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Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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Posted by
gardengolfer GA (
My Page) on
Thu, Jun 2, 11 at 7:01
| I have 4 bins that are heavily contaminated from spring runoff of broad leaf herbicide. The bins are round 4 ft dia. hardware cloth about 50 to 75 percent finished mostly leaves and grass. Any advice on how to deal with this will be appreciated.
Larry |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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How do you know the material was contaminated with 2,4,D?
If the grass was treated with this material this spring, mowed, and picked up within 24 hours of application then the grass might, possibly be contaminated, longer then that and most all of the weed killer will have been moved into the ground water system so other people can drink it. |
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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| 24D is short-lived. Unless you spread the compost soon after contamination, you'll be fine. (And by "soon" I mean 24-48 hours). I also *think* I remember reading that 2,4 D volatizes much easier in weather above 80 something degrees. So this week's weather has probably been a great help to you. ;-) |
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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| 2,4-D is fairly persistent in soil, so I would imagine it would be the same in compost. Linked is an article that suggests a month between application and planting. I'd use that as a guide line for using the compost. |
Here is a link that might be useful: link
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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2,4 D is quite persistant in soil but that does not mean that grass clippings will be contaminate unless the grass is cut much sooner then the manufacturer recommends. The link talks of planting in soils after applications of "weed" killers.
"Weed" killers are very harmful to our environment and should not be used. |
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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| So the next question is how long does it stay in the soil or compost pile? Just curious. |
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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| Ack, you're right, David! I confused 2,4-D with glyco. The half-life of 2,4-D is 14 days, though it's broken down faster by soil microbes. NPIC states that it only remains in the soil for ~10 days. |
Here is a link that might be useful: NPIC fact sheet for 2,4-D
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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- Posted by pt03 2b Southern Manitob (My Page) on
Fri, Jun 3, 11 at 13:46
| When it comes to chemicals and such, I find there is often more hysteria than facts. Lloyd |
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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| A lot of good information has been provided. It also depends if the herbicide was applied according to the manufacturers instructions. If it really bothers you let it compost and cure longer than usual and then apply only to ornamentals or the lawn. |
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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| How does one define "heavily contaminated"? I would give it time... |
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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| I wanted to comment that an herbicide applied to grass will not "move into the ground water system so other people can drink it." Perhaps in a very sandy soil with a high water table, but I guarantee with clay or loam you're not going to see things leaching into aquifers. Of course there are some problems in certain areas of the country, with commercial pesticides used over vast areas (think corn), but I think the statement is a bit over the top. Actually, I'm more worried about surface runoff into the storm drains and from there to the creek... |
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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Toxcrusader, surface water also gets into the ground water system. The water we have to use today is the same water that was around when dinosours roamed this planet. Our EPA groundwater people are finding in our water many things that should have been filtered out by the soil, and often are also finding new chemicals made when two, relatively innocuous, chemicals get mixed in the soil.
Why do you think there are so many EPA hazardous waste sites filtering the ground water to remove hazardous chemicals from that ground water? |
RE: Compost Pile contaminated W/ 2,4D
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| You wouldn't have known this but I look at soil and groundwater data on contaminated sites all day for a living, so I'm very aware of those issues. I have an advanced degree in environmental chemistry. You are certainly right that things do leach into the groundwater. And, sometimes they don't. Most hazardous waste sites have much larger releases than what someone would put on their lawn, and often directly to the subsurface from tanks and pipelines. Whole different scale. Even so, it's surprising at some of these sites how little you find in the grounwater compared to the soil. I'm just saying that the risk from proper application on the average lawn is not that high, and it varies quite a bit according to conditions - soil type, application rate, rainfall, characteristics of the chemical itself. Just because water moves through soil does not mean it carries all chemicals with it at the same rate. If it did, all groundwater would be a festering tea of salts and organic matter and there would be no topsoil. Soil is actually a great filter. I am not an advocate of using a lot of chemicals. I avoid it as much as possible and I think most people use too many. I just think there are so many reasons to cut back on toxic chemicals that we don't need to overstate any one of them to make the point. Just my humble opinion. |
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