RoundUp at center of Palmer controversy

EOWYN LeMAY IVEY/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -- They are used on baseball fields, farms and America's lawns. So just how harmful are herbicides such as RoundUp?

That all depends on who is asked.

According to manufacturers and some scientists, glysophate, the main ingredient in RoundUp, Rodeo and several other herbicides, is a relatively safe chemical. Others, including environmental advocates, argue that it is more harmful than touted.

Glysophate can be purchased in a variety of bottles and forms at most local hardware and superstores. While there are long lists of dos and don'ts on their labels, and users are warned that they are legally bound to follow those dos and don'ts, many homeowners spray the chemical with little concern.

According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, glysophate is the most popular conventional pesticide in the United States, with more than 100 million pounds used in 2001. It is used for industrial, commercial, forestry and household purposes.

"In the scheme of herbicides, it's one of the safer ones," said environmental specialist Rosemarie Lombardi with the Palmer office of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. At the same time, she always emphasizes, no pesticides are 100 percent guaranteed to be safe. She said instead the goal is to look at the cost-benefit analysis and determine if the small risk is worth the big gains. Property owners, she said, use products such as RoundUp when there seems to be no other better way of controlling weeds.

According to its manufacturer, Monsanto, RoundUp is effective, safe and environmentally friendly when used appropriately. The manufacturer recommend using eye and skin protection when applying it, keeping it out of the reach of children and keeping it out of watersheds and storm drains. However, they say the product is quickly absorbed into the targeted plant and does not spread to the soil or other areas.

"All of our products are extensively tested, in the laboratory and in the field, using the best scientific methods available, before being brought to market, where they are subject to regulatory reviews and further scientific studies to establish their safety," Monsanto states on its Web site.

Alaska Community Action on Toxics has a different perspective, however. According to the environmental advocacy group, glysophate has been linked to a number of serious health problems, including cancer, reproductive problems, miscarriages and genetic mutations. Ingesting the chemical, according to the group, can result in a wide variety of conditions from blurred vision and headaches to rashes and burning in chest and throat. The group also believes there is evidence that the chemical spreads farther than originally believed, perhaps as much as 70 feet away from where it was originally sprayed.

"I do have some serious concerns about glysophate," said Pam Miller, director of Alaska Community Action on Toxics. While the federal Environmental Protection Agency currently OKs the chemical for sale and use around the country, Miller said she believes more research will eventually force the EPA to change its position.

In the meantime, however, she urges people to learn more about the chemical.

"It's not something that should be treated lightly," she said.