Bynum Winery reports poisoning Owners, winemaker fall
ill, blame methyl bromide use at neighboring vineyard
By TIM TESCONI, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Santa Rosa, California, Sept. 17 - Agricultural officials
are investigating what could be Sonoma County's most serious methyl bromide
poisoning in 30 years, an apparent accident that caused four people, including
the owners and winemaker at Healdsburg's Davis Bynum Winery, to become
violently ill and require emergency treatment.
The incident
occurred Wednesday when methyl bromide, a highly toxic fumigant used to rid
soil of disease and pests, is suspected of drifting from a vineyard site on
Westside Road to neighboring Davis Bynum Winery.
Hampton Bynum, vice president of the family-owned winery,
his wife, Ngamnit Bynum, winemaker David Georges and family friend Preeapron
Lindsay said they were overcome after being outside at the time of the
fumigation.
All suffered
dizziness, shortness of breath, fuzzy vision and drowsiness. Lindsay received
an injection to stop her from vomiting continuously. All four spent most of
Wednesday being treated at Healdsburg General Hospital and then returned home
to recuperate.
"It was
a horrible experience," Hampton Bynum, son of winery founder Davis Bynum,
said Monday. "It's very alarming when you realize a chemical like that
can penetrate and disable you. It's taken five days for me to feel that I'm
back on track."
Confirmation
of the cause will not come until an investigation is concluded by the Sonoma
County Agricultural Commissioner's Office.
Williams-Selyem
Winery of Healdsburg owns the land that was being fumigated in preparation for
planting. Lloyd Vineyard Management of Geyserville is developing the vineyard
for Williams-Selyem and had contracted the methyl bromide fumigation to
Tri-Cal Inc., a Hollister-based company that specializes in soil fumigation.
"All
the conditions were ideal for fumigation. All safety regulations were
followed," Dave Esrock of Tri-Cal said Monday.
Esrock said
there was no wind and that thorough testing indicated weather conditions were
right.
Chris
Boland, viticulturist at Lloyd Vineyard Management, said it's hard to
understand how four people at Bynum Winery could be affected when the four
people performing the fumigation did not get sick.
Methyl
bromide, a colorless, odorless gas, is pumped into the ground, which is
covered with plastic to the keep the chemical escaping from the air.
Georges, 37,
said he's worried about long-term health problems from exposure to the
chemical. He said he's having toxicological tests on his kidneys and liver to
determine whether they've been damaged.
"I feel
like I've been poisoned and it could have been avoided," he said. Most
grape growers have abandoned methyl bromide because of potential dangers to
the environment, and Georges said there's no reason to use it.
County
Agricultural Commissioner John Westoby, whose office issues permits for
pesticide applications, said the use of methyl bromide has declined
dramatically over the past five years.
Westoby said
that in 1996, county growers applied 428,000 pounds of methyl bromide on 1,140
acres. In 2000, the most recent year for available state figures, use of
methyl bromide had dropped to 132,000 pounds on 380 acres.
Methyl
bromide is legal to use until 2005. The federal Environmental Protection
Agency is phasing out methyl bromide because it is a known ozone-depleting
substance.
Westoby, who
is overseeing the investigation, said that in his 30 years with the
commissioner's office he can't recall a methyl bromide poisoning case that
involved so many people claiming illnesses.
"We are
waiting to see what information we get from the doctors' reports," he
said.
The state
Department of Pesticide Regulation, a division of the state Environmental
Protection Agency, was immediately informed of the incident. Glenn Brank, a
department spokesman, said the case has been classified a "priority
investigation," with all state resources available to help Westoby in the
inquiry.
By num said
he and the others were doing fine Monday but, like Georges, he's worried about
health problems in the future. Bynum farms his vineyards organically, using no
chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilizers on his land.
By num
believes the fumigant was carried by the wind to his property. He said he will
write a letter to the Department of Pesticide Regulation asking for better
controls on methyl bromide.
"I
would like to see this stuff outlawed immediately," he said.
Bob Cabral,
winemaker and general manager at Williams-Selyem, said he hopes the
investigation will shed some light on what happened.
"We
don't know of any violations, and we have to assume everything went according
to regulations because Tri-Cal is a reputable company," he said.
http://www.msnbc.com/local/SRPD/M226786.asp?cp1=1
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