Scientists Say Herbicide Used on Mexican Border is Safe

Thursday, March 26, 2009
By James Osborne

Carrizo cane is being targeted by Border Patrol who say it is a hiding place for illegal immigrants.

Environmental groups are blasting a U.S. Border Patrol project to kill invasive plant life along the Mexican border with what herbicide activists are calling the next Agent Orange — the Vietnam War-era deforesting chemical later found to cause cancer.

But scientists say the chemical, a relatively common herbicide named Imazapyr, poses little threat to humans or native wildlife.

The Border Patrol plans to spray the herbicide to kill Carrizo cane, which grows in dense thickets along vast stretches of the Rio Grande, which separates the United States and Mexico.

Border Patrol supervisor Roque Sarinana calls the plant "a safety hazard for agentsâ€