways we depend on. Plants can only absorb so many nutrients at a given time. The excess fertilizer that is not utilized by the plant raises the nitrate levels of the drinking water to an amount that is a danger to children and pregnant women. The excess chemicals in the fertilizer that are not utilized or absorbed by the soil and crops are also washed off into the groundwater and waterways. They will eventually wind up in our water supply and consumed by us in our contaminated drinking water. 

 

Many large farms now also use manure and sewage sludge as a cheap fertilizer for their crops. Land-based disposal of sewage sludge from municipal sewage treatment plants has become an especially preferred method for disposing of the sludge. It is much less expensive for the farm operators than spending money on fertilizer. 

 

Special caution must be taken when sludge from public sewerage treatment plants are routinely applied. While there are pretreatment standards in place to limit industrial hazardous material being discharged into public sewage treatment plants, they are neither always followed nor adequate. 

 

This problem extends to any operation that grows a crop and uses pesticides and chemicals on the land. These crops can range from field crops such as corn or wheat to orange trees and almond groves. Even when the land is no longer used for agriculture, it still may present a danger. Unfortunately, too many people did not realize in time the danger lurking decades after waiting. While many of these are lovely to look at, there are several significant areas that may prove to be dangerous and a risk for our health. 

 

1. Pesticide Drift

 

One of the most dangerous risks from any farming operation is direct exposure to the full-strength chemicals being applied. American farmers use more than 300 million pounds of pesticides alone on farmland each year. Out of the top 27 they use, the EPA considers 15 of them to be carcinogens or cancer-causing compounds.

 

These airborne materials have been documented to have traveled distances up to 1,000 miles from where they were originally applied. The areas closest to these farms are, of course, exposed to the highest concentrations of these airborne chemicals. If you are living in or moving into an area that has a lot of farming, it is wise to investigate what crops are grown and if possible what chemicals are applied. Some farmers, if asked, will notify surrounding landowners of what chemicals will be applied and when they will be doing it. In some states when restricted-use chemicals are being used by chemical application companies, they must place an ad in the local newspaper when the intended application will be taking place, and concerned individuals can contact the company to find out the exact chemicals that will be used and the location of lands that are going to be sprayed. It would be advisable to investigate this for your protection. 

 

The government in 2019 proposed making some changes in the rules governing pesticide drift. The new rules lift protections to people living nearby and allow toxic pesticides to drift further and wider away from application areas. The EPA says the new rules will make the problem of pesticide drift easier to control. Groups such as the Pesticide Action Network and Beyond Pesticides, among many others, say the new rules will needlessly expose thousands more people to harmful chemicals.

 

All kinds of hazardous chemicals are applied to the fields at a staggering rate. Herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides are routinely applied to fields. Much of this material never makes it onto the plants or the ground. The winds pick up much of the material and transport it off the farm and into the surrounding areas. Crops that are heavily sprayed with chemicals, such as apples and other types of fruit trees, are especially prone to have large amounts of materials drifting away with the wind. Since the chemical has to be applied directly to the trees and the fruit of the trees, large sprayers and misters must be used for this operation. Of course, it makes sense for the spraying to take place when the wind is as still as possible, but even so, the materials still drift. The larger the operation, the more chemicals need to be applied to cover the area. Crop dusters are frequently seen spraying cargo loads of chemicals onto the fields below. Clouds of drifting pesticides are also frequently seen moving off the fields and into communities and housing areas nearby. 

 

In Tulare County, California, a group of homeowners told stories about how pesticides applied on nearby crops would drift onto their property. Sometimes, the cloud was so thick it would leave a film on the children’s playset in the backyard. Many of the people talked about being sick, vomiting, and having skin irritations. Others talked about the children suffering from burning eyes, coughing, and having asthma attacks from the pesticides.

 

2. Groundwater Contamination

 

An aspect of agricultural operation that may present a potential hazard is chemical residue. A large amount of residue remains in the ground on the farm and leaches into the groundwater. Some of these materials are long-lasting in the environment. They do not break down for many years and may accumulate to very high levels over time. DDT, chlordane, and 2,4,5-T, are several materials that were routinely applied for many years before the associated health risks became publicly known, causing the use of these materials to be prohibited. In spite of the fact that it has been quite some time since the actual application has taken place, they remain in the soils and waters, still wreaking havoc today. 

 

There are hundreds of chemicals being applied to the agricultural land, and many have not been extensively tested and studied to determine their effects on humans. Herein lies the problem. Because of the lack of studies, the safety of these chemicals cannot be determined. A few have an EPA maximum contaminant limit in drinking water, but many more do not and are totally unregulated. In addition, the synergistic effects of multiple chemicals consumed from drinking water may even be more dangerous than if the chemicals were separate. A very sadly little amount of research is ongoing on more than a few chemicals. 

 

The Environmental Working Groups Tap Water Database shows that Atrazine, a toxic pesticide that is a known hormone disruptor is in water being supplied to about 7.6 million people. In 2015, their data showed over 800 public water systems exceeded a public health standard set by scientists in California. Again the standard is non-enforceable as the federal government does not take action to make it so. 

 

In Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota, the levels of atrazine found in drinking water are high enough to be linked to birth defects. The average level found was more than 5 times the allowable level set in Europe where significant increases in birth defects occurred. Links to cancer have been found as well. 

 

On top of those hazards, the application of animal manure and sometimes sewage sludge as supplemental fertilizer is common. While there is nothing wrong with using animal manures or treated human sewage, there are definite issues that occur if precautions are not taken. When human sewage that has originated from public sewage treatment plants is used, there is a distinct possibility that the sewage sludge may have high levels of heavy metals or chemical contaminants that are routinely discharged by industrial customers. A spokesperson for the University of California Extension Service advised caution about heavy metals when sewage sludge is used on agricultural lands. 

 

In addition to sewage sludge, manure from animals, used for centuries, works great as a fertilizer. It is especially good at helping to replenish the nutrients in the soils that the crops took away. When too much manure is applied, however, runoff from the fields gets into the local waterways and also contaminates the groundwater that is needed as a water supply by nearby homes. 

 

In San Joaquin Valley, California, almost one quarter of the nation’s food is grown. As a result, the valley has been overfarmed. Hoping to get some of the nutrients back in the soil, the operations added huge amounts of fertilizers and manure, which are hazardous in high levels. The manure has been piled and spread all over depleted farm fields and orchards so much so that testing of communities’ wells in the valley were detected at almost 500 times unsafe levels.

 

3. Soil Contamination

 

Fruit orchards were routinely sprayed with lead-based arsenic pesticides back in the 1990s. Many of the toxic compounds continue to persist in the soils where orchards remain, but particularly where they have been developed into housing communities.

 

The industry especially liked a group of pesticides called organochlorine pesticides because they didn’t wash though the soil but actually attached to the organic matter in the soil. Like the banned toxic pesticide DDT, it does not break down and, when ingested, also stays in the fat cells of any animal, such as it did with humans and many birds. Unfortunately for humans, when chemicals such as Aldrin is used in addition to DDT, the health effects on the human body are even greater causing the DDT to remain much longer. Many thousands of pounds of these chemicals remain in agricultural areas long after they were banned. 

 

In Washington state, the government has tested and mapped out a total of 187,000 acres that are contaminated with arsenic-laced soil. A subdivision outside Yakima was constructed on one of those old orchards. Sadly, both the developer and the government knew the property had tested for lead and arsenic at more than double the level the state recommends cleanup. Unfortunately, nothing was done, and none of the homeowners were informed about the high levels of contamination. As a result, the soil at hundreds of properties contains levels of lead and arsenic that, through long-term exposure, can lower children’s IQs, cause behavioral problems, or increase cancer risks later in life. No one knows for certain yet what the long term consequences of this exposure will be.

 

In Saunook, North Carolina, a small town 30 miles from Asheville, a housing development built on an old orchard has been declared a Superfund site. For decades, pesticides containing lead and arsenic had been used there. In addition, DDT, DDE, and benzene hydrochlorides, had been applied to the orchard to control pests. When the state Department of Agriculture tested wells for contamination, 32 out of 80 wells had these chemicals above acceptable state levels. Recommendations to avoid contact with soil and water were issued.

 

A farming community or a community near an agricultural area in the suburbs can be a great place to raise a family. Using some caution and knowing there are chemicals and other potential areas of risk is the best course of action. 

 

There is a giant difference between farmers who use responsible farming practices and farms whose sole interest is squeezing every last bit out of the soil they can and disposing of waste as cheaply as possible. Responsible farmers do not spread manure on their fields until it is running off the lands. Responsible farmers do not spray their fields and trees when the weather can carry pesticides and other chemicals to nearby homes and neighborhoods. Asking around the area is one way to see what you may be getting into. You may find out people’s water is already contaminated and the farm is a bad neighbor. Using caution could help you from becoming another one of the many people poisoned by the farm next door. There are not too many options for people who are already living in places like these. Frequent testing of your water supply and staying inside when you see pesticides or manure being applied will limit your exposure.