August 2007

Questions and suggestions from the staff to management may be submitted in confidence to the Delphi Coordinator. They should be submitted in written form, preferably via interoffice mail in a sealed envelope marked confidential. They must be signed. Detailed procedures for submitting questions are given in the UCAR Policies and Procedures Manual, section 4-1-2, and on the Delphi Web site. Staff Notes Monthly publishes questions and answers of general interest to staff, and the Delphi Web site has a log of all questions submitted since 1995.

Delphi Question: Herbicide application at FL

Delphi Question #574 (received June 25): Herbicides were sprayed on the lawn around Foothills Lab on June 19. What chemical was used? The little yellow signs say Trimec, but different varieties of this product exist. Why are chemical herbicides applied on NCAR grounds at all? Has NCAR considered other options for weed control or ground cover that present fewer risks to health and the environment?

Response (received June 28): Under our standing blanket contract for turf grass and landscape maintenance, The Green Plan applied post-emergence herbicides to the FL campus the week of June 19th.

What chemical was used? The turf grass was treated with Lesco Three-Way Selective Herbicide for control of broadleaf weeds, including dandelion. Other plantings were selectively treated with Monsanto Roundup PRO for control of various weeds growing within the plantings. (Note that Gordon’s Trimec is a competing broadleaf weed treatment for turf grass with the same indications as Lesco Three-Way.)

Why are chemical herbicides applied to NCAR grounds at all? Because they provide cost-effective control of undesirable, invasive weeds growing in our lawns and among ornamental plantings.

Has NCAR considered other options? Perhaps the least risky method would be to hand-pull weeds, but given the high cost of labor and limited funds available, this is not an option. However, we do not rely exclusively on chemicals; we do have our staff and contracted staff pull weeds in xeric and other plantings at ML, FL, and CG. The chemicals that are used in our landscaped areas are the result of a compromise to achieve results that are cost effective while presenting the least risk to our staff and contracted personnel who apply the products.

MSDS (material safety data sheet) information on the products used in our lawn and landscape care and maintenance is available at UCAR’s Maintenance Office and at several sites maintained
by SaSS.

—John Pereira Director, Physical Plant Services

Questions and suggestions from the staff to management may be submitted in confidence to the Delphi Coordinator Marc Genty. They should be submitted in written form, preferably via interoffice mail in a sealed envelope marked confidential. They must be signed. Detailed procedures for submitting questions are given in the UCAR Policies and Procedures Manual, section 4-1-2, and on the Delphi Web site. Staff Notes Monthly ­publishes questions and answers of general interest to staff, and the Delphi Web site has a log of all questions submitted since 1995.