County OKs chemical crackdown

By Jeremy Borden

Published: June 5, 2008

A unanimous vote Wednesday by Albemarle’s Board of Supervisors makes the county among the first in the nation to have a comprehensive policy that restricts the use of toxic chemicals in and on county facilities, officials believe.

It’s an experiment officials have been testing for the last year, using “green-certified” organic compounds to kill pests, weeds and sanitize public bathrooms. The policy does not yet apply to county schools and their grounds, and the School Board is expected to take up the matter next month.

For example, on fields, the county will use a weed cutter and apply organic products as necessary.

In most cases, county grounds crews and custodians will use “green” compounds that are considered much less toxic than some of the products used commonly today. Bathrooms will be sanitized but not disinfected. Also, more traditional disinfectants would be used when mandated by the health department or because of a particularly dangerous situation, such as a virus outbreak.

Officials and Supervisor David L. Slutzky, who served on a committee that looked at the issue over the last year, want to err on the side of caution. While there are few studies that show that common disinfectants and products used today are harmful, officials see no downside in using more organic compounds that have little or no toxicity.

“We figure it can’t be a bad thing to minimize the amount of [toxic] substances we use,” said Sarah Temple, the county’s environmental manager. “It falls in line with being greener and safer.”

Temple said that the committee found there were other localities moving in the same direction as Albemarle, but found none had overarching policies as the county has as of Wednesday.

Using those products won’t come cheap. Officials estimate they’ll spend between $24,572 and $49,398 per year to implement the new policy. If the schools decide to implement the policy, they would spend even more, between $72,668 and $100,429 per year.

School Board Chairman Brian Wheeler said he is still considering the issue, and is unsure whether the school system has the funds. The School Board has a difficult decision, Wheeler acknowledged, especially given possible virus outbreaks and the sensitive issue of germs and children.

Supervisors said they have heard complaints from baseball players about having to run through dandelions and obtrusive vegetation in the outfield of county ballparks.

John Cruickshank, who has advocated the ban on chemicals, ticked off potential uses for dandelions, including aiding in killing disease.

“Perhaps those dandelions should be harvested rather than killed,” Cruickshank said.

Others, particularly in the landscaping industry, said the board should be careful. Alan Jones, with Bartlett Tree Experts, said invasive species need to be eradicated as quickly as possible because they often kill off native plants.

“If we don’t have a policy to manage that, we lose all our trees in Albemarle County,” Jones said. “The chemicals that we used 20 years ago are far different from the chemicals we use today.”

Temple said officials would monitor the program and make adjustments if necessary.

Supervisor Slutzky supported the board’s ultimate decision, but said he would have preferred an all-out ban on the use of toxic chemicals. For example, the county still uses toxic chemicals to kill poison ivy because a suitable alternative hasn’t been found.

Slutzky said that the policy represents a “hard-fought middle ground.”