Disposal of Toxic Grape Stakes Funded

The federal government has stepped in and promised $450,000 to aid San Joaquin Valley farmers in properly disposing of tons of grape stakes treated with a toxic chemical, chromated copper arsenate. The chemical is used to treat the wooden stakes to prevent rotting from contact with soil and insects. According to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, there are at least 16.6 million treated stakes piled on farmland acreage in the Valley.

In recent years, farmers have suffered huge losses in the table grape and raisin industry with stiff competition from foreign growers. As urban sprawl has taken over Fresno County, farmers have pulled out their crops and sold the land to developers.

The EPA has not allowed farmers to burn the treated stakes because the smoke would release chemicals into the air that are highly toxic and leave a residue of ash. Health officials say the arsenate is associated with cancer and can attack the liver and kidneys.

The stakes will be transported to properly permitted landfills in Manteca and Tranquility and may take several years to complete the process. First priority will be given to those stakes that were pulled in 2000. More money will have to come from the government before all the stakes can safely be removed.

That's the trouble with chemicals - they just don't go away.