Hawaii to use dead fish for fertilizer after spill

If there are any special conditions that might affect the quality of your agricultural products, the appropriate fertilizer labels might keep them and the people who use them safe. In response to the recent disastrous molasses spill in Hawaii, the government response has been to use the bodies of the dead sea life left behind to produce this growth agent for use within the state.

Earlier this month, a much-reported catastrophe saw a shipping pipeline empty more than 200,000 gallons of syrup into the water, killing sea life on a massive scale, according to local news outlet KITV. A solution to manage some of that excess of dead animal material has been found, with the fish being taken to a plant to be turned into fertilizer and put to later use.

Meanwhile, the federal government is looking into the accident in an attempt to charge those responsible, the Associated Press reports. That source spoke to Dean Higuchi of the Environmental Protection Agency, who explained the organization’s interest in determining accountability.

“They’re going to look at the whole spill incident and try to figure out who played what role and who was responsible for what,” he said.

While the treatment necessary to convert the dead fish into useful chemicals will likely make the molasses content of their bodies obsolete, it’s important that farmers, distributors, and others know about special conditions that may apply to the products they use. Printing good agricultural chemical labels will protect a company and everyone exposed to whatever is in a certain type of barrel.