New fertilizer aimed at reducing hazardous water pollution runoff

MISSOULA, Mont., April 20, 2001 — Victor Industries, announced today that it has developed a revolutionary new fertilizer compound that continues working effectively for 1-3 years, thus reducing the need for multiple fertilizer applications every year to the same land.

Based on Victor's proprietary compound, the environmentally safe fertilizer has the added benefit of absorbing and controlling the release of dangerous nitrate and phosphate pollutants, preventing them from draining into the environment. Nitrate and phosphate pollution from traditional fertilizers have long been recognized as major contributors to unsafe pollution levels in America's groundwater, lakes and rivers.

Victor's unique compound enables users to significantly reduce the amount of pollutants that commercial and agricultural fertilizer users leach into groundwater, helping them meet stricter pollution requirements, without losing money.

Wide spread use of Victor's fertilizer would contribute to reducing the amount of nitrate and phosphate pollution contributing to "dead zones" along waterways. The mouth of the Mississippi River currently has a 5,000 sq. mile dead zone, roughly the size on New Jersey.

"This is probably one of the biggest technological advancements in fertilizers in a very long time," says Penny Sperry, CEO of Victor Industries. "For years commercial farmers have struggled with ways to increase their crop output without causing irreparable damage to the environment from nitrate and phosphate run-off. With Victor's breakthrough solution, farmers and other commercial users can still get the maximum benefits of fertilizers, while saving money from less applications, and protecting their land with decreased pollution. This is a good concept for all fertilizer users."

Victor Industries, Inc. produces and distributes proprietary compounds to counteract pollution problems related to commercial and agricultural run-off pollution, mine waste water, petrochemical spills, radiation leaks, animal odor, phosphate and nitrate pollution, chemical effluents and sulfur emissions. The company has integrated nature's only negatively charged mineral, an ammonia/nitrate absorbent, air purifier and hazardous waste absorbent, into a variety of useful products.

One significant use is on golf course turf as a soil amendment, where Victor's products have the ability to absorb up to forty percent of its weight in water, reducing the need for watering. The compounds also release nitrates and phosphates as the grass requires it, reducing the number of applications of fertilizer and also reducing the leaching of nitrates and phosphates into groundwater.

Recently the EPA proposed strict new regulations to reduce water pollution from large industrial feed lot operations, affecting nearly 39,000 feed plants nationwide, including dairies, chicken, pig and turkey farms. The EPA estimates that 128 billion pounds of manure is generated each year.

Victor estimates that an operator would use between five and 30 pounds of its proprietary compound for each ton of manure generated to effectively remove ammonia and phosphates from the waste stream, creating a large demand for its compound. Victor is additionally marketing its proprietary compound solutions to the golf course and horticulture industries.