NB Power apologizes over herbicide spraying 'miscommunication'
Wayne Webb says a NB Power employee told him he could eat berries after they were sprayed with Vision Max
NB Power is apologizing for misinforming residents about eating berries recently sprayed with herbicide near their transmission lines.
Wayne Webb, a resident in the rural community of Wirral, said he was told by a NB Power employee, who was a part of a team applying Vision Max near his home, that blueberries sprayed with the herbicide would be OK to eat after 24 hours.
"I said, 'You're spraying our berries, ruining them — you're poisoning them,'" said Webb.
"She said, 'Oh no that stuff won't hurt you, you can go down and pick them in 24 hours.' I said, 'I don't think so.'"
An online warning from the herbicide marker Monsanto states not to eat sprayed foods.
"We do not recommend eating berries in posted areas after spraying with VisionMAX herbicide," the warning states.
Marie-Andree Bolduc, a NB Power spokesperson, made the apology to the Wirral residents for the utility.
"We certainly apologized if there was miscommunication about the consumption of the blueberries in that area," said Bolduc.
The Material Data Safety Sheets for the glyphosate-based herbicide states that if the chemical is ingested to immediately call poison control and to not induce vomiting, do not allow vomit to be breathed into lungs and warns of fatal consequences.
NB Power says it heavily dilutes the herbicide with water and it is essentially non-toxic.
Vision Max is approved for use by NB Power by the province's Department of Environment and Local Government.
Webb said he does not accept the apology and will not be satisfied until NB Power discontinues the use of herbicides to control plant growth.
This is the second apology that NB Power has offered to rural residents over the herbicide-spraying program.
NB Power has also apologized for not giving enough notice to residents before spraying the area with Vision Max.