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Issue OverviewResearch by the Smith River Project has uncovered widespread contamination of domestic wells by the agricultural chemical 1,2-Dichloropropane (1,2-D), a cancer-causing agent, in the small town of Smith River. Most shocking about the finding is that the state and local governments conducted water testing during the 1980s, found tragically high levels of the carcinogen in wells, then, citing "budget cuts," abandoned the area with minimal community outreach and no cleanup efforts. See Estuary Enhancement Program for
background, or our Testing Program or
groundwater contamination alert pages
for complete details. We have also developed a complete list of
chemicals found in the Smith River estuary.
DONATE NOW to support water testing efforts.The recent round of water testing, including advertising and chemical analysis, cost the Smith River Project more than $10,000. A donation of $50, $100 or more will go a long way toward easing this financial burden.
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Two rounds of well testing conducted by the Smith River Project during the past six months mark the beginning of a pesticide monitoring program at the mouth of one of the world's cleanest rivers. While testing of private domestic wells has been the most successful element to date of the Smith River Project's Estuary Enhancement Program, it unfortunately yielded disturbing results: seven wells contaminated with the agricultural carcinogen 1,2-Dichloropropane (1,2-D), and dozens of testimonials by residents that pesticide use on Smith River lily fields is affecting their health....more
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Free Water Testing Day ResultsMany local residents took advantage of the June 15 Free Water Testing event and were grateful for the opportunity to test their water. In his June 13th editorial, Fred Obee, editor of the Del Norte County Daily Triplicate, wrote, "When it comes to drinking water, the case is clear: it should be free from toxic contaminants. Residents of the area should take advantage of the free tests. Everyone should know whether the water they are drinking is safe." (full editorial) This sentiment was echoed by dozens of local families during the weekend of the Free Water Testing Day. For the Free Water Testing Day the Smith River Project contracted with the state-accredited lab Analytical Sciences, Inc. to test 17 wells in the Smith River area. Of the four wells recently found tainted, one registered 5.6 ppb of 1,2-D, another was 5 ppb and a third came in at 4.5 ppb. The fourth well tested at 1 ppb. Perhaps most surprising about the contamination was that these were all deep wells (between 110 and 120 feet each), three of which had never been tested by the state. The RWQCB agreed to conduct further testing to verify these findings, and discovered six additional wells contaminated with 1,2-D and significant levels of nitrates "in just about all of them," according to RWQCB official Tuck Vath. Contamination by "Historic Chemical Use" Points to Current Pesticide ProblemsIn August 2001, the California North Coast Regional Water Quality control Board (RWQCB) responded to pressure by the Smith River Project and re-opened an old case of 1,2-D contamination in the small town of Smith River, just upstream of the Smith River Estuary. During the 1980s the RWQCB discovered some of the highest levels of 1,2-D contamination found anywhere in the U.S. Out of 46 wells tested, 37 were tainted with 1,2-D at levels that reached 32 times higher than the federal government's current "maximum contaminant level" of 5 parts per billion (ppb). Inexplicably, neither the state nor the county took meaningful measures to protect local residents from 1,2-D poisoning, which resulted from pesticide use on lily farms in the area. By 1991 the RWQCB, citing "budget cuts," virtually abandoned the Smith River area despite 1,2-D levels remaining quite high. The RWQCB's 2001 testing was only the second time in 10 years that the state had revisited Smith River's contaminated wells. (The state tested one well in 1996 at the request of a Smith River resident; that well turned up positive for 1,2-D.) Of the three wells tested by the state last year, one was contaminated with1,2-D. The Smith River Project followed the state's results by testing three more wells in December 2001, finding that all three contained 1,2-D above the government's "public health goal" of 0.5 ppb. The Smith River Project then asked RWQCB to conduct more comprehensive well tests in Smith River; citing a lack of funds, the state refused. The next logical step was for the Smith River Project to conduct it's own comprehensive testing. Placing two full-page ads in the local daily newspaper, the Project announced a "Free Water Testing Day" to occur June 15, with a mobile water testing lab to be parked at the public boat launch in Smith River to offer residents quick results.You can view a copy of the ad in acrobat/pdf format (1.4 MB) (RequiresAdobe Acrobat Reader) or see the issue overview for links to more detailed information. Lily Growers Rally the TroopsSmith River lily farmers (who grow nearly 90 percent of all U.S. lily bulbs) rallied 100 Del Norte County residents to oppose the Smith River Project's Free Water Testing Day. Speakers included members of gun clubs and property-rights groups, several of whom accused the Smith River Project of acting as a "front" for U.S. corporations and the United Nations in an effort to forcefully relocate rural residents to urban areas and take over their land for parks to be used by "the elite." One speaker claimed that the Free Water Testing program was akin to the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. Nonetheless, many local residents in the politically cloistered county found the growers' rally to be overreacting and transparent. "The farmers and their supporters went ballistic protesting the well testing," said a Crescent City letter writer to the Del Norte County Triplicate. "Such behavior is characteristic of a cover-up. What do they know or suspect that they don't want the rest of us to know?" What they know, and what many local residents acknowledge, is that lily farmers on the Smith River Plain, which surrounds the biologically vital Smith River Estuary, annually distribute hundreds of thousand of pounds of more than 40 toxic pesticides on land surrounding California's healthiest fish-bearing river. What lily farmers also know is that the Smith River Project sees historic contamination as a "canary," possibly alerting local residents to dangers posed by current use of agricultural chemicals. Soon the Smith River Project will test surface waters, soil, air quality, estuary muds, fish and plants in and around the Smith River Estuary, and conduct a human health assessment to determine the risks posed by pesticides to the estuary and humans. |
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