The Fabled Flower

By Britt Baily

Well - I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your own associations with flowers on my flower. - Georgia O'Keefe

Seldom does the sight or scent of a richly colored flower evoke anything other than sweetness and love. Flowers bring joy to the sick, calm to an argument, and color to a winter day. A deep purple, bright red, or brilliant orange can uplift the soul upon a gaze. A flower's beauty epitomizes life's colorful mystery.

Contrary to its symbolism, the reality of a cut flower's life is not nearly so romantic. No where is this dichotomy between beauty and danger more evident than in the Smith River flood plain along California's North Coast. Nearly 200,000 pounds of pesticides are used annually in the 11 square mile growing area. Many of the chemicals used are probable human carcinogens, highly toxic to fish, or known to contaminate groundwater. The international cut flower industry generates $30 billion annually. While the Netherlands remains one of the centers of the cut flower industry, much of the production is moving to countries in tropical climates. Columbia, Costa Rica, and Tanzania have all emerged as flower growing areas. Northern California is home to ninety percent of the U.S. lily bulb market.

The ever expanding cut flower industry uses a considerable amount of highly toxic pesticides. The high use of noxious chemicals is buttressed by a flower's non-edible nature that allows it to be exempt from inspection for pesticide residues. Many cut flowers are derived from bulbs which ostensibly require toxic soil fumigants to ward off nematodes and other soil microorganisms which would otherwise nibble away at its core. The high use of chemicals not only potentially jeopardizes the health of workers involved in the production and nearby residents, but also the surrounding environment.

The Smith River lily bulb growing region epitomizes the rest of the cut flower industry in its intense use of chemicals. In the 11 square mile area which make up the lily bulb farming area of the Smith River, nearly 200,000 pounds of chemicals are used annually. The heavy use in such a limited area gives rise to some of the highest pesticide application rates anywhere in California (per acre). For example, Kings and Tulare counties are two of the highest producing agricultural areas in California, thus two of the largest pesticide users as well. The lily bulb producing area in the Smith River flood plain meets and in some cases exceeds the pesticide use per acre in known high production counties such as these. Chemicals used in the flood plain with high levels of toxicity include soil fumigants such as Telone, Metam Sodium, Methyl Bromide, and Chloropicrin, as well as organophosphate and carbamate insecticides including Disulfoton and Carbofuron respectively.

The value of reducing or shifting the heavy use of toxic chemicals to less toxic alternatives in the Smith River area as well as other cut flower growing locales lies in their inherent risk to workers, nearby residents, and the ecosystem. For example, the Smith River bulb industry relies on soils within the flood plain for cultivation. The surrounding estuary is home to young endangered salmon. In the Smith River estuary Coho and other salmon species complete their development, feeding, and readying themselves for life in the ocean. If chemicals used within the floodplain move into the estuary, the recovering salmon populations may be at risk of serious harm. The development of juvenile salmon is especially sensitive to disruption by chemicals. Miniscule amounts of organophosphate insecticides in water have been found to disrupt a salmon's ability to smell, which in turn reduces itís response to releases of pheromones and other primary survival mechanisms.

Figure 1. shows the results of the first phase of the aquatic risk assessment performed for the Smith River estuary. It shows that 4 of the 5 chemicals tested exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's established level of concern for endangered aquatic organisms, including those that live in the Smith River. Due to the river's importance for the recovery of California and Oregon salmon populations, all measures should be taken to reduce the intensity of pesticide use within the area and begin mandatory substitutions for those chemicals known to contaminate groundwater and be toxic to fish even at sublethal levels. At a minimum, these results invite further study including actual residue testing.

Worker exposure to chemicals used in the cut flower industry is of concern as well. Workers who transplant, prune, cut, or pack flowers without protective clothing may absorb chemicals through their skin. Dusting and spraying within greenhouses creates an environment where workers can readily inhale pesticide vapors. Many of the pesticides used can cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive illnesses, as well as neurological disease in humans. Of the chemicals in heavy use in the Smith River lily bulb production, four of the nine are probable human carcinogens. The health impacts of these chemicals are real.

In Costa Rica, where large quantities of leatherleaf ferns used as accents in bouquets are grown, over 50% of people who worked at the fern/flower farms reported at least one symptom of pesticide exposure-headache, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, skin eruptions, and fainting. Many of the protective standards developed for the United States are not in effect in other parts of the world. And, in many cases, chemicals which are banned in the United States because they present a serious hazard to humans, are still being used in other areas of the world, especially in the flower industry.

Given the volume and toxicity of the pesticides used in the flower industry, it is not surprising that residents near growing areas may also be at risk. Many chemicals used in the industry are known groundwater contaminants. If a privately owned well is the primary source of water for a family, they may be at an increased risk of pesticide exposure from bathing, cooking, and drinking. The Smith River lily bulb area has created some of the heaviest 1,2-D contamination in the country. 1,2-D, a soil fumigant used to kill nematodes, has not been used in the area since 1993, but it remains a trace contaminant of new pesticide formulations. The flower industry relies on many other chemicals that are similarly notorious groundwater contaminants, such as carbofuron, diuron, and pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB).

Assessing the risks posed by the international cut flower industry is complicated due to the intersecting value of improved social conditions against the risks to worker and environmental health. One solution is to support certifying organizations and sustainable agriculture members such as Rainforest Alliance that are promoting responsibility and protection. But change to alternative methods of agriculture takes time as accomodations must be made from all sides including policymakers, organizations, and consumers. In the meantime, consumers can help by requesting and supporting flowers organically grown. Only when workers, consumers, and nature are adequately protected can we ultimately enjoy the romance of cut flowers.