June 16, 2011
Imprelis (aminocyclopyrachlor) was released by DuPont Professional Products into the turf market this spring as a broadleaf control. It is part of a new chemical subclass called pyrimidine carboxylic acids. We have studied this product experimentally at Iowa State for the past couple of years and have found it to be very effective against a broad spectrum of broadleaf weeds. Its advantage is that it is effective against several hard to control weeds such as ground ivy, violets, and henbit. It also has the advantages of being applied at very low rates of active ingredient and is rainfast, meaning that it does not need to remain on the weed leaves for a period of time. It's safe on most cool-season grasses and some warm-season grasses, including zoysiagrass.
In early June, a number of reports on tree damage on areas treated with Imprelis began to come in. The first reports that I heard were from the east coast. Then pictures and reports started coming in from Chicago. Yesterday, I heard that there are several reports from the Atlanta area. The two most commonly damaged trees have been Norway spruce and white pine.
It is important to note that there are many locations where the product was used and no tree damage has occurred. Also, not all trees on the treated areas are damaged.
The pictures below are Norway Spruce and were taken in the Chicago area. The damage appears to be systemic, meaning that the material is being taken up by the roots and translocated to new growth. On this site, about 20 trees out of approximately 120 susceptible plants were damaged. In this case, there was heavy rain after treatment that may have increased movement of the product into the rootzone.
Dupont released a letter last night to users of the product. Their recommendation is as follows:
"As a precaution, until we can more fully understand the circumstances, and whether Imprelis may have contributed to the observed symptoms, do not apply Imprelis where Norway Spruce or White Pine are present on, or in close proximity to, the property to be treated. Additionally, when applying Imprelis, be careful that no spray treatment, drift or runoff occurs that could make contact with trees, shrubs and other desirable plants, and stay well away from exposed roots and the rootzone of trees and shrubs. Consult a certified arborist if you are uncertain about the root zone of specific tree species."
My personal recommendation is to be very cautious with the use of this product until we know exactly what is going on. This story is just developing and I will keep you posted as new information is released.
Here are some additional links.
http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/PPDL/hot11/6-10.html
http://bygl.osu.edu/#5http://extension.psu.edu/greenindustry/giec/news/2011/heads-up-spruce-and-pine-injury
28 comments:
I am here to tell you that Dupont is full of it.The 5 ft boundary is bull.Trees are totally brown dead I tell you. Damages have occurred on all trees. Imprelis was sprayed only and is showing up in decidious trees. It is easy to replace the trees hard to replace business. I have the data and Dupont will pay for the trouble and then some. It was never tested properly. Where are the specialist they said they would send its been a month and I was told the teams would be for each state. Wv is where I live.WV,PA,MD.OH,IN,Ill are all working with me and Dupont is not. I smell lawsuit a big mother
I agree with Steve. I live in eastern OH and have a major landscape investment on my property - a twenty year work in progress. At least 8 spruce and white pines plus a white dogwood exhibit signs of damage. In fact, every time I walk the property I see signs of the beginning of damage on more trees. It makes me sick to see these beautiful mature trees dying. I contacted DuPont and asked what the residual time line was for Imprelis. I also asked about subsequent lawn treatments (without Imprelis as a component). The rep I spoke to said that DuPont would be issuing a statement in the next week or two. She couldn't answer my questions. In fact she said that no one had asked her team about applying subsequent summer lawn applications. I have stopped all treatments. I don't want DuPont saying that the problem was exacerbated by subsequent lawn applications. I hope that DuPont steps up to table and accepts responsiblity for this mess. Has Imprelis been taken off of the market until this issue is resolved? Please tell if has!
Here in SE Michigan we have several properties that exhibit the exact problem DuPont describes in their notice. We have photos, soil samples as well as leaf samples. Please be aware that this prduct has also damaged forsynthia and viburnum, as well as maples and crab trees. The Office of Indiana State Chemist will investiaget any claim you may have or direct you to your local State Chemist.
Hopefully DuPont does the right thng and satisfies a class action law suit to companies who purchased and applied this product, as well as our communities that lost $200,000.00 worth of landscaping.
I live next door to two people who were having their lawns sprayed and all of my evergreens are dead. I am curious what this might do to my well water? The lawn care service came out the other day and sprayed something on the trees to see if it would help them; however, I don't think it's going to work. They have offered to take them out and replace them, but you can replace matured trees with 6FT trees it's not fair to the customers. My whole sub-division is losing trees left and right from this chemical. Talk about a disaster....
yes, i have a beautiful maple that appears to be very sick, dying, along with many pines on my property. i live in mid/south michigan. i am very upset. instinctively, i asked my lawn service to stop treating my property, accept for one app in spring. last year, they applied 5 applications! now i learn about imprelis!
I live in Pa. in a community of 500 homes. In the past month we have lost 60 to 70 evergreen trees. Also decidious trees are affected. I am loosing a Kousa dogwood tree 25 ft high. Many more trees are turning brown.
I live in Cedar Rapids, IA, and have both a 30' spruce and 10' pine that were affected. Neither looks like it will survive. I just recieved a letter from my landscaping company informing me of the problem with Imprelis and admitting they used it. Besides the conifers, I have several shrubs and garden plants (tomatoes and herbs) that were clearly affected as well. It just makes me sick.
I'll bet anything that next you will be hearing that internal studies completed by the company shows this product is toxic,causes cancer, and was covered up.
Here, have a link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/science/earth/15herbicide.html?ref=us
“We are investigating the reports of these unfavorable tree symptoms,” said Kate Childress, a spokeswoman for DuPont. “Until this investigation is complete, it’s difficult to say what variables contributed to the symptoms.”
HAHAHA "unfavorable tree symptoms" oh DO GO ON, Corporate America!
(But seriously though, wouldn't you like to see an "unfavorbale face outcome" befall Ms. Childress?)
I was recently informed by my lawn care company that damage on my trees, viburnums, hibiscus, and plants in my rain garden are from the application of Imprelis. This is so disheartening...after over 10 years of hard work and $1,000's investment on my part. Now Dupont is checking into the problem - isn't that required before they release it into the world!? We need more regulation, not less as long as monetary gain is the only priority that companies value.
I am working with major law firms acrossed the country researching the matter of DuPont's Imprelis product and what might be done to assist people who have been damaged as a result of the product killing or damaging trees.
Feel free to contact me at treid@galliganlaw.com
If you have suffered damage to trees on your property after the spraying of Imprelis on your lawn or if you are a lawn care professional with customers that have been affected, we are interested in learning about your experience. Working together, we can make sure DuPont is held accountable for the damage their product has caused.
Call us at 1-866-883-5350 to speak to an experienced attorney or visit us at www.imprelisattorneys.com
We have a massive die off. A 35+ foot spruce. Other massive trees. The leaves of the walnuts are curling. Eat the walnuts --I don't think so. Poor squirrels. I am not sure I should let the kids play in the lawn, after all if they didn't know this what other toxicities loom. This is a disaster of major proportions. The problem is that these trees, even if they recover, are poisoned and may never be the same. The same may be true for the squirrels.
We live in Ann Arbor, MI, the tree city, and we live in a subdivision of 88 homes. We are estimating loss of about 300 trees, most of which were planted as 6-8 footers 20+ years ago. We are seeing Norway Spruce and White Pine primarily with the symptoms, some completely dead already. Smaller trees died the fastest, within weeks of imprelis usage, they were in failure mode. We all know the outcome is so predictable....DuPont will not meaculpa, and will not suffer, the lawyers will reap the rewards and the consumers will be paid some paltry$300 per tree in a class action settlement that completely favors DuPont. Money walks while death stalks the trees. This will not even cover the original value of the trees, but who cares, DuPont will get what they paid for...the selection of a judge, bought and paid for by their crack legal team.
The leaves on our beautiful thornless Honey Locust started turning brown on the ends of the branches and all new growth just shriveled up. Then we noticed brown tips on our spruce trees, which we planted as single twigs and nurtured over 4 years, then transplanted to the front yard. On one side of our house, the Rose of Sharons are turning yellow on one side. We thought at first it was the hot, dry weather or some kind of disease. An arborist came out to assess the problem and immediately asked if we had a lawn service. He told us about the Imprelis damage that is going on all over. We checked with the lawn service and they admitted there was a wide spread problem. I am disgusted with Dupont for not properly testing the product. We're not young, and the work we put into our landscaping won't be easy to do again. I'm expecting some compensation from somebody.
I am curious if anyone has any information on places you can get your trees tested for Imprelis damage. I am located in Michigan.
To all Blank Landscape Company Owners;
As I am sure you have all heard, there are numerous concerns and speculations regarding Imprelis herbicide and reported damage to various trees.
At this time, blank landscape company is recommending, if you have not already done so, to sspend the use of Imprelis until these issues are resolved. Please be sure your issues have been documented to Dupont and that your REP is also aware of any damage your properties have suffered. Your REP also has the information for reporting the issues to Dupot.
Please reviw the information below that was released by DuPont yesterday. It has a website address for you to gather more information, including a toll free number to call with questions.
August 1st, 2011 Delaware-based chemical company DuPont has officially acknowledged that its herbicide Imprelis is responsible for injuring certain tree species.
In a letter to lawn care professionals, Michael McDermott, global business leader for DuPont Professional Products, acknowledged that an ongoing review found tree injuries associated with Imprelis, primarily on Norway spruce and white pine trees. Problems were reported in the geographic areas of Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Wisconsin, where some trees experienced curling and browning in the weeks after the herbicide was applied to lawns.
"We sincerely regret any tree injuries that Imprelis may have caused, and will work with you to promptly and fairly resolve problems associated with our product," McDermott wrote in the letter.
The letter follows several lawsuits--in which class-action status is being sought--filed across the country in the last two weeks against company.
In one lawsuit, an Indiana woman is seeking at least $5 million.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also conducting an expedited review and is requiring DuPont to submit detailed information about the incidents to the agency, an EPA spokesman said.
DuPont has launched an informational website at imprelis-facts.com. The site lists a toll-free hotline number for people to call in to report problems.
We have 4 beautiful white pine trees (well they were until this spring when our lawn man sprayed with Imprelis). These trees are 50-60 feet tall so replacement is not possible. They are turning brown but the most unusual thing is the long thick protrusions on the end of the branches. They are all twisted and look like "ET" fingers (as in "ET" phone home).
We are sick and so are our neighbors who also have lost trees. I think it must have affected my hydrangia bush also as it is dying too. I am really mad and upset about this.
As a leading law firm that has filed multiple complaints for clients that have minor and major damage to their mature ornamental trees, due to Imprelis the best thing to do is take every precaution possible. As for your rights in this matter the best thing to do is seek legal help that has the experience to help you. For more info or a FREE case review go to
http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/Imprelis-DuPont-herbicide-tree-death-side-effects-lawsuit
I HAVE ALREADY LOST SEVEN TREES ON MY PROPERTY--ALL WHICH ARE EVERGREENS---THEY DIE OFF SO QUICKLY. MY NEIGHBOR HAD THEIR LAWN DONE AND IM GETTING THE BAD EFFECTS FROM IT. EVERYDAY I GO OUT AND SEE ANOTHER TREE STARTING TO BE EFFECTIVE. I CALLED A NUMBER AND WAS GIVEN A CUSTOMER I.D NUMBER, BUT HAVE HEARD NOTHING SINCE. THESE TREES HAVE BEEN HERE A LONG TIME--ELEVEN THAT I KNOW OF---AND TO SEE MY BEAUTIFUL TREES DYING LIKE THIS MAKES ME SICK. I SURE HOPE DUPONT MAKES IT RIGHT WITH ALL OF US WHO ARE SUFFERING DAMAGES! BUT WE'LL SEE......CANT TRUST ANY COMPANYS! THEY ARE OUT FOR MONEY--NOT PAYING IT OUT!
We live across the road from a golf course last summer we noticed that all of our spruce trees are dieing....would it be wise for use to see what products they use to spray on the course...we have at least 15 to 20 trees that are more than half way up the trees needle less. julie-murphy@wi.rr.com
Disease is caused when the normal growth of the lawn Lawn is disrupted because of its interactions with pathogens like fungus. The pathogen comes from the environment and hinders the growth of turf grass. Diseases generally occur where the environment is floods with pathogens. Moreover the plants which are more stressed are prone to disease as compared to unstressed plants.
Does anyone know how long it takes imprelis to break down in a compost pile? I have damaged trees, and i compost all my grass clippings. I am afraid to use it and I have over 10 yards of compost.
Dupont doesnt' know how long the IMprelis will stay active or when we can replant.
Anybody been offered a settlement?
No settlement here and major damage, 30 -40 ft trees.
They won't tell us how long it stays in the soil but I'm hearing that it will be at least 3 years before we can replant. First they said to remove and replace the soil and use activated charcoal and then no activated charcoal.
Its already been a year of looking at dead trees and now add on another 3 before you can get your trees back, of course not the size you had.
I'm located in ohio and had imprelis used on my property. Lost 3 evergreens and two large Norway spruces. Now I'm concerned about continued damage after replacing due to Imprelis still in the ground. Read this by the epa
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/fifra/dupontimprelis.html
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