I found this in my e-mail and thought I'd share it with you.
      I think it is part of a growing trend that is the result of
      deregulation of industry:
Seattle----Toxic heavy metals, chemicals and radioactive wastes are being
recycled as fertilizer and spread over farmers' fields nationwide---and there
is no federal law requiring that they list the ingredients, The Seattle Times
reported.
   The issue came to light in the central Washington town of Quincy,
population 4,000, when Mayor Patty  Martin led and investigation by local
farmers concerned about poor yields and sickly cattle.
   "It's really unbelievable what is happening, but it's true,"  Martin told
the newspaper.
   Until now, the state Department of Agriculture sampled fertilizer only to
see if they contained advertised levels of beneficial substances.
   But the state is currently testing a cross-section of fertilizer products
to see if they threaten crops, livestock or people, the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer reported Friday.
    Use of industrial waste as a fertilizer ingredient is a growing national
phenomenon, The Times reported.
    In Gore, Okla. a uranium-processing plant gets rid of low-level
radioactive waste by licensing it as liquid fertilizer and spraying it over
9,000 acres of grazing land.
   At Camas, Wash., lead-laced waste from a pulp mill is hauled to farms and
spread over crops destined for livestock feed.
   In Moxee City, Wash., dark powder from two Oregon steel mills is poured
from rail cars into silos at Bay Zinc Co. under a federal hazardous waste
storage permit.  Then it is emptied from the silos for  use as fertilizer.
 The newspaper called the powder a toxic byproduct of the steel-making but
did not identify it.
    Federal and state governments encourage the recycling, which saves money
for industry and conserves space in hazardous-waste landfills.
   The substances found in recycling fertilizers include cadmium, lead,
aresnic, radioactive materials and dioxins, the Times reported.  The wastes
come from incineration of medical and municipal wastes, and from heavy
induistries including mining. smelting, cement kilns and wood products.
   Unlike many other industrialized nations, the United States does not
regulate fertilizers.
   Yhat makes it virtually impossible to figure out how much fertilizer
contains recycled hazardous wastes.
   And laws in most states, including Washing, are far from stringent.
Reprinted under  "fair use"---from the Knoxville News Sentinel---July 7,
1997.
This kind of thing makes the toxic immune crisis in the world worse-----this
needs to be a crime.
      But the point is, its NOT a crime but a fast growing practice of
      industry and a typical example of the side effects of a free market
      economy.  The "free" in free markets means free to defraud and poison
      Billions of consumers.
      A Bhopal is coming to YOUR neighborhood, thanks to free markets.
      Ty
	 Ty Meissner        E-MAIL: Ty.meissner@grape.net  
     I will sleep and dream like the air, and move like the wind, with 
assion
     when it pleases me.  The Universe is not up there... Its here, and we're 
     in it, third rock out from the sun.   --  Peter Spiro
... .     Napa Valley California - home of world class wines.
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