Oregon daily emerald., April 29, 1982, Image 1

Thursday, April 29, 1982
Eugana, Oragon
Voluma 83
Numbar 141
oreaon daily
emerald
Amazon tenants protest spraying
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Amazon housing residents are concerned that the
spraying of the herbicide "Round-up" at nearby South
Eugene High School on Monday was spread by the wind to
their adjacent residences and to common areas used for
gardening and day care.
The presence of Round-up, administered twice a year
on all 4J school district grounds, could quarantine the
Amazon yard and day-care areas from children for eight
weeks and prevent crop planting in gardens for one year,
according to guidelines listed on the product's label
Courtney Lupton, a member of a special task force
formed by the Amazon Community Tenant s Association,
says the sparse dandelion foliage along the chain link
fence separating South Eugene High School's running
track from the Amazon housing complex was sprayed
between 2:00 and 2:30 p m
To prevent Round-up spray from drifting, the
product's label warns not to "spray in winds in excess of 5
mph " At 2:50 p.m the wind was blowing northeasterly at 6
mph at Mahlhon Sweet Airport, and later gusted to 10 mph,
according to a U S Weather Service official The Universi
ty-owned Amazon housing complex is located due west of
South Eugene High School
Gail Campbell of the 4J school district publication
office, says school district officials "don’t know whether it
drifted." Oil is mixed with Round-up as a holding, anti-drift
agent, she says University chemistry professor Raymond
Wolfe acknowledges that as an additive oil might inhibit
drifting, but it might also prevent the ordinarily water
soluble herbicide from diluting and breaking down, thus
extending its toxic lifetime, as well as its effectiveness as an
herbicide. In its pure form, Round-up (also known as
Glyphosate or N-Phosphon-Onethygtycine) takes 18 days
to dissipate The label warns users not to “feed or forage
for eight weeks after application," and "do not plant crops
for one year following application."
Lupton says that Kent Smith of the Environmental
Protection Agency 's Salem office has taken blood samples
from six community members who have reportedly
suffered from nausea, diarrhea, headaches and throat
irritation since Monday’s spraying
r
Photo by Bob Baker
Spraying of herbicides near Amazon housing has tenants worried about health effects.
\Miite Professor Wolfe said he was not qualified to
comment cm Round-up's human toxicity, he said that
generally, "it is very difficult to get unequivocal proof of a
cause-effect relationship'' in a situation where a controlled
experiment <s impossible
Pending further action, Amazon Community Tenant
Association is filing a ‘ Report of Loss" with the Oregon
State Department of Agriculture. The association will meet
today with University legal aid adviser Chuck Spinner on
the possibility of filing chemical tresspass, criminal neglect
or label violation lawsuits against Monsanto Chemical
Company, the manufacturer of Round-up. On May 2, at 7
p.m., the tenants association will hold a special herbicide
meeting in the Amazon Community room at 24th Avenue
and Patterson Street.
Regarding the spraying of Round-up, Wotfe says, “my
position is, why take a chance if there is an alternative?”
While the 4J school district permits voluntary weed control
programs — hand pruning — for interested schools, they
maintain the option to reinstitute spraying should a
voluntary program be assessed as inefffective, according
to point two of the school district’s six-point weed control
program.
Wolfe also questions the need for a massive weed
control program, especially since many weeds provide
food for birds and habitat for insects.
Photo by Mark Pynes
Mary Zentnar, executive vice-president of the Pacific
Northwest Four-Wheel Drive Association, testified
against the closure of three Oregon beaches to
off-road vehicles Tuesday at a Eugene City Council
meeting.
Proposal to close beaches
revs up dune buggy debate
By Ron Hunt
Ofth* Emarmkf
Off-road vehicle enthusiasts shifted into four-wheel
drive Tuesday night to oppose the possible closure of
three more Oregon beaches.
ORV drivers — and environmentalists supporting the
closures — packed the Eugene City Council chambers to
testify at a public hearing on a proposal to make more
beaches off limits to ORVs.
Citizens for "Untreaded" Beaches would like the
state parks and recreation division to close 17 miles of
beach between the mouth of the Siuslaw River near
Florence and Tenmile Creek south of the Umpqua River
near Reedsport.
CUB supporters say the proposal should be adopted
to ensure fairness for "non-vehicle beach recreation
ists," aesthetic values, public safety, and the protection
of wildlife like the "snowy plover" bird.
ORV enthusiasts say present regulations are fair and
that ORV use does not adversely affect wildlife and the
public
Another proposal, by the Umpqua Valley Audubon
Society, would close two estuaries, at the Siltcoos River
and Tenmile Creek, to motorized vehicles.
The current regulations “do strike a balance," said
Rick Scott, manager of the Dunes National Recreation
Area in the Siuslaw National Forest. Before 1979, 91
percent of Oregon beaches were open to ORVs from May
1 to Sept. 30, while the current figure is 47 percent, Scott
said. In 1976, there were 1.7 million ORV visits to the
NRA, but 5.4 million visits per year are expected by the
year 2000, he added.
Proponents of more beach closures “want their own
private beach," said Wallace Fields, of the Eugene
Sandbugs. Of the 1,500 or so people who signed the CUB
petition, "most have a U of O address. It's a known fact
they'll sign almost anything,” he said.
Harvey Yarborough, also of the Eugene
Sandbugs, said the NRA is already well managed.
“Students don’t pay much, if any, taxes. Listen to the
people who work, play and pay taxes in the state of
Oregon,” he said.
Andy Kerr, associate director of conservation with
the Oregon Wilderness Coalition, urged the adoption of
both proposals. He cited a poll by Bardsley & Haslacher
of Portland which found that 81 percent of Oregonians
want less ORV activities on state lands, while only 9
percent want more.
"What about our families?” asked E.J. Nagy. "What
about our kids? You want us to save it (the land) for birds,
pigeons and the seagulls.” ORV recreation strengthens
families, he said, but dune-buggyists are being "closed
out like orphans.”
Closing more beaches would be a grave mistake,
said Mary Zentner, executive vice president of the Pacific
Northwest Four-Wheel Drive Association. Because ORV
use continues to increase, closing more beaches would
cause "over-use” of the land remaining open to ORVs.
ORVs and humans have an equal effect on wildlife,
she said, adding that she once saw an eagle mating
dance unaffected by a nearby helicopter.
Wendell Wood, of the Umpqua Valley Audubon
Society, said signatures were gathered throughout the
state for the CUB petition and that fewer than 10 percent
of those who signed it are from Eugene.
The proposals would keep ORVs where they would
cause me least biological impact, Wood said. Existing
seasonal restrictions lead to conflict, he said, adding that
Contlnuad on Pago 3