Imidacloprid is the world’s most popular pesticide, and
highly controversial. It belongs to a family of neurotoxins, neonicotinoids,
that is increasingly being blamed for colony collapse disorder—the sharp
die-off of honeybees that has plagued North America since 2006.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine
Fisheries Service, the National Audubon Society, and the Xerces Society, which
advocates for invertebrates, have all opposed the chemical’s use on Willapa
Bay. But their protests are now moot. On April 16, the Washington Department of
Ecology approved the spraying of imidacloprid on 1,500 acres of Willapa Bay and
500 acres of nearby Grays Harbor in order to kill the native shrimp that are
wreaking havoc on the cash crop which happens to be non-native oysters.
Imidacloprid dissolves in water, meaning that fish will swim
through trace quantities of the chemical and oysters will grow in an
imidacloprid-laced bay. It will be a first: Imidacloprid has never been applied
on water before in the U.S. Since the pesticide was designed for use on
land, there’s little information on how it might affect anything marine from
zooplankton to the green sturgeon to birds.
“This product is highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates. Do not apply directly to water, or to areas where surface water is present or to intertidal areas below the mean high water mark.”
Spraying is likely to begin May 17. People have until May 16
to appeal the permit to the Pollution Control Hearings Board.
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