-Caveat Lector- The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 6, 1999 http://www.phillynews.com EPA officials visit stricken Montco farms They pledged further investigation into an unknown blight on crops and livestock that dates to 1991. By Matt Stearns INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF Federal environmental officials shed their citified suits yesterday in a trip to western Montgomery County to look further into farmers' fears about a series of bizarre crop and livestock problems on area farms during the last decade. But they could not overcome the deep doubt and mistrust of officialdom among farmers -- a cultural rift that gave an emotional edge to the day's conversations. The Environmental Protection Agency officials, clad for the country in fashionable barn jackets and khakis, listened respectfully to concerned farmers, who favored flannel shirts and patched work pants. They traipsed gingerly through barns and barnyards, eyeing gaunt Holsteins at one farm while taking notes on the farmers' litany of complaints. The officials promised more and better tests would start within weeks in a continuing search for answers. The questions began in 1991, when farmers first reported their pigs were turning purple, dying and rapidly decomposing; crops were turning purple and failing to mature; and cows were falling ill for no obvious reason. So far, years of tests by a variety of state, federal and academic experts have been inconclusive. There is also a human element to the problems. Many local farmers complain of nausea and feeling faint while working in area fields. The farms are near the Limerick nuclear-power plant, a Cabot Corp. chemical plant, and several landfills. Some farmers questioned why those places hadn't been more closely looked at. "Either somebody's covering it up, or you're not testing for what's there," a frustrated Tom Yarnall told the EPA officials gathered around the dining-room table at his Gilbertsville home. "And if you don't test for the right things, you're not going to find anything." Yarnall, a longtime pig farmer, lost most of his herd to unexplained disease in the mid-1990s and finally gave up large-scale farming altogether. Jack Kelly, the EPA's on-scene coordinator from its Philadelphia office, promised the renewed investigation would take a hard look at the Cabot plant's environmental practices and would include tests for uranium and other potentially dangerous heavy metals. Cabot works with such radioactive materials, as well as a variety of chemicals, at its local plant. "We use some chemicals in some pretty heavy volumes," said Tony Campitelli , the plant's manager of environmental affairs. "If you were to have a massive spill, it could cause problems, but we handle [ the chemicals ] responsibly." Campitelli also said that the plant's storage methods are proper and that radiation levels on the site are low. "Our main reason for being here is to try to identify some type of hazardous material or contaminant, if there is such a thing," Kelly said. "The difficult part of this is, if there is something going on, to date we don't have any indication that it's a chemical problem. But we will look into the other industries around here." Kelly's learning curve will be steep. He conceded that farming wasn't his strong point. "I'm from the city," he told farmer Merrill Mest apologetically as Mest tried to explain his cows' digestive problems. It became clear as the day progressed that farmers thought willful ignorance and outright evasiveness had characterized the official response to their years of concern. "You hear from vets what doctors used to tell women who had PMS," Mest said. "It doesn't exist. It's all in your head. That's what they're telling me -- there's no PMS." Yarnall, too, said he wanted answers even though he was no longer farming. "There's something wrong in this area," he said. "And I think it's time the farmers get answers from someone. Why should we go broke and lose everything?" At day's end, his mind reeling from farmers' complaints, Kelly admitted he remained dumbfounded. "There's no sign of a widespread health problem," Kelly said. "It looks like it's farm-specific. I figure the Department of Agriculture folks will have a lot to say about this. This is more their bailiwick. Our ability to do chemical analysis will help." Kelly's reaction only underscored Yarnall's exasperation. "If you're going to send people out to look at farms," Yarnall said disgustedly, "you should send people who know about farming." © 1998 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. ================================= Robert F. Tatman [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Remove "nospam" from the address to reply. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml POSTING THIS MESSAGE TO THE INTERNET DOES NOT IMPLY PERMISSION TO SEND UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL (SPAM) TO THIS OR ANY OTHER INTERNET ADDRESS. 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