Herbicide treatment ruins Kauhajoki football pitch and sickens players

Herbicide treatment ruined the grass at Kauhajoki’s central sports field, keeping it out of use for the summer, Yle reports. A few players and coaches were exposed to glyphosate in the treatment and experienced coughing and hoarseness.

The City of Kauhajoki has referred the matter to its environmental health services and the supervisory authority of the South Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment.

Niina Kiprianoff, the city’s director of wellbeing, said the herbicide was approved for the location and the way it was used. However, information about the treatment had not been communicated properly.

The instructions provided by the seller and the product packaging did not mention closing the treated area or observing a waiting period. People went onto the field to exercise on the same day as the treatment.

The city later published a notice on its website stating that field users may have been exposed to glyphosate and could develop symptoms including skin irritation.

Grass had to be reseeded

The problem began in June, before the football season, when the city decided to control weeds growing on the field, mainly dandelions.

“The plant protection product used proved too strong even in a diluted solution, and the entire football pitch turned yellow,” Kiprianoff said.

The grass had to be reseeded because the treatment was too strong.

Football teams were mainly affected by the work and had to use another field or an artificial pitch. Most replacement fields were found in the same area, but one team moved to the field at Päntäne School.

Athletes in track and field also could not use the central sports field for warm-ups during the summer, Kiprianoff said.

The field was unused throughout the summer. By a football tournament held in early September, however, the grass was in good condition and the field was back in use, according to Kiprianoff.