"DuPont Is Sued Over New Herbicide"

"A Pennsylvania homeowner and an Indiana golf course company have filed a class-action lawsuit against DuPont charging that the chemical giant was either negligent or reckless in putting a new weedkiller on the market.

As The Times reported last week, Imprelis, which received conditional approval from the Environmental Protection Agency last October, was marketed by DuPont as a “low environmental impact” herbicide sold to professionals only for use on lawns, golf courses, sod farms, schools, parks and athletic fields.

While extremely effective at killing stubborn dandelions, clover, ground ivy and wild violets, Imprelis is now suspected by many landscapers to be equally effective at attacking trees, even when applied in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Thousands have been dying in areas in close proximity to grass that was sprayed with the herbicide, they say."

Joanna M. Foster reports for the New York Times' Green blog July 19, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"New Herbicide Suspected in Tree Deaths" (New York Times)