FAQ's (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS)

Q. Is the fertilizer I use on my lawn/garden safe?

A. Washington took a two-step approach to developing safeguards for fertilizer products used on Washington soils. First, the Washington Standards for Metals were adopted to set safe, maximum levels for the addition of metals to the soil through the use of fertilizers. Individual products can be compared to the Washington Standards in a public access database prepared by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (Agriculture). Click the WSDA Database to see your fertilizer’s test results. Second, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) is further scrutinizing waste-derived and micronutrient fertilizers by requiring them to comply with all applicable solid waste and hazardous waste laws. Information on Ecology’s review of these products is available in the Waste in Fertilizer Database. Ecology and Agriculture believe that fertilizers that meet these safeguards and are applied properly are safe fertilizer products.

Q. What can I do to reduce the potential for environmental harm even if my fertilizer only contains low levels of metals that are well below the maximum allowable levels?

A. The single most important thing any consumer can do to minimize the potential for environmental harm is to follow the application directions on the product label. Over fertilizing is the most common and the most harmful practice when using fertilizers.

Q. Do all fertilizers contain metals? Where do they come from?

A. Yes, there are varying levels of metals in all fertilizers (see the WSDA Database for specific metals content data on individual fertilizers). Metals are naturally occurring elements that are typically found in very low levels in almost everything around us. Of course, not all metals are in everything, but the metals found in many fertilizers originate in the natural raw materials (often mined materials such as phosphate rock) used in manufacturing fertilizers. So, just because there are metals in a fertilizer product does not necessarily indicate that the fertilizer uses a waste as an ingredient. The metals in your fertilizer could be from entirely natural raw materials.

Q. What is a "waste-derived" fertilizer?

A. Fertilizers with one or more ingredients that originally were wastes or secondary materials from production processes are classified as "waste-derived" (see Definitions). In general, wastes or secondary materials includes materials from mining or manufacturing processes that are not the primary products of those processes. Wastes used in the manufacturing of fertilizer are usually an economic source of plant nutrients needed in the fertilizer product.

Q. Why is the Department of Ecology involved in the review of fertilizer applications?

A. In 1998 the legislature passed the Fertilizer Regulation Act in response to growing public concern about the use of wastes in the manufacturing of fertilizers and the potential for harm to the environment and human health from contaminants in the wastes. One requirement of the Fertilizer Regulation Act states that Ecology will evaluate waste-derived and micronutrient fertilizers for consistency with the solid waste and hazardous laws of Washington. As a result, Ecology developed a Fertilizer Review Process to conduct a review of fertilizer products that may or do contain wastes and to provide a recommendation to the Department of Agriculture as to whether those products should be registered for sale in Washington.

Q. Where can I find information on the possible health effects from exposure to heavy metals in fertilizers?

A. Click on Links to Related Web Sites to find detailed information on the health effects from exposure to metals and much more.