BLM Investigates After Company Sprays Pesticide On Public Land Without License . News | OPB

 "Since 2010, state and federal agencies awarded Applebee Aviation more than $1 million in contracts to apply fertilizer and pesticides on public land in Oregon and Washington.4 During that same span, Applebee Aviation tallied more complaints, violations and vehicle crashes than any other aerial pesticide operator in Oregon, according to state and federal records.

Complaints are not rare for companies in the business of spraying chemicals on Oregon forestland, which is both highly visible and controversial. Many licensed operators have at least one complaint against them, according to Oregon Department of Agriculture data.

Applebee Aviation has 15, more than any other aerial pesticide operator in the state.

Applebee also has been cited for violations in four different cases in Oregon and one in Washington since 2010. In those cases, Applebee Aviation staff failed to review pesticide labels before applying them, allowed chemicals to drift onto a bicyclist and sprayed a weed killer toxic to fish over a creek where salmon and steelhead spawn. Two other cases are pending.


Also during the past six years, Applebee Aviation has been involved in three crashes, according to FAA data. One was fatal.7

Meanwhile, Applebee Aviation has won nearly $1 million in bids for aerial herbicide spraying from the Washington Department of Natural Resources over the past six years.8 In 2015, the company won two contracts from the Oregon Department of Forestry, totaling near $50,000.9

Kevin Vanderlei, a former Applebee Aviation truck driver and pesticide handler, claims he was exposed to pesticides during jobs on DNR land. He recalls refilling a helicopter with broken nozzles, which caused pesticides to drip on him.

“I’m not talking about an occasional drip,” he said. “I’m talking about being doused in chemical every time I had to fill the helicopter.”"

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BLM Investigates After Company Sprays Pesticide On Public Land Without License . News | OPB

Whistleblower films Oregon timber workers getting sprayed with toxic herbicides | Righting Injustice

"At first Mr. Ivy wasn’t concerned. He listened to the assurances of company foresters and helicopter pilots who told him the chemicals wouldn’t harm him, and he trusted his strong physical constitution and good health.

After being repeatedly soaked with the chemicals, however, Mr. Ivy’s health began to deteriorate. He started taking refuge in his truck, closing the windows and doors, whenever the spraying occurred. Within weeks he was in an isolation unit of Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Ore., diagnosed with a spectrum of health problems including burning lungs, a hacking cough, and “acute contact dermatitis” doctors attributed to “acute chemical exposure.”

To this day, Mr. Ivy coughs up blood and is pursuing a workers compensation claim with Applebee’s.

“When I was on site I was thinking I’d bounce back really quick,” Mr. Ivy told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “But it’s got me a little worried. I can’t breathe right.”

According to The Oregonian/Oregon Live, one of the weed killers that rained down on him and other workers was Velossa, which can cause irreversible eye damage. Another chemical used, 2 4-D, irritates skin and causes dizziness when inhaled.

Seneca Jones and Applebee Aviation coat the forest in herbicide to kill any weeds that compete with tree saplings. The timber company has just a brief window of time to control the weeds, so they douse the forest with chemicals heavily and frequently."

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Whistleblower films Oregon timber workers getting sprayed with toxic herbicides | Righting Injustice

The Curry Coastal Pilot - Company stopped from spraying pesticides in Oregon

 "Oregon has the weakest laws in the Pacific Northwest regarding buffer zones and spraying operations, according to the ODA, the agency in charge of monitoring and implementing legislation changes

Laurie Bernstein, a retired fish biologist with the Forest Service, said in May 2014, that spray restrictions do not address non-fish stream contamination at all.

Washington, a similar state in regards to timber, topography and precipitation, has buffers of 25 to 200 feet; Idaho has 100-foot buffers around streams. And in Washington, sprayers can’t come within 200 feet of a home; in Idaho it’s a half-mile.

Even the Forest Service does not allow aerial spraying on their lands in Oregon.

Residents have said they feel state laws protects spray operators better than citizens; indeed, this is the only time the ODA has ever gone to court seeking a restraining order against a chemical applicator.

Sweeney and his neighbors — some of whom are multi-generational loggers and have said they understand why the chemical applications are needed — are still fighting for stricter laws, particularly around schools, residences and waterways.

They’re fighting for their property rights for the health of tributaries that provide valuable salmon habitat and drinking water and the health of their families.

“This investigation gives the public an insider’s view of the deplorable safety standards for poisonous pesticides that occur in Oregon,” Arkin said. “State agencies know very well that these violations are common, but it took a whistleblower’s documentation to bring any inquiry and action.”"

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Brookings Oregon News, Sports, & Weather | The Curry Coastal Pilot - Company stopped from spraying pesticides in Oregon:

Helicopter herbicide sprays are poisoning Oregon…is it rigged or is it rogue? | Beyond Toxics

"Two years ago, there was little public awareness about the common industrial practice of using helicopters to spray thousands of acres of forests with herbicides. That was before the Cedar Valley spray case in which over forty people reported being sickened by exposure to a chemical soup raining down from an aerial herbicide spray. After all, who could really imagine that Oregon’s timber companies routinely hire helicopter pilots, dozens of hazardous chemical truck drivers and pesticide applicators to carry out a program of blanketing forestlands and streams with toxic chemicals? It seemed unbelievable, until the public learned more.

When the brave folks from Cedar Valley came forward to tell their story, regulators and many legislators scoffed. “That’s just one rogue pilot, a solitary incident!” Industry lobbyists claimed, “We follow all applicable laws!”  However, now their claims have been blown out of the water by the Applebee Aviation case. Applebee handles a large percentage of the contracts for aerial herbicide sprays in Oregon. They are hired by companies ranging from privately-owned Seneca Jones Timber to the State Department of Forestry.

Applebee Aviation’s illegal activities were exposed by Darryl Ivy, an aviation mechanic and truck driver licensed to pilot hazardous waste trucks. He called Beyond Toxics for help after he attended one of our Herbicide and Health town hall meetings in Roseburg last April. He was very sick and he was shocked at what Applebee Aviation and Seneca Timber asked workers to do, and endure, as private forestry workers.  Ivy was working for Applebee Aviation driving trucks filled with jet fuel, pesticides and other chemicals on public roads and logging roads throughout southern Oregon. Ivy wasn’t really sure he wanted to call us, because he is a man used to working with dangerous chemicals in perilous situations like the North Slope of Alaska. What he witnessed compelled him to act."

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Helicopter herbicide sprays are poisoning Oregon…is it rigged or is it rogue? | Beyond Toxics:

Oregon seeks to revoke license of pesticide spraying company :: WRAL.com

By GOSIA WOZNIACKA, Associated Press

PORTLAND, ORE. — The Oregon Department of Agriculture is seeking to revoke the license of a company that conducts aerial pesticide spraying on private timberlands, after the company disregarded a previous license suspension.

According to an order issued this week, Applebee Aviation's pesticide operator license would be revoked for one year. The company would also be fined $40,000.

Company owner Mike Applebee can still appeal the order. He didn't immediately return a call for comment.

The state last month suspended the company's license over worker protection violations and fined it $1,100. The violations came to light after a member of the spraying crew said he had to regularly take shelter from herbicides sprayed from a helicopter in Douglas County this spring. Truck driver Darryl Ivy quit his job and went to a hospital complaining of blisters in his mouth and a swollen airway.

He shot hundreds of photos and video of the spraying, which were first released to The Oregonian.

In addition to the license suspension from the Department of Agriculture, Applebee was also fined $8,850 by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division, and another $14,100 by the Oregon Department of Transportation."

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Oregon seeks to revoke license of pesticide spraying company :: WRAL.com:

State to timber whistleblower's former employer: Pay up, shut down | OregonLive.com

"Five months after timber worker Darryl Ivy blew the whistle on his employer's helicopter spray practices in Oregon's forests, the state Department of Agriculture has proposed revoking the company's license and fining it more than $40,000.

 Ivy, a truck driver, spent 17 days this spring on a spray crew in Douglas County, the heart of Oregon's timber country. Videos and photos he shot show that he routinely hid inside his pickup truck while herbicides rained down. The milky chemical mix stained Ivy's windshield white and turned his phlegm red."

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State to timber whistleblower's former employer: Pay up, shut down | OregonLive.com

Temporary restraining order issued against Applebee Aviation

October 12, 2015... The Oregon Department of Agriculture has received a temporary restraining order to immediately stop Applebee Aviation, Inc. of Banks, Oregon from engaging in commercial pesticide activities. The order, issued by Washington County Circuit Court, was sought by ODA after it discovered Applebee Aviation had illegally conducted pesticide applications while its commercial pesticide operator’s license was suspended, an additional violation of Oregon’s Pesticide Control Act. Meanwhile, ODA continues its investigation of the most recent violative activity and expects to take additional regulatory action against the company.

On September 25, 2015, ODA issued an immediate license suspension and a $1,100 civil penalty and to Applebee Aviation for performing aerial herbicide application activities in a faulty, careless, or negligent manner. Applebee Aviation was informed that it was prohibited by law from engaging in pesticide application activities until such time as its license was reinstated. Subsequently on October 8, 2015, ODA became aware that Applebee Aviation performed an aerial application of pesticides on Bureau of Land Management lands north of Christmas Valley in Lake County on or around October 1 and 2. ODA also learned that Applebee Aviation engaged in pesticide application activities in Astoria in Clatsop County on September 26. The temporary restraining was granted because Applebee Aviation knowingly and willfully ignored ODA’s express instructions and engaged in pesticide application activities even though its license was suspended.

ODA’s original regulatory action followed the completion of a pesticide use investigation stemming from a complaint of exposure received by an Applebee Aviation worker present during aerial pesticide application activity on and around forestlands in Douglas County in April 2015. ODA coordinated with Oregon OSHA, which conducted its own investigation. ODA found that Applebee Aviation had not provided workers with the required personal protection equipment, water or other decontamination materials for use in the event of exposure, or training on how to minimize hazards to safety and health while working around pesticides. All are violations of the pesticide label. Oregon OSHA, which is the lead agency on worker protection matters, issued fines totaling $8,850 for violations committed by Applebee Aviation.

For more information, contact Bruce Pokarney at (503) 986-4559.

Article Comment

coastrange: BLM knew or should have know that they had no license and should have suspended the contract. If BLM was really pressuring a company without a license to spray, they should also be found in violation of Oregon Forrest Practices Act.

Oregon court orders Applebee Aviation to stop aerial pesticide spraying | Local | Eugene, Oregon

"PORTLAND — The Oregon Department of Agriculture has received a temporary restraining order to stop a company from conducting aerial pesticide spraying on private timberlands.

 The order was issued by Washington County Circuit Court on Monday. It comes after the state last month suspended Applebee Aviation’s pesticide operator license over worker protection violations. Despite the suspension, Applebee Aviation performed aerial applications."

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Oregon court orders Applebee Aviation to stop aerial pesticide spraying | Local | Eugene, Oregon:

Oregon Investigates Spray Crew Exposure To Herbicide

JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Two state agencies are investigating aerial spraying operations on private timberlands in the southern Coast Range, where a member of the spraying crew says he had to regularly take shelter from herbicides sprayed from a helicopter.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture and Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division said Thursday they were alerted through the Oregon Emergency Response System after truck driver Darryl Ivy quit his job on the spraying crew and went to a hospital last month complaining of blisters in his mouth and a swollen airway.

 Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg notified the Roseburg Fire Department on April 26 because Ivy’s case involved hazardous chemicals, Assistant Fire Chief Steve Brewer said."

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Oregon Investigates Spray Crew Exposure To Herbicide . News | OPB

The Oregonian: Whistleblower videos reveal helicopter spraying workers with weed killers

By Rob Davis | The Oregonian/OregonLive May 20, 2015
Exposed atop the barren clearcut in Oregon's coastal mountains, he hid in the only place he could. A helicopter circled overhead, spraying a fine mist of toxic weed killers.

Darryl Ivy took refuge inside his pickup: Windows up, doors shut.

 The scene was captured on camera, one of more than 200 videos Ivy recorded on his smartphone. 

Again and again, herbicides rained down. The milky chemical mix stained Ivy's windshield white and turned his phlegm red.

 Ivy, a truck driver, spent 17 days this spring on a spray crew in Douglas County, the heart of Oregon's timber country. He got sprayed so often it became routine.

Don't worry about it, Ivy said the pilot told him. It won't hurt you. Read More