That's right. It's called Ironite - and has been sold in lawn and garden stores, as well as in big box retailers, such as Home Depot, WalMart and Target. Studies by scientists, including a study commissioned by the Dallas Morning News shows that the levels of arsenic and lead in this product would normally be required to be disposed of as hazardous waste. But a loophole in the law for the mining industry exempts them from the requirement. What is more, the company is not even required to list arsenic or lead as an ingredient on the product. It touts its product as an "environmentally friendly" alternative to chemically produced fertilizers. As per usual, the company claims that the forms of arsenic and lead in its products are "non-toxic." I'll cover the apparent sources of these claims in a later post. The study by the Dallas paper found that Ironite contained 2,677 parts per million of lead and 3,972 parts per million of arsenic. Here is a link to a more detailed article: http://www.dirtdoctor.com/organic/garden/view_question/id/120/. Our more enviromentally friendly and apparently less corporate-influenced friends to the north have banned the substance from use.
An EPA study debunked the manufacturer's claims that its product contained arsenopyrite, instead containing an arsenic compounds it called Scorodite (FeAsO4·2H2O) and arsenate sorbed to iron oxides. http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/lrpcd/wm/projects/135367.htm At anyrate, none of it sounds particularly desireable for the tomato patch, or where little johnny or fido might be able to ingest it. Lastly, of course, in the rain these substances leach into the ground water.
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