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FIRM FINED FOR VINEYARD SPRAYING
Published on May 15, 2003
© 2003- The Press Democrat
Correction: For the Record published May 16, 2003
Methyl bromide is a colorless, odorless gas that is pumped into the soil, which is then covered with plastic sheeting. A story and headline on Page B1 Thursday incorrectly stated that methyl bromide was sprayed on a Healdsburg vineyard site.BYLINE: TIM TESCONI
THE PRESS DEMOCRATPAGE: B1
A Central Valley pesticide company agreed Wednesday to a $15,000 settlement and one year of probation for violating state regulations when it applied methyl bromide on a vineyard site in Healdsburg.
The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office reached the settlement with Trical Inc. of Hollister after an eight-month investigation into claims that the pesticide drifted over a neighboring vineyard, making four people ill.
Trical Inc. pleaded no contest to charges that it violated the provisions of a pesticide permit issued by the Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner's Office. Trical will pay $5,000 in fines, the maximum penalty for the misdemeanor violation, and $10,000 to cover costs incurred by the Agricultural Commissioner's Office to investigate the case.
Dennis Nino, the attorney for Trical and the company's designated spokesman, could not be reached Wednesday for comment. The investigation was launched when four people, including the owners and winemaker of Davis Bynum Winery, became violently ill and required emergency medical treatment Sept. 11. The four believe they were poisoned when methyl bromide drifted to the Bynum Winery, off Westside Road, from a vineyard site owned by Williams-Selyem Winery of Healdsburg, which was being fumigated. All said they suffered dizziness, shortness of breath, fuzzy vision and drowsiness. Tests showed elevated levels of bromide in the blood of David Georges, winemaker at Davis Bynum and one of the four people who went to the hospital. The misdemeanor charge and resulting settlement concerned only the permit violation. The investigation did not draw any conclusions as to whether the illnesses suffered by the four were the result of the spraying. Methyl bromide is a highly toxic fumigant used to rid soil of disease and pests. Methyl bromide is legal to use until 2005, but many North Coast growers have stopped using it because of its toxicity and environmental dangers. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is banning the use of the chemical because it's known to deplete the ozone layer. Lloyd Vineyard Management of Geyserville is developing the vineyard for Williams-Selyem, but it had contracted the soil fumigation to Trical, one of California's largest methyl bromide applicators. Trical, according to the district attorney's charges, failed to get permission from the owners of Davis Bynum Winery when the company applied the methyl bromide, a gas pumped into the ground under plastic sheets. Written permission from the Bynum family was required because their property was in the state-mandated ``buffer zone'' for an application of methyl bromide. ``Failure to obtain the permission of a neighbor violated the application permit and as such violated state pesticide regulation laws,'' said Jeffrey Holtzman, Sonoma County deputy district attorney for environmental and consumer issues. ``Certainly any time a business dealing with dangerous chemicals operates in Sonoma County, we want to make sure they do it in a manner that protects the public's safety and health,'' Holtzman said. Hampton Bynum, vice president of his family's Davis Bynum Winery, and Georges, who both got sick Sept. 11, said the penalty and probation send a strong message about protecting the public from pesticides. ``It shows that companies like Trical must be considerate of their neighbors when applying pesticides,'' Bynum said Wednesday. His wife, Ngamnit Bynum, and family friend Preeapron Lindsay also got sick and sought medical attention Sept. 11. Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner John Westoby praised his staff and the District Attorney's Office for investigating and prosecuting the case. Westoby said his office will take administrative action against Lloyd Vineyard Management, which had responsibility for making sure that Trical followed the provisions of the pesticide application permit. Doug Lloyd, owner of Lloyd Vineyard Management, said Wednesday he's been informed that he will be fined $500 by the Agricultural Commissioner's Office. Lloyd said he continues to doubt the four people at Davis Bynum were poisoned by methyl bromide. ``They were against us from the start and it was their way of making a point,'' Lloyd said. He noted that vineyard workers applying the methyl bromide did not get sick. The Sonoma County judgment is the largest fine levied against Trical for pesticide violations in California. Since 2000, Trical has had three civil penalties for pesticide safety violations in California, according to the Department of Pesticide Regulation. The fines, ranging from $151 to $750, were for violations in San Luis Obispo and Fresno counties. You can reach Staff Writer Tim Tesconi at 521-5289 or at ttesconi@pressdemocrat.com.
For the Record published May 16, 2003
Methyl bromide is a colorless, odorless gas that is pumped into the soil, which is then covered with plastic sheeting. A story and headline on Page B1 Thursday incorrectly stated that methyl bromide was sprayed on a Healdsburg vineyard site.
Keywords: PEST CONTROL
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