On Nov. 1, 2001, new Massachusetts pesticide regulations will go into effect. The intent of these regulations is to reduce, and eliminate where possible, the use of pesticides in school buildings and on school grounds in order to prevent unnecessary exposure of children and adults to chemical pesticides.
The Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives unanimously voted in favor of the law, " An Act Protecting Children And Families From Harmful Pesticides, " Chapter 85 of the Acts of 2000. The act recognizes that pesticides contain toxic substances, many of which may have a detrimental effect on human health and the environment and, in particular, have developmental effects on children.
What Is The Risk?
Pesticides have been linked to learning disorders, asthma, neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s Disease, organophosphate poisoning, cancer, hormone disruption and chemical sensitization. Notwithstanding claims of safety from lawn care providers and chemical manufacturers, many mainstream governmental and health organizations recommend avoiding use and exposure to pesticides. Further, these organizations often recognize that current state and federal pesticide regulations fail to adequately protect children. Here’s what some of these organizations have to say:
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that because the developing systems of children are vulnerable, a child can suffer life-long damage from exposure to pesticides that may cause little or no harm to an adult.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency is concerned about the growing body of evidence that some man-made chemicals, including pesticides, may be interfering with normal endocrine system functioning in humans and other animals.
The Lymphoma Foundation of America believes that there appears to be a relationship between pesticides and lymphoma.
The American Brain Tumor Association states that brain tumors occur more frequently in people regularly exposed to certain chemicals, including pesticides, and that studies with animals indicate that the greatest risk of experiencing adverse effects of these chemicals is in utero or early infancy.
The World Parkinson’s Disease Association reports from an American Society of Toxicology meeting that experts now believe there is powerful evidence that the late-onset form of Parkinson’s Disease is due to something in the environment that triggers the disease in individuals who are genetically susceptible to it. Environmental triggers include pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
The March of Dimes suggests you try to avoid pesticides if you’re pregnant or have a baby or young children in the home.
The National Academy of Sciences, in 1993, discovered that the current regulatory system fails to give special consideration to the unique vulnerabilities of infants and children as they relate to pesticide exposure.
The EPA recognizes that most pesticides, by their very nature, create some risk of harm to humans, animals, or the environment because they are designed to kill or otherwise adversely affect living organisms. In 1993 alone, an estimated 80,000 children were exposed to or poisoned by a household pesticide product that was used or stored improperly. Even if you never use pesticides yourself, you can still be exposed to them — at home, school, work, or play — by being in treated areas, as a consumer of commodities that others have treated with pesticides, or through food, water, and air that may have been contaminated with pesticides.
Are children at greater risk from pesticide poisoning than adults? (You decide.)
·Children absorb greater concentrations of pesticides (poisons) per pound of body weight through inhalation, ingestion and contact with the skin.
·Children often eat different foods than adults; for instance, children typically consume larger quantities of milk, applesauce, and orange juice per pound of body weight than do adults.
·Children are more likely to play on treated floors and grounds. Unwashed hands often find their way to the mouth or to unwrapped snacks.
· Because many pesticides are heavier than air, children’s breathing areas are likely to have higher pesticide concentrations.
· Children may not read, understand or pay attention to warning signs.
· A child’s biology is different. Their immune system is less developed and may be less protective.
·Children are extremely vulnerable to classes of synthetic pesticides that mimic naturally occurring hormones or enzymes.
· Developing cells are more easily damaged than cells that have completed development. During the rapid growth period of childhood, cells divide very quickly, making it more likely that a cellular mutation will be reproduced, thus initiating cancer.
·Because they are younger, children have a longer life span ahead of them for chemically induced health problems to progress.
·Small doses of neurotoxins can drastically impair the learning process in children.
· When poison tolerances are set by government regulators, the susceptibilities of children are not taken into consideration for most chemicals.
Breaking Ground in Massachusetts
Americans use more than a billion pounds of pesticides each year to combat pests on farm crops, in homes, places of business, schools, parks, hospitals, and other public places. We are fortunate that the State of Massachusetts is using its ability to act more quickly than the federal government to begin to limit pesticide exposure in young children. In fact, the federal government is pursuing a similar school pesticide use reduction bill, but it may not go into effect for several years.
The Massachusetts Act will limit exposure of pesticides to children while at school and is composed of the following four parts:
1. Strict limitations on pesticide use within schools, including prohibiting pesticide use for purely aesthetic reasons.
2. Requires notification to all parents, school personnel and children when pesticides are applied outside.
3. Requires record keeping of all pest-management efforts within schools.
4. Requires the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan. IPM is a focus on pest prevention, making chemical applications the exception.
Pesticide use at our schools and around our homes
Wellesley Public Schools have typically used very little pesticides and there will be little change needed to be in compliance with the Act. Design of an IPM Plan for Wellesley Public Schools is being done by representatives from the Wellesley schools, the Wellesley Health Department, the Department of Public Works, and the Natural Resources Commission (NRC). A copy of the plan may be obtained from the schools.
While the State can regulate pesticide use in schools, it is much harder for it to do so in private homes and businesses. Obviously, pesticides which are harmful to children at school are also harmful to them at home, so we need to work together to eliminate pesticide use both in and around the home. Conveniently, alternative pest-control methods have already been developed, and are readily available.
For more information, call the NRC at (781) 431-1019 x294, or visit either of the following Web sites: www.ci.wellesley.ma.us/nrc/pesticide or www.pesticide.org.
To get acquainted with some of the ideas of ecological landscaping, please attend the talk " Landscaping for Aesthetics and the Environment " on Thursday, Nov. 1, 7 p.m. at Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary, 280 Eliot St. (Route 16), Natick.
Sarah Little is Wellesley’s Pesticide Awareness Coordinator.
