Within a year after the heptachlor was applied, the vines in the treated yards were wilting and
dying. In the untreated fields there was no trouble; the damage s topped at the borde r be tween
treated and untreated fields. The hills were replanted at great expe ns e, but in another yea r the
new roots , too, were found to be dead. Four years later the s oil s till contained heptachlor, and
s cientis ts were unable to predict how long it would remain pois onous , or to recommend any
proce dure for correcting the condition. The federal Department of Agriculture, which as late as
March 19 59 found i ts elf in the anomalous position of declaring heptachlor to be acceptable for
us e on hops in the form of a soil treatment, belatedly withdrew its registration for such use.
Meanwhile, the hop growers s ought what re dres s they could in the courts.
As applications of pesticides continue and the virtually indes tructible res idues continue to build
up in the soil, it is almost certain that we are heading for trouble. This was the cons ens us of a
group of specialists who met at Syracuse University in 1960 to dis cus s the ecology of the soil.
Thes e men s ummed up the hazards of us ing ‘s uch potent and little unders tood to ols ’ as
chemicals and radiation: ‘A few false moves on the part of man may result in destruction of soil
productivity and the arthropods may well take over.’
backadmin
(backadmin)
#1