Luther College to do lawn spraying

Luther College will spray its lawns with herbicides Friday through Sunday, weather permitting.

In response to community requests, Luther assistant director of Environmental Services Gary Brickman will maintain a no-spray buffer zone that will be observed around the Decorah Municipal Swimming Pool lawn so that the play area for children is avoided.  Other no-spray buffer zones include the dike areas, edible landscape areas, the Sustainability House and the area around the Sampson Hoffland Laboratories oak savanna.  Spraying of other campus areas will take place after normal work hours and on weekends.

Luther Vice President for Communications and Marketing Rob Larson said, "Modifications have been made to our application process to ensure the strictest of safety standards are upheld. Facilities Services will meet with members of the land use committee to tour the campus grounds and identify additional areas that will not receive herbicide or fertilizer application."

Wind speeds will be checked before the herbicide is sprayed. In no case will product be applied when the wind speed exceeds 10 miles per hour. Application of herbicides is done according to the product guidelines and in compliance with the Material Safety Data Sheet, which is maintained for all products used. The Material Safety Data Sheet contains information on the potential health effects of exposure to chemicals, or other potentially dangerous substances, and on safe working procedures that users should adhere to when handling chemical products.

A representative of Luther's Facilities Services will be present during the herbicide application process.