Morton, Ill.—Investigators found the fish kill in the immediate vicinity almost total after a self-contained sprayer unit making the spring rounds with over 1,100 gallons of a nitrogen-herbicide mixture got hung up on a bridge and tipped over into a stream near here late last month. Illinois Environmental Protection Agency emergency responders spent long hours monitoring the situation and collecting samples to determine how far the chemical moved down stream and the effectiveness of remedial measures being taken. Residents were cautioned about using the water between the spill site and the Mackinaw River (approximately eight miles) as drinking water for animals, recreation, or any other purpose, and to avoid the area until the water is determined to be safe through testing. The advisory stated that while concentrations of the chemicals appear “milky” in the water, there are still dangers even after the water appears to be clear. Morton Fire Chief Joe Kelley calculated that 900 gallons of the mixture of 28 percent nitrogen and 13.3 percent of an herbicide containing Atrazine was emptied into the stream through an opening in the tank. “We worked with a hazmat team to dam up the creek both upstream and downstream and keep as much of the material contained as we could using a backhoe and dirt from the banks of the stream,” Kelley reported. The Illinois EPA has asked the state attorney general’s office to proceed with an enforcement action against Haycock Soil Service Inc., for the discharge of ag chemicals into Prairie Creek, causing a fish kill. Haycock operates an ag chemical facility in Delavan. The state EPA has requested that Haycock be directed to take steps to remove all agricultural chemical contaminants and undertake any measures necessary to prevent them from reaching the Mackinaw River.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain