Report
Finds Heavy Use of Pesticides in Schools Threatens Washington Children
(Beyond Pesticides, April 30, 2004) According
to the new report by the Washington Toxics Coalition, a majority of
children in Washington state attend school in districts using pesticides
that could cause serious long-term health problems such as cancer and
nervous system damage. The report, A Lesson in Prevention,
documents pesticide use by 50 of the state’s largest school districts.
“Our children can’t succeed in school where there are poisons on the playground and chemicals in the classroom that can harm their ability to learn,” said Angela Storey, the report’s author. “School districts should eliminate the use of hazardous pesticides and replace them with safer methods.”
The report finds that:
- 96% of Washingtons largest school districts use high hazard pesticides linked to cancer, reproductive or developmental harm, nervous system damage, or endocrine (hormone) disruption.
- Many districts are not tracking pesticide use as required by state law.
- Some school districts are breaking the trend, successfully reducing and eliminating the use of hazardous pesticides.
Since these districts
are the states largest, these findings mean that a majority of the state’s
children (67%) attend school in districts using high hazard pesticides.
“It is unconscionable to me as a parent, and as a physician, that
we continue to risk exposing our children to chemicals that could seriously
impact their health and development,” said Dr. Liliane Bartha,
a parent in the Olympia School District.
The report calls on school districts to eliminate the use of all high-hazard
pesticides and adopt policies to replace pesticide use with safer alternatives.
School districts should also keep full records of pesticide use and
prepare the annual summary as required by the Children’s Pesticide
Right-to-Know Act, which took effect in July 2002.
”We don’t need to use harmful pesticides to maintain school
grounds and buildings,” said Bruce Worley, Executive Director
for Facilities at the Oak Harbor School District. “Oak Harbor
has ended our use of the most harmful pesticides, and is finding alternatives
that work.”
The report also calls on state legislators to ban school use of the
most hazardous pesticides, and to provide training and other support
for schools to adopt safer alternatives.
“Six school
districts in Washington have shown that they can eliminate the most
harmful pesticides and still have attractive landscapes and safe buildings,”
added Ms. Storey. “Our state leaders need to take action now to
make the rest of Washington’s school districts safe for our kids
by banning high hazard pesticides.”
Full text of the report can be found at www.watoxics.org.
TAKE
ACTION: Besides Washington, 16 states require schools
implement IPM. Find out what state
laws and local policies govern your school. Contact Beyond
Pesticides to learn how
to get your school to adopt an IPM program by:
(1) Identifying
the school's pest management policy;
(2) Educating yourself and evaluating the program;
(3) Organizing the school community;
(4) Working with school decision-makers; and,
(5) Becoming a watchdog and establishing an IPM Committee.
For more information, see Beyond Pesticides' Children and Schools issue pages.