Shaw found pollutant in groundwater

Byron Shaw made an important discovery in 1980, but his findings weren't immediately well-received.

Shaw, a University of Wisconsin-Steven Point scientist, discovered the pesticide aldicarb in wells in Portage County.

The chemical, marketed under the brand name Temik, is acutely toxic and was popular among potato growers who applied it on the sandy soil of central Wisconsin to protect potato plants from insects.

The chemical was eventually banned in problem areas, and the findings of Shaw’s research helped to lay the foundation for Wisconsin’s first groundwater protection law in 1984.

Shaw, 73, of Amherst Junction, died on Friday after suffering a heart attack. He was a professor of water resources at UW-Stevens Point for 32 years, and after retiring in 2000, he worked as a consultant on water quality issues.

Shaw conducted wide-ranging water research, including studies on nitrates in groundwater and the effects of acid rain on Wisconsin waterways.

But his work on pesticides in groundwater, especially aldicarb, was the most controversial.  With the help of graduate students, Shaw found evidence of aldicarb in wells. He made his preliminary results public in late 1980.

Within a year, Union Carbide, the maker of aldicarb, found from its owns tests that the chemical was present in groundwater, which was a source of drinking water for many rural residents of central Wisconsin.

But his initial findings brought push back from farmers and other agriculture interests, some UW System researchers funded by agriculture and the state agriculture department.

Officials at the agriculture department said media reports of Shaw’s research were creating “unwarranted alarm,” according to a United Press International report in 1981.

“He suffered a lot of attacks from agribusiness and other faculty members who were funded by them,” said Rick Wilke, who was associate dean of the school’s College of Natural Resources during Shaw’s tenure.

“He stood up to them and prevailed.”

Bonnie Bressers, an environmental reporter at the Stevens Point Journal at the time and currently an associate professor of journalism at Kansas State University, agreed.

“Everyone knew it was a big deal when he found that agricultural chemicals had leached into the groundwater under potato fields," Bressers said. “And this was central Wisconsin and a lot of people didn’t want to hear about it because of the effect it could have on farming.”

State regulators took steps in 1981 to restrict aldicarb usage and banned the use of the farm chemical in 1986.

Shaw’s findings also helped lay the groundwork for passage of Wisconsin’s groundwater law in 1984, which expanded the state’s authority to control groundwater pollution.

Survivors include his wife, Margaret of Amherst Junction; and two sons, Jeffrey of Cottage Grove and Daniel of River Falls. 

Byron Shaw

A memorial Mass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. James Catholic Church in Amherst. Visitation will be at the church starting at 9:30 a.m. ​