Thousands of tons of chromated copper arsenate-treated (CCA) wood stakes that were used for years on acres of California agricultural grape land now sit above the earth, waiting for disposal.
According to the Fresno Bee, several mounds of the stakes are spread throughout the San Joaquin Valley in central California, a legacy to the economic downturn the vineyard industry took three years ago, when many farmers tore out the stakes to plant more profitable crops.
Some say the cost of removal could be staggering. According to the Fresno Bee, farmers’ representatives estimate it would cost $63,000 to get rid of the stakes from just one 20-acre parcel of the more than 100,000 acres of land the stakes occupy.
There is a thriving biomass industry in the area. For years farmers burned old debris in fields, but attempting to burn the CCA stakes would release toxic chemicals into the air and leave potentially toxic ash. Chipping them can also cause an air quality problem, and the chemicals can leach into the soil and contaminate water if the stakes are buried into landfills.
For now, farmers are allowed to dump the stakes at hazardous waste landfills or at lower-level disposal sites with composite linings. It costs them $35 to $65 per ton to dispose of the stakes that way.
However, that option ends in January 2007, when new regulations pushed by the environmental community take effect, virtually eliminating disposal possibilities.