A fertilizer has been sold in Maine even though it contains high levels of both lead and arsenic, both of which are poisonous. Made from mining waste, Ironite has more than ten times the amount of arsenic deemed by the state of California to be a health hazard. The better version of the bill banned the product outright. It failed in the Senate, which adopted a weaker version directing the Department of Agriculture to write rules that say how much poison a fertilizer can contain. Under this version, there is no guarantee that the problem will be solved. Fortunately, the state Attorney General has required that the product be pulled from store shelves.

Votes / Roll Calls:

Date	Desc	Yea	Nay	No Vote	Absent	Total	Passed	Chamber
01/01/2002	Roll Call	1	1	0	1	3
Votes	Show Joseph C. Perry Sr. Absent Stephen S. Stanley Nay John L. Tuttle Yea