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New Study Finds “Single Visit” IPM Successful in NYC Public Housing

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

(Beyond Pesticides, April 21, 2009) According to a new study by the New York City (NYC) Department of Health, Columbia University and the NYC Housing Authority published in the online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives on April 15, 2009, “single visit” integrated pest management (IPM) at the building level (rather than individual rental units) is more successful than regular pesticide applications in managing public housing pests and allergens. The study, “Effectiveness of an Integrated Pest Management Intervention in Controlling Cockroaches, Mice and Allergens in New York City Public Housing,” is available online. The NYC Housing Authority is the largest public housing owner in North America with more than 405,000 low-income residents. The successful implementation of IPM in an institution of this size was thought to offer many potential benefits; pesticide use reduction, improved pest management and reduced pest and allergen burdens in housing populated by largely African American and Latino families with a disproportionately high prevalence of asthma. Following a successful pilot program in public housing, the NYC Department of Health and Housing Authority developed an IPM intervention designed to be simple, low-cost and relatively easily scaled. In buildings participating in the study, Housing Authority IPM teams spent 8-12 person-hours […]

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Environmental Justice, New York | No Comments »

26th New Jersey Township Adopts Pesticide-Free Policy

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

(Beyond Pesticides, February 2, 2009) As part of the Township of Bernards, New Jersey’s new Pesticide Management System Resolution that designates pesticide-free zones and requires adoption of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for all its municipal grounds, the mayor and town council are also asking its citizens to adopt such measures on their own property. The resolution preface states, “[S]cientific studies associate exposure to pesticides with asthma, cancer, development and learning disabilities, nerve an immune system damage, liver or kidney damage, reproductive impairment, birth defects and disruption of the endocrine system, and ”¦ infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems and chemical sensitivities are especially vulnerable to pesticide effects and exposure, and ”¦ lawn pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are harmful to pests, wildlife, soil microbiology, plants, and natural ecosystems and can run off into streams, lakes and drinking water sources ”¦” Pesticide-free zones include playgrounds, picnic grounds and pavilion/rest areas, and the area 50 feet around each of these sites, as well as dog park/runs, pool areas and ball fields. Pesticide-free zones also include all waterways and a 300 foot buffer around any stream bank, pond, lake or natural wetland. According to the township’s […]

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Lawns/Landscapes, New Jersey, Pesticide Regulation | No Comments »

Pesticide Exposure Kills Woman, Three Years Later EPA Files Complaint

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, December 22, 2008) The U.S. EPA has filed an administrative complaint, seeking a maximum penalty of only $4,550, against a pest control company that sprayed pesticides in a couple’s home, causing the wife to die shortly thereafter. It has been more than three years since the incident took place in Florence, Oregon. Swanson’s Pest Management of Eugene, Oregon sent an employee to a home on June 29, 2005 to apply Conquer Residential Insecticide Concentrate, active ingredient esfenvalerate, and ULD BP-100 Contact Insecticide, active ingredient pyrethrin. The couple returned to their home two and a half hours later and immediately fell to the ground due to the fumes. Paramedics were called in and they too experienced respiratory distress or became ill when they entered the treated home. According to The Oregonian, Florence Kolbeck was 76 years old and died of cardiac arrest as a result of the exposure. Her husband, Fred, was hospitalized for respiratory distress. The complaint was filed following a review of Swanson’s use of the two pesticides, finding that the company failed to properly ventilate the home prior to the occupants re-entering, and improperly applied Conquer as a “space spray” at nearly three times the allowable […]

Posted in esfenvalerate, Litigation, Oregon, Pyrethrin | 3 Comments »

Pyrethroid Pesticides Found in Homes and Daycare Centers

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, November 3, 2008) A new study, Pyrethroid pesticides and their metabolites in vacuum cleaner dust collected from homes and day-care centers (doi:10.1016/j.envres.2008.07.022), by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Exposure Research Laboratory finds concentrations of 13 synthetic pyrethroids and their degradates in indoor dust collected from homes and childcare centers in North Carolina and Ohio. The study results show the extent to which hazardous pesticides are present in indoor environments and threaten the public’s health, especially the health of children. With 85 vacuum cleaner bags analyzed, permethrin was present in all 85 dust samples, at least one pyrethroid pesticide was found in 69 samples and phenothrin was found in 36 samples. According to the study findings published in the November issue of the journal Environmental Research, the median concentration of permethrin in the samples is 1454ng/g of dust. Excluding permethrin, pyrethroid conectrations are less than or equal to 100ng/g of dust. The majority of the metabolites are present in more than half of the dust samples. This is not the first time researchers have found pesticides in dust in homes. A study published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health (208: 193-199) also found that […]

Posted in Children/Schools, North Carolina, Ohio, Permethrin, Phenothrin, Pyrethrin | 1 Comment »

NJ Community Adopts Indoor IPM, Parks Go Pesticide-Free

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

(Beyond Pesticides, May 13, 2008) Citing concerns over the impact of pesticides on health and the environment, the Voorhees, NJ Township Committee approved Resolution 126-08, Township of Voorhees Pesticide Reduction Policy, on April 28, 2008 to stop hazardous pesticide use. The New Jersey Township has adopted Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as the pest control policy and strategy to be used in the maintenance of the township’s public properties and buildings, and township parks are pesticide free posted with “Pesticide Free Zone” ladybug signs.The National Center for Environmental Health Strategies, which proposed the resolution, will be working with the township’s pest control contractor on an IPM plan for township buildings to continue to eliminate or significantly reduce the use of hazardous pesticides. The guidance will in part be based on the New Jersey School IPM Law (S. 137, adopted September 26, 2002), which requires that after non-chemical means of pest control have been considered and exhausted and conventional pesticide use is deemed necessary, preference be given to using a pesticide that is classified “low impact.” Low impact pesticides according to the New Jersey School IPM Law include a first category of pesticides or substances that are U.S. EPA exempt from regulation […]

Posted in Alternatives/Organics, Children/Schools, Lawns/Landscapes, New Jersey, State/Local | No Comments »

Pesticides on Back-to-School Agenda

Thursday, September 6th, 2007

(Beyond Pesticides, September 6, 2007) As children head back to school, Beyond Pesticides urges parents and school staff to ask school administrators to adopt non-chemical practices that protect children from pests and pesticides. Studies consistently link many pesticides to adverse health effects that affect children’s respiratory system and their ability to learn. See Beyond Pesticides’ website for documentation on adverse effects of pesticides and children’s health. Parents are urged to bring the “For my child’s health please do not spray pesticides in school” postcard to the school nurse with other health information and medicine, such as inhalers. Postcards are available from Beyond Pesticides or on the Beyond Pesticides website. The back-to-school season and talk of pesticide use brings with it debate on appropriate integrated pest management (IPM) practices. Because of a lack of an agreed upon definition, IPM is often promoted with a lack of clarity and an unnecessary reliance on toxic chemicals, according to health and safety advocates. Beyond Pesticides advocates IPM for school buildings with a clear definition containing eight essential program components: education/training, monitoring, action thresholds, prevention, least-toxic tactics criteria, notification, recordkeeping, and evaluation. Proper IPM is discussed in detail in a Beyond Pesticides report, Ending Toxic […]

Posted in Children/Schools, Lawns/Landscapes, State/Local | No Comments »

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