Agrium Inc. officials say that a nationally circulated Canadian newspaper was “trying to produce a story that didn’t exist” by claiming that the fertilizer producer’s new slow release ESN is on the market despite concerns that it could release a suspected cancer-causing chemical into the food supply. The Globe and Mail on Feb. 24 reported that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency gave the green light to ESN (environmentally smart nitrogen) while there was indication the polyester-polyurethane coating could break down into the toxic chemical that it identified as MDA (4,4-methylenedianiline) and that Health Canada objected to the approval.
The article by environmental reporter Martin Mittelstaedt also implied that Agrium President Michael Wilson personally lobbied the Canadian agriculture minister to support the approval. If there were even the slightest concerns over the compound, Agrium insisted, they were resolved in detailed studies before CFI approval was granted and there will be ongoing reviews under the company’s stewardship program. CFI presumably did its own independent testing to verify the company’s findings.
Agrium officials said the remote chance of a chemical release did come up during the approval process but it was in the form of a “theoretical possibility” generated during modeling by CFI investigators who brought the matter to Agrium’s attention.
“As CFI was working on the approval the agency ran across what was termed as a theoretical breakdown and wanted us to make sure it wasn’t a problem,” reported Doug Beever, senior director of corporate relations. “We did a worst-case study in response to the concerns and found the product to be safe.” Beever also said that it wasn’t accurate as the article claimed that there was a disagreement on the breakdown between CFI and Health Canada. “Actually,” he reported, “the approval (of Agrium’s ESN request) was given with the concurrence of Health Canada.”
Other reaction at Agrium amounted to “disappointment” that the facts hadn’t been presented. Richard Downey, director of investor relations who doubted there would be any official objection, remarked, “I’d say ‘disappointed’ is the word (because) they were trying to make a story that isn’t there. It’s not worth doing any more about it.” The article wasn’t a total surprise at Agrium even though it didn’t run in the edition distributed in western Canada. Downey said Mike Wilson had been contacted earlier by the reporter who wrote afterwards that he was told Agrium “doesn’t want our name to ever be associated with anything that puts the public at [risk].” Downey said Wilson’s talk with Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl that was noted in the article was wide ranging, including mainly energy prices, environment, ESN and a variety of other subjects. He said writer was trying to imply an attempt to influence the outcome when the process was already well underway.