28
Feb
Canadians Continue To Ask for Pesticide Bans
(Beyond Pesticides, February 28, 2007) Residents in the Canadian town of Pickering, Ontario, pleaded with their local government to ban the use of pesticides on public and private lands for cosmetic use with the exception of emergencies, infestations and agricultural uses. Meanwhile, well-known medical, public-health and environmental organizations have been lobbying Ontario officials to institute a provincewide ban on the aesthetic use of pesticides.
According to Durham Region News, Ward 1 City Councillor Jennifer O’Connell said she knew the mere mention that pesticides can cause a low sperm count would get Pickering City Council’s attention. At the February 19th meeting, the council unanimously passed the motion to have staff first investigate pesticide ban bylaws in other municipalities and then draft a Pickering bylaw. The draft will be brought back before the summer recess for council’s consideration.
The interest to introduce a bylaw to ban pesticides comes from Councillor O’Connell and Ward 3 Councillor David Pickles. Councillor O’Connell provided a presentation at the meeting on the chronic effects of pesticide use. Also supporting the ban, Gideon Forman, executive director of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment said, “There is a great body of science to support that it has negative health effects.” Mr. Forman continued, “We are not talking about mild problems but deadly things like leukemia.”
Lawn pesticides have been linked to lymphomas, increases in childhood leukemia, low birth weight, endocrine disruption, asthma and other respiratory illnesses, and ADHD (see fact sheet: Children and Pesticides DON’T Mix).
Mr. Forman said Canada has success stories to draw from that show non-toxic pest management practices work. He cited Toronto’s success with banning pesticides on their playing fields, and Parliament Hill and the Governor General’s house as examples of pesticide-free lawns. Although he appreciates the concerns of the lawn care business, Mr. Forman said that the future of lawn care is pesticide free.
Pickering residents such as Jeff Mojsovski said he wholly supports a ban. Mr. Mojsvoski said, “It is a risk to my children.” Christine Stockell, resident and volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society said, “Appropriate action should be taken to limit the risk to human health.” Ms. Stockell continued, “Personally, I like bending over, it burns a few calories.”
Pesticides also pose chronic risk to pets. According to Pickering resident Dave Renaud, a General Motors employee and president of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), his Maltese dog died of a liver disorder, which the veterinarian attributed to pesticides. Mr. Renaud said, “This stuff has no boundaries.” Given the limitless boundaries, CAW has been visiting local schools for the past eight years to educate students on the dangers of pesticides.
Dave Ryan, Mayor of Pickering said, “I think the time has come that we need to address this issue.” Mayor Ryan continued, “But the real issue is that the other levels of government need to take action.” Although Pickering can ban cosmetic use, Mayor Ryan said they can’t stop stores from selling the product. The latter would be up to other levels of government.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Globe and Mail reports the Canadian Association of Physicians, Canadian Cancer Society’s Ontario wing, the Ontario College of Family Physicians, Pesticide Free Ontario, and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, have been working to lobby Ontario’s Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Health officials to seek a ban. A Pesticide Free Ontario poll shows 71 percent of Ontario residents support a ban, while 22 percent are opposed (margin of error of three percentage points).
If Ontario’s government accepts the idea, Ontario would be the second province, after Quebec, to take this action and it would mean that more than half of Canada’s residents live in areas where the use of pesticides for cosmetic reasons has been made illegal, based on health concerns. Over 120 communities across Canada, including the cities of Toronto and Halifax, also have bans.
TAKE ACTION: Support the need for healthy lawns and landscapes by joining the National Coalition for Pesticide-free Lawns and signing the declaration.
How pesticides are handled in developing countries:
Pesticides have a dilemma nature and because of this nature to use them safely there must be done lots of research and there should exist lots of laws and regulations and enforcement, now let say that this is followed correctly in developed countries where the industry exists but the story and scenario is quiet different in developing countries. In most of these developing countries there are no research/ regulations or if there is it is not followed / enforced absolutely and this is the problem and because it deals with the life of people and health of the environment it is a real big problem. When it comes to spraying technology and worker protection it is never practiced by ordinary farmers in these countries. These are my personal experiences/ observations during more than 35 years being involved in pesticide science work. Living more than 15 years in Mazandaran, Golastan and Gillan the three beautiful Northern Provinces of Iran by the Caspian Sea I observed so many cases of pesticide intoxication. This is because people do their spraying without any protective clothing, most of times with bare foot and body because of hot weather and with any type of spraying equipment that they can find and they use lots of pesticides in their rice paddies, cotton fields and citrus orchards etc.
So as a result where there is no scientific research and laws and regulations as in developing countries then most use of pesticides should stop because no rules are followed
Ahmad Mahdavi,
March 10th, 2007 at 4:46 pmPhD, environmental toxicologist,
Guelph, Ontario.
[email protected]
I am under going a research project for college to find out the link between the rise in ADHD and ADD cases and pesticides. I found this page educational and of good use. If it would be possible to receive further information or advisable contacts on this subject it would be much appreciated.
March 14th, 2007 at 10:24 amThank you
Hannah Simpson.
Hi Hannah-
While there is no definitive link between ADHD and ADD and pesticides, there are a number of studies which point to a connection between the two. For instance, a recent study published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics linked the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos, which is commonly used on fruits and vegetables (especially corn and soy), with delays in learning rates, reduced physical coordination, behavioral problems in children, and especially with ADHD. Beyond Pesticides covered the study in January: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/news/daily_news_archive/2007/01_05_07.htm.
There are other studies out there too; one demonstrates a clear genetic link between neurological disorders such as ADHD and exposure to organophosphate pesticides: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/news/daily_news_archive/2003/03_19_03.htm. Another study links exposure to certain common pesticides, such as carbaryl, to adverse cognitive and behavioral effects in mice and other subjects. For more information, read “Do Pesticides Affect Learning and Behavior? The neuro-endocrine-immune connection” by Dr. Warren Porter: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidesandyou/Spring%2004/Pesticides%20Learning%20Behavior.pdf.
-Aviva
March 14th, 2007 at 1:34 pm