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People working together for social, economic and environmental justice in Tennessee
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Aerial Spraying/Toxics Committee
Help SOCM organize and lobby for aerial spraying law in Tennessee for clean air and environmental protection
for rural people in Tennessee
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Tennessee has no laws to control aerial spraying
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Children playing in school yards and at their own homes located near fields of crops are being sprayed with toxic pesticides! Rural people should have the right to breathe clean air.
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What you can do:
• If you or someone you know has been affected by aerial spraying of chemicals, call SOCM's toll free hot line number.
• Set up a meeting of citizens concerned about aerial spraying in your area.
• Join SOCM and become a member of the Toxics/Aerial Spraying Committee.
We welcome people with experience in dealing with toxics, but technical knowledge and expertise are not necessary.
• WANT MORE DETAILED INFORMATION about this committee? SEE CONTACTS PAGE
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The SOCM Aerial Spraying Committee is working to pass a state law that will protect rural people and farmers by improving Tennessee's regulation of aerially applied chemicals.
The law will set aside areas around homes and other non-agricultural structures where aerial application is forbidden. Such a buffer zone allows room for error; drift will occur away from people's families and property.
SOCM's bill proposes a 100 foot buffer zone around homes and a 300 foot buffer zone around hospitals, schools and day care centers, as well as certified organic fams.
Within this zone only ground application is permitted.
The bill also creates a registry for people with chemical sensitivities. For a $25 yearly fee, the Department of Agriculture will register pesticide-sensitive persons, certified organic farms and beekeepers.
Pesticide-sensitive people must submit a certification from a physician confirming their sensitivity. The Department of Agriculture shall notify all licensed aerial applicators at least twice yearly of the name, address and telephone number of registered persons.
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Aerial Spraying Campaign History:
In November 1999 SOCM began receiving calls from members concerned about aerial spraying of chemicals. The people lived near pine plantations and clearcuts in southeastern TN counties.
They reported serious health effects after contact with sprayed chemicals. Symptoms included breathing difficulty, nose bleeds, skin irritation, eye problems and other conditions indicative of toxic chemical exposure.
Several people required hospitalization after exposure. Most of the affected people live in rural areas near large-scale clear cutting operations where planes apply fertilizer, pesticide and herbicides.
From West Tennessee, folks complained of health effects from crop-dusting of row crops, such as cotton with insecticides and defoliants. Many calls have indicated that children were affected by aerial drift.
Following these complaints the Toxics Committee convened an aerial spraying meeting in January of 2000. The newly formed Aerial Spraying Committee, after researching state law and health aspects of the issue, began a campaign to pass a state law to regulate aerial spraying.
Although Tennessee's Department of Agriculture regulates some aspects of pesticide application, specifically the certification of residential and commercial pesticide applicators, no state law deals with aerial application of toxic chemicals.
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Past Accomplishments of the SOCM Toxics Committee:
The Toxics Committee has developed strategies to address a number of solid waste and toxic and hazardous waste problems that threaten the health, safety and environment of communities in Tennessee.
The committee has documented poor state enforcement of solid waste regulations on landfills and negotiated an agreement with the state to address some of those problems.
We also fought amendments which would have weakened solid waste state law.
The committee has included SOCM members from local communities impacted by illegal dumping of toxic wastes, the proliferation of hazardous and mixed waste, incinerators and proposed hazardous waste facilities.
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