She left them there for several weeks. They're meant to maximize the conditions in which toxic pfiesteria might develop. . . . Burkholder for years has watched rivers in North Carolina that have yielded sediments that kill fish when cultured in a lab, yet have not suffered toxic outbreaks. The most potent effect of the findings may be in the political arena, where poultry interests are still chafing at legislation adopted last year in Maryland in response to pfiesteria outbreaks. The new law limits how much chicken litter farmers may spread on their fields as fertilizer.
Scientists believe manure is washing off fields and into waterways, feeding pfiesteria.
The industry has pointed to last year's lack of outbreaks as proof of legislative overkill. A single summer of quiet offers little reassurance it won't return.