SEATTLE - Sale of Chinese Zinc Material Used in Fertilizer and Animal Feed Halted Due to High Levels of Toxic Cadmium

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Title: Sale stopped on Chinese zinc material showing high levels of cadmium

April 6, 2000

SEATTLE (AP) - Sale of a Chinese zinc material used in farm fertilizer and animal feed has been halted because it contains high levels of toxic cadmium.

The material was imported from China in February by Ag-Chem Commission of Cornelius, Ore. The company delivered 132 tons to Seattle-based RSA MicroTech, 66 tons to Mowes Scientific Nutritional Service in Upland, Calif., and 44 tons to Land View Fertilizer of Minidoka, Idaho, said Ag-Chem lawyer Ted Troutman.

The material was about 35 percent zinc, a plant nutrient. It also contained nearly 12 percent cadmium, which is 12,000 times higher than the limit guaranteed by the Chinese exporter, authorities said. Cadmium is poisonous and may cause cancer.

On Wednesday, the state Department of Agriculture issued a statewide stop-sale order on eight lots of Ruffin Tuff brand fertilizer produced by RSA MicroTech for farm use.

RSA first detected the high cadmium levels and raised concerns. The company's warehouse near Burlington has been closed since March 24 for decontamination.

The company sent letters March 24 to stop sale of four products sold in the United States and Canada, RSA spokeswoman Barbara Smith said. She said RSA expects to be able to show later that some of the fertilizer is safe to use.

The shipment is being investigated by the state Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Customs Service.

Troutman said small amounts of the material were mixed with animal foods in California and with fertilizer applied to 1,960 acres of farmland in Idaho. He said it was unlikely there was any harm in those cases because the product was highly diluted.

Another 132 tons of a similar material from China are quarantined by Ag-Chem at the Port of Seattle, and 44 tons are quarantined at the Port of San Francisco.

``We're just trying to contain the stuff and get it back to China,'' Troutman said.

Smith said eight RSA employees were tested for exposure and none had suffered adverse effects.

However, a temporary laborer for the company has filed a claim alleging he was exposed and has suffered ill health as a result.

Edward Mattell, 45, of Bellingham, said he poured bags of the zinc material into a hopper for RSA for five weekend days between Feb. 19 and March 4 without wearing protective equipment.

He said neither RSA nor the temporary agency that hired him would return his calls or answer his questions when he became concerned about nausea, dizziness, peeling skin, body aches, headaches and other problems. His lawyer did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The workplace limit on cadmium is 5 micrograms per cubic meter of air, or about the amount of dust on the head of a pin, said Stefan Dobratz, industrial-hygiene supervisor for the state Department of Labor and Industries.

Workers using material with higher levels of cadmium must use respirators, he said.

Gov. Gary Locke on Wednesday commended RSA and said the detection of the high cadmium levels shows the state's fertilizer testing law is working.

But Laurie Valeriano of the Washington Toxics Coalition said the system did not work well, because the material was used on fields and in animal feed.

Mowes, an animal-food maker east of Los Angeles, said it already had sold a small amount of the material when it received a warning from Ag-Chem. It immediately stopped sales.

``At this point, we do not know of any harm because we've gotten back almost all of it, and the amount that goes in is at such a low rate that it is really no problem,'' manager Jobe Mowe said Wednesday.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/Wire/N1067WA--Fertilizer-Cadmiu.html

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), April 06, 2000


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