[CPEO-BIF] Orchard Highlights Urban Sprawl Risk

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Sunday December 5 12:01 PM ET 

For the complete article go to:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/19991205/us/poisoned_earth_1.html


Orchard Highlights Urban Sprawl Risk
(excerpts)
By PAUL NOWELL Associated Press Writer 

SAUNOOK, N.C. (AP) - The roar of bulldozers shatters the bucolic quiet of
Barber Orchard subdivision, where the splendid view of Balsam Mountain
belies the trouble lurking underfoot.

 This is the first subdivision in North Carolina - and perhaps the entire
country - where pesticide-contaminated soil from bygone agricultural
operations is being scraped from 27 homeowners' yards and replaced with
clean fill.

 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is supervising the
cleanup, has declared it a Superfund site. Federal officials have approved
$500,000 to clean up contaminated groundwater and drinking wells. In the
meantime, residents have been urged not to drink their well water or touch
the soil in their yards.

 As new housing developments take over what once were farm fields and
orchards, the problems facing Barber Orchard are expected to become
increasingly common. But many states, including North Carolina, don't
require developers to test soil and water for contaminants before building.

 Barber Orchard, located in Hayward County about 30 miles from Asheville,
was established in 1903. It was one of the state's oldest, most successful
apple orchards. As in most commercial orchards, poisons were used to kill
insects, disease and pests.

 First, lead arsenate was used, then DDT and DDE, followed by benzene
hydrochlorides, or BHCs. In 1977, the last Barber to farm the land sold it
to investors who tried to keep the orchard going but failed. In 1988, the
land was sold at auction in parcels of nine to 40 acres.

 Now, nearly three dozen homes sit on the 400-acre former orchard site,
their residents drawn by the deep forests and mountain view.


For the complete article go to:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/19991205/us/poisoned_earth_1.html


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