美国国家公共电台 NPR Wave Of Dicamba Complaints Prompts Pesticide Regulators To As

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

In some of the big farming states, officials have become overwhelmed by complaints about a weedkiller that farmers are using. The demand for enforcement is so high that these officials say they don't have time to think about anything else. Some of them argue the federal government should really just take this product off the market. Here's NPR's Dan Charles.

DAN CHARLES, BYLINE¹: For the past three summers, the phones have been ringing like crazy in the Office of the Indiana State Chemist. Farmers and homeowners were reporting a kind of chemical hit-and-run. Their soybean fields and tomato plants looked sick with curled-up leaves, and they blamed pesticides³ from nearby farms. So Andy Roth, one of the field investigators⁵, had to jump in his car and head to the scene.

ANDY ROTH: It's sort of a mad rush at the beginning. You rush out, you do the field work, you take the pictures, you take the samples, you get them back here.

CHARLES: Back to the lab to test those samples of leaves and soil for pesticides. Lab supervisor⁶ Ping Wan⁷ says her people were overwhelmed, too.

PING WAN: The first issue was we quickly reached our maximum storage capacity.

CHARLES: They had to buy more freezers to store the evidence.

WAN: There is not an inch of wall space left.

CHARLES: And their tests showed the same thing over and over - dicamba. Dicamba's a herbicide. Four years ago, the federal Environmental Protection Agency approved a new use for it. Farmers now can spray special versions of dicamba right over some soybean varieties that are genetically⁸ engineered to tolerate it. The weeds die, but these crops are fine.

A lot of farmers love this technology. A majority of all soybeans planted in America this past year were dicamba-tolerant. Others, like Lewis Flohr in Frankfort, Ind., who's growing soybeans that can't tolerate dicamba, they think it's a plague.

LEWIS FLOHR: I had about an 80-acre field that was whacked⁹ pretty hard with dicamba.

CHARLES: He says it cut his harvest on those acres by a third. Dicamba has this problem - it does not always stay where it's sprayed. On hot days, it can evaporate and drift across the landscape, damaging other plants. And it's been happening on an enormous scale across the soybean farming belt from Minnesota in the north to Arkansas in the south.

Millions of acres of old-style soybeans have been damaged, also vineyards and orchards¹⁰. Friendships have ended over this. In one dispute between farmers in Arkansas, one farmer shot and killed the other. Lewis Flohr now sees neighboring farms as a potential threat.

FLOHR: And I just flat out tell people, I've got a lawyer. You know, watch it.

CHARLES: What do your neighbors say to that?

FLOHR: They think I'm an [expletive].

CHARLES: It's up to state governments to investigate reports of pesticide² drift and figure out if anybody caused it by breaking the rules. But in Illinois, the number of complaints went from about 120 four years ago to over 700 in 2019. In Indiana, it went from about 60 to 200. And Dave Scott, who's in charge of Indiana's pesticide inspections¹¹, says everybody is overwhelmed.

DAVE SCOTT: We're just running ourselves ragged¹² just trying to get out there, collect the evidence.

CHARLES: It's also frustrating¹³. Field investigator⁴ Andy Roth often sees dicamba damage across entire fields, and he can't figure out where it came from, who to hold accountable.

ROTH: Some days you go, am I doing any good? Am I making an impact here? Or am I just spinning my wheels?

CHARLES: Meanwhile, because of dicamba, the inspectors¹⁴ don't have time to do everything else they're supposed to do to, like check on pesticide uses at schools or golf courses or businesses. Leo Reed, another Indiana official, is also president-elect of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials.

LEO REED: I think the most affected¹⁵ states would all agree that it's not acceptable to continue with this number of complaints. It's just not acceptable.

CHARLES: But the EPA re-approved dicamba just a year ago, before the 2019 growing season. It decided¹⁶ the problem could be addressed with a few new restrictions¹⁷ on where dicamba can be sprayed and more training for people who use it. I asked Reed about that.

So what was the experience in 2019? Did it fix the problem?

REED: No. As a matter of fact, the complaint numbers went up.

CHARLES: In some states, the numbers did go down, but not necessarily because there was less damage. According to a survey of farmers in Missouri, 80% of them are not bothering to file formal complaints anymore. They don't think it does any good. Leo Reed from the Office of the Indiana State Chemist says he understands why.

REED: You know, I've used the phrase dicamba fatigue¹⁸, and it's a very real thing.

CHARLES: Another possible sign of dicamba fatigue - all but one of Missouri's eight pesticide inspectors left their job within the past year and a half. A Missouri official said there was not any single reason for the rapid turnover¹⁹. But according to minutes of meetings between state pesticide enforcement agencies, heavy workload²⁰ and burnout was at least one reason.

Last fall, a group of state officials, including Leo Reed, had a conference call about dicamba with officials at the EPA. They had a question.

REED: The question is, are crinkled soybean leaves an unreasonable²¹ adverse²² effect? Because if they are, then this product is federally misbranded. If a product is found to be misbranded, then it can no longer be sold or used.

CHARLES: An EPA spokesperson said damage to plants can be an unreasonable adverse effect, but it depends on the extent of the damage and on the benefits of spraying the pesticide. A lot of farmers don't want to give up those benefits, nor does the company Bayer, formerly²³ Monsanto, which sells dicamba herbicide and dicamba-tolerant soybean and cotton seeds. It's a billion-dollar business. At the end of 2020, the EPA will have to decide once again whether to let farmers keep spraying this chemical.

Dan Charles, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF PENSEES' "FACELESS ARTIST")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

3 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

7 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

8 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

9 whacked   

a.精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• She whacked him with her handbag. 她用手提包狠狠地打他。
• He whacked me on the back and I held both his arms. 他用力拍拍我的背，我抱住他的双臂。

10 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

11 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

13 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

18 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

19 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

20 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

21 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

22 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

23 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。