Three Heavy Metals in Washington Fertilizers

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Color Key:
	Heavy Metals in Fertilizers Registered by Washington State. Compared with Background and Cleanup Levels. These charts color-code 2,185 fertilizers by three important toxic metals.
		Green:	Cleaner than the average background level -- "cleaner than dirt" *
		Red:	More contaminated than the state cleanup level -- "dirtier than a toxics site" **
		Black:	Above background, below cleanup level.

Manufacturer	Products	Arsenic	Cadmium	Lead
Natural Background Level in Soil *		7	1	17
State Toxic Cleanup Level for Soil **		20	2	250
KEG RIVER CHEMICAL CORP	KEG RIVER ELEMENTAL SULFUR (85% S)	0.02	0.3	4
KEG RIVER CHEMICAL CORP	KEG RIVER ELEMENTAL SULFUR (90%S)	28	0.3	3
KEG RIVER CHEMICAL CORP	LIQUID CALCIUM CHLORIDE W/MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE	0.002	2.25	9.5
KERR-MCGEE CHEMICAL LLC	SODA SUPER MULTINUTRIENT 0-14-0	1	0.5	1.9
KERR-MCGEE CHEMICAL LLC	SODA SUPER MULTINUTRIENT 0-15-0	1	0.5	1.9
KERR-MCGEE CHEMICAL LLC	SODA SUPER MULTINUTRIENT 0-16-0	1	0.5	1.9

* Environmental groups asked for the natural background level of the soil to be the standard for fertilizers. But the legislature adopted a standard for each toxic metal based on concentration and application rates that would, if applied at the maximum rate, double the estimated background level of the metal in 45 years. All fertilizers on this list passed the state test. The ones in green would have passed the environmentalist test. Source of statewide soil background levels: Washington Department of Ecology Publication #94-115.

** The Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) sets cleanup levels for soil with hazardous substances at levels that may pose a threat to the environment or health. The law does not apply to people "who use a hazardous substance lawfully and without negligence for any personal or domestic purpose" thus, it is believed fertilizer usage is exempt. However, MTCA applies the best available science for what is safe in soil. The fertilizer products above, while all legal, are color-coded as a guide to products that have relatively high levels of arsenic, cadmium and lead. Arsenic and lead are coded red if they exceed the MTCA cleanup level. Cadmium is coded red only if it is (a) more than 5 times the MTCA level, and (b) more than 1 part cadmium to every 100 parts zinc. Zinc blocks the movement of cadmium from soil to plants. Source: USDA

Source of fertilizer data: Washington Department of Agriculture, via the internet http://www.wa.gov/agr/pmd/fertilizers#database 3/22/00

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