A VA Green truck pulled up, made everyone leave the new playground, and sprayed herbicides all around the perimeter. Said they were hired by the city, and that's all the info they gave. They then just left and didn't even put up signage.
Comments
guiltyofnothing t1_je5oc11 wrote
Agreed. This could be a whooooole lotta things, no necessarily herbicides.
MrPlowThatsTheName t1_je68ahy wrote
That looks like fresh dirt he’s spraying so this is the most likely explanation. And this is the perfect time to try to grow new grass before the serious heat and sun begins.
Maleficent_Habit_571 t1_je851mn wrote
I used to work at VA green. It's nutrients. OP is just saying what they want because the internet.
clickclackkayak t1_je69gmz wrote
He was asked it and was "non selective herbicide" and he told the families and children that it was for the "weeds"
mah658 OP t1_jebak2q wrote
Yes, did ask, and was told non-selective herbicide to kill weeds.
Charlesinrichmond t1_je5c73g wrote
it's not actually a big deal unless they sprayed it on someone, as long as they used legal stuff, which I assume they did.
The big issue with glyphosate is spraying it on crops, not on weeds. That's what gets insufficient attention
TripawdCorgi t1_je5gpup wrote
I'll admit I'm not familiar with the distance that stuff can travel while spraying due to wind, but the Fonticello Food Forest is in the same small park. I hope they gave those folks a heads up at least in order to cover crops that might be susceptible if it's within the wind carrying zone.
Charlesinrichmond t1_je9zpb9 wrote
it can travel decently, it's droplets of water so as far as that goes. But usually the applicators for something like this won't be going more than 5 feet if that. I didn't see what they were using of course, but it would be pretty obvious as there would be large swaths of dead park.
So highly highly unlikely to be an issue.
TripawdCorgi t1_jeaferv wrote
Cool thanks, not sure why I got down voted to hell. You mentioned crops being a concern and I was like, hey there's actually crops there in case you weren't aware, but acknowledged I wasn't familiar with how close was too close. I guess admitting you don't know something brings out the downvoters, I should have staunchly defended an opinion I had no knowledge of I guess lol.
Charlesinrichmond t1_jearbox wrote
just ignore the downvotes here I'd say
mah658 OP t1_je5cpfm wrote
I'm pretty sure you don't want kids unknowingly playing in it 20 minutes later? I'm no expert on the topic, but I know enough to stay away from it until it dries.
Dairy_Seinfeld t1_je5itu9 wrote
Glyphosate is safer when compared to more industrial herbicides but it’s a toxic irritant to people nonetheless. Regardless, it was unprofessional of both the city and the spray team to not notify the public with signage. “Not a big deal” is not the wording I would use for more reasons than one. But yes—the chemical is not outright carcinogenic, nor immediately deadly.
mah658 OP t1_je5uztq wrote
Thanks for that explanation. I looked up what the CDC recommends for Glyphosate, and it's clearly stated in bold "Do not let kids or pets play on or touch areas where weed killer has been applied until 24 hours have passed." Regardless of the downvotes, I stand by my comment that I'd be upset if I had kids unknowingly playing in that playground today.
fusion260 t1_je62e6v wrote
Yes, but think about the context of that advice and where it's coming from: The CDC—a government agency in this case—is being as broadly cautious as possible with that guidance because they know people will ignore it. They're also talking about an ingredient, regardless of its quantity in a given product. They aren't going to provide ratio-specific advice for every application.
24 hours, though, is really overkill; we're not in a rainforest where it takes forever for things to adequately dry out or move deeper into the soil.
Herbicides are typically fine for pets and bare skin—unless someone is highly allergic to it—once it dries or once it rains to get the stuff into the soil and off the blades/leaves.
Example: You (the royal you, as in anyone reading this) buy a hammock and it says "max weight is 250 lbs.," but you might weigh 275 lbs. and think "it's fine, it won't break for being an extra 25 lbs. over." Good news: you're probably right and it will be fine.
The "250 lbs. max weight," according to the manufacturer, is more for their protection against a consumer frivolously suing them because a hammock broke at some point after it's been used. In reality, though, a hammock can typically safely hold a lot more than they say they can because us humans tend to easily put on more weight when we're not paying attention to such things. I've seen two people frequently use a hammock that was, by the label, only designed to be used by one person at a time.
Edit: a word
mah658 OP t1_je6zn85 wrote
I'm sure you are correct and 24 hours is overkill, but there were kids playing in that park probably 15 minutes later. It's been occupied non-stop as it's only a month old.
[deleted] t1_je6mq0f wrote
[deleted]
Charlesinrichmond t1_je9zv2e wrote
that's true. And should be signs to say that.
I don't know the drying time, but it's pretty quick might be 20 minutes. I'll try to remember to test that it's relevant info. Going to be pretty much the drying time of water of course
[deleted] t1_je5hxo2 wrote
[deleted]
turnipmeatloaf t1_je5scxv wrote
That’s dumb. Just mow and leave the weeds alone. Dandelions and clovers are underrated
BabyBat07 t1_je6p905 wrote
The bees love them!
Turbulent-Flamingo84 t1_je6v8wp wrote
That’s right….and this is a “river city” and all the storm runoff gets to the James.
turnipmeatloaf t1_je6vh3y wrote
Plus not using herbicide is cheaper than using it lol
Charlesinrichmond t1_jea0hy9 wrote
glyphosate shouldn't as sunlight breaks it down.
The big concern once again is spraying it on crops. People ignore that
Tayl44 t1_je5qz2j wrote
They use it all the time at schools and public parks. So frustrating.
Nurturing_rhino t1_je5w30z wrote
A waste of taxpayer’s money when our roads are CRAP. Give me weeds!
groundcontrol3 t1_je5n2mn wrote
Did you ask the guy if he was spraying herbicides? If the city is trying to get grass to grow he could be spraying a nutrient/water mixture on top of some recently spread grass seed.