Officials at the New York State Canal Corp. say they routinely spray herbicides along the Erie Canalway Trail to kill weeds.
“The summer application was completed July 29,” says Shane Mahar, NYS Thruway/NYS Canal Corporation Deputy Director of Media Relations. Spraying of the Brockport section was completed July 19, Mahar adds.
In a letter to the editor of the Suburban News and Hamlin-Clarkson Herald dated August 16, Brockport resident C.T. Oakes wrote that his dog had become violently ill after running through grass and weeds from the water’s edge nearly to the tow path in a section of the canal trail that runs west from Main Street in Brockport to Redman Road. After the dog’s illness, Oakes noticed the swath of dying vegetation.
“This is a place that he (Oakes’s dog) eats grass and so do geese and ducks. This is a place where I regularly see kids and adults sitting and fishing,” Oakes wrote.
Mahar explains that Canal Corp. crews use a commercial form of the herbicide Roundup called KleenUp Pro and follow strict regulations when applying the weed killer.
The KleenUp Pro label states that Glyphosate is the active ingredient and that contact with skin, eyes and clothing should be avoided.
The label also states that ingestion of large amounts of freshly sprayed vegetation by domestic pets and dogs may result in temporary gastrointestinal irritation.
Oakes wrote that he worries about the herbicide which he says is poisonous if ingested, and stated he saw no signs to warn those along the trail that an herbicide had been applied. He wrote that he is concerned that people and animals using the trail have been “needlessly exposed to toxic herbicides.”
Mahar says state DEC regulations require visible flags to be placed for 24 hours from the time of the application if the application is within 100 ft. of a dwelling.
He says Canal Corp. crews go “above and beyond” those regulations by posting flags at both ends of the application area (whether there is a dwelling nearby or not) for 24 hours to “indicate that the space has been sprayed.
“According to the crew that does the work, they err on the side of caution,” Mahar continues, applying a lower dosage of the herbicide. “They don’t apply the full-strength amount,” he says.
The KleenUp Pro label states that animals that become sick after ingesting freshly sprayed vegetation should be provided with fluids and a vet should be called if symptoms persist more than 24 hours.
9/8/13
