Golf course pesticide pulled over complaints

Debra McCormack didn't want her neighborhood to be used as a laboratory.

When she learned that a pesticide made by Dow Chemical Co. was going to be used to kill turf-eating worms at the Babe Zaharias Golf Course next to her home, she decided to fight.

Nevermind that the pesticide, Curfew, was sanctioned by state and federal regulators and that previous attempts to get city and county officials to ban its use had failed. Or that most Forest Hills residents didn't seem to want to get involved.

McCormack and other activists were undeterred. They bombarded the Tampa Sports Authority, which manages the city-owned golf course, with phone calls and e-mail, and filed complaints with federal, state and local government agencies.

"Since when is green grass more important than protecting the health of people?" said McCormack, vice president of the Forest Hills Neighborhood Association.

Last week, in an unexpected move, Dow canceled its plans to use the pesticide, citing opposition from neighborhood activists.

In a written statement, the company defended Curfew, which is used on golf courses throughout the country.

"Dow Agro Sciences will not place the applicator, itself, or the product in a volatile situation that could result in unfounded allegations, the unnecessary expenditure of regulatory resources or potential litigation," Dow spokesman Tim Maniscalo said.

Dow said it would continue using Curfew on other city-owned golf courses. The TSA has used Curfew since 2001.

The active ingredient in Curfew, a soil fumigant, is 1,3-dichloropropene. The warning label states its vapors can cause kidney, lung and liver damage, and death if inhaled. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as a possible carcinogen.

Sports authority officials said the pesticide is approved by the Florida Department of Agriculture and that warning signs go up around the golf course when it's sprayed.

"We have been told by both state and federal regulators that there are no alternatives that are safer than Curfew," said Barbara Casey, a spokeswoman for the TSA.