San Francisco—The U.S. EPA has announced a settlement with Hydrofarm Inc., Petaluma, Calif., for selling two unregistered pesticides, including sulfur, in violation of federal pesticide law. Hydrofarm, one of the nation’s largest distributors of agricultural and hydroponic supplies, has agreed to pay $316,000 in fines and has stopped selling both products. “This action is part of EPA’s effort to protect agricultural employees and consumers from pesticide products that are not approved by the federal government,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “It is critical that companies selling pesticides provide users with the information they need to safeguard their health and the environment.” Hydrofarm sold sulfur to control mildew through vaporization in greenhouses without any instructions or precautionary language to minimize risks to individuals from exposure to the product. EPA has not yet evaluated the human health risks associated with the use of vaporized sulfur in greenhouses. The company also sold Nutralife Plant Products H2O2, a 29 percent hydrogen peroxide product used to sanitize and disinfect hydroponic equipment and growing areas, without adequate directions for use and safety precautions. Registered products with similar hydrogen peroxide concentrations require users to wear protective clothing. EPA said Hydrogen peroxide at this concentration can cause irreversible eye damage and skin burns, and may be fatal if inhaled and harmful if swallowed or absorbed through the skin. EPA said the domestic sale or distribution of pesticides that have not been registered with the EPA, such as the two sold by Hydrofarm, is a violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which ensures the safe and appropriate distribution, handling, and application of pesticides.

Tel Aviv—Israel Chemicals Ltd. CEO Stefan Borgas said that the company has reached an important crossroads regarding the future of Israel’s phosphate industry. He noted that ICL’s Rotem based phosphate activities were among the highest on a cost operations basis in the world. Borgas said that in order to become more competitive, ICL must reduce operating costs and increase volumes significantly. Borgas said that ICL was ready to invest hundreds of millions of dollars at a new site as current phosphate reserves will only last for another ten years or so. He said that the only economic solution is the Sde Barir field, but the Israeli government has to make a decision on granting licenses to mine there. By allowing ICL to mine phosphates at Sde Barir, Borgas said the company would invest hundreds of millions of dollars and would secure the necessary reserves for around 30 years of future operations. He warned, however, that failing to receive the licenses would mean a cessation of Israeli phosphate operations within ten years.

Tel Aviv—Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry has come out strongly against a plan to build the Red-to-Dead Sea pipeline project. The ministry said the proposal to build the pipeline from Jordan’s southern port of Aqaba to the Dead Sea would destroy the Dead Sea. The World Bank is promoting the $10 billion project as a regional cooperation venture involving Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians. However, the ministry said that the pipeline, which would bring huge quantities of water from the Red Sea for desalination as well as for replenishing the Dead Sea, could cause algae and bacterial blooms, fill the inland sea with calcium sulfate, and cause a stench from sulfur hydroxide emissions. This would also have a negative impact on potash and other mineral production, as well as tourism. The ministry wants a pilot project to determine the impact of mixing the waters of the Red and Dead Seas on a scale that would not jeopardize the Dead Sea. A World Bank report says the plan is financially feasible. The project involves a series of underground pipelines that would run from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, a hydro electric plant, and desalination plants.

Doral, Fla.—BioNitrogen Corp. said April 10 that it has already begun collecting woody biomass from phosphate mining and non-mining lands to use for urea fertilizer production. The biomass, which would have otherwise been burned or buried, will supply BioNitrogen’s first plant in Hardee County, Fla. In the interim pre-construction period, the excess biomass may also be processed and sold as wood chips to the international market in order to generate revenues. In 2013, BioNitrogen expects to receive at least 30,000 st of biomass from mining and other sources every two months at the Hardee County plant site. “It’s important that we demonstrate our ability to manage the logistics and processing of large quantities of biomass in this pre-construction phase,” said Ernie Iznaga, BioNitrogen operations manager. “We intend to process the wood and either store it or sell it to generate revenue prior to ground breaking and construction of the plant.”

Houston—KBR and Japan’s Yokogawa Electric Corp. on April 11 announced the signing of a technology alliance for a fertilizer automation package (FAP) that will form part of the ammonia process technology solutions that KBR offers to its customers worldwide. Under the terms, KBR will incorporate Yokogawa’s high value-added process control solutions in the FAP. The FAP will couple KBR’s ammonia process technology expertise with Yokogawa’s know-how of process control systems to streamline work processes, standardize configurations, and simplify product interfaces. Yokogawa will supply the CENTUM integrated production control system, the ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system, and selected solution-based software. KBR will provide know-how for the enhancement of the distributed control system (DCS) configuration and advanced applications used in operation management, performance monitoring, advanced process control, operator training, and dynamic simulation at fertilizer plants. It is expected that this package will improve plant reliability, reduce energy, increase capacity, and improve operator effectiveness in fertilizer plants. Further consolidation of these functions will reduce lifecycle costs for plant control, automation, and management systems. Furthermore, it is believed that this alliance will provide measureable economic benefits and lead to improved process performance at fertilizer plants across the globe.

Washington–The 2011 edition of the Commercial Fertilizers report has been finalized and copies are available for purchase. The report shows a 4.31 percent increase in U.S. fertilizer nutrient consumption to 21.753 million short tons for the fertilizer year (FY) ending June 30, 2011. It indicates that in FY 2010/11 nitrogen consumption increased 5.0 percent to 12.840 million nutrient tons (MNT), phosphate consumption increased 3.8 percent to 4.321 MNT and potash consumption increased 3.0 percent to 4.591 MNT. The report also found that gross tonnage increased 8.6 percent to 60.393 million tons of material. That figure includes single, multiple and micro-nutrient materials, as well as organic and secondary materials. The report is a cooperative effort between The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) and the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO) and is based on fertilizer consumption data submitted by state fertilizer control officials. The findings are categorized by state or, in select cases, by region. The data covers total fertilizer sales or shipments for farm and non-farm use, but does not include information regarding liming materials, peat, potting soils, soil amendments, soil additives and soil conditioners. In addition, materials used for the manufacture or blending of reported fertilizer grades or for use in other fertilizers have been excluded to avoid duplicate reporting. Hard copies of the report are now available and can be ordered by going to TFI’s website at www.tfi.org. The report is not available in electronic format. The cost of the report is $30 per copy for members of TFI and AAPFCO and $100 per copy for non-members. All proceeds from the sale of the report go to AAPFCO to support the data collection effort.

Richmond, Va.–In a very complicated case the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on April 4 let stand an earlier U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina at Charleston decision that found that PCS Nitrogen Inc. has some liability for cleanup costs at the site of a former Charleston fertilizer plant. The ruling apportioned cost recovery for pollution under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The pollution dates back to the late 1880s to early 1990s and continued on into the 1970s when it was owned by Columbia Nitrogen Corp. (old CNC). The 43-acre site had several owners over the years. Ashley II of Charleston Inc., the current owner of part of the site, brought suit against PCS Nitrogen Inc. for cost recovery.  While the courts found that neither successor “new” CNC and PCS ever owned or operated any portion of the Charleston site at issue in the appeal, they nevertheless, found that PCS was a corporate successor to the “old” CNC via the “new” CNC and thereby liable for response costs as a potentially responsible person (PRP) for the site. PCS acquired its interest in the “new” CNC mainly for the company’s Augusta, Ga., nitrogen plant. To date, the court said Ashley had incurred at least $197,000 in response costs. Liability was allocated 30 percent for PCS, and for others—45 percent Ross Development Corp., 16 percent Holcombe  & Fair, 5 percent Ashley, 3 percent All Waste Tank Cleaning Inc., 1 percent Robin Hood Container Express Inc. and zero percent City of Charleston. PCS is reviewing the court’s decision and has not decided whether to appeal at this time.