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For Immediate
Release April 30, 2007 Contact:
Robin
Heller, LocalMotion: 313-820-3553 Pesticides
and kids: Dangerous springtime ritual Coalition
seeks stronger laws, education on lawn treatments A broad coalition of health and environmental groups are using today
– National Healthy Schools Day – to kick off a year-long effort to
educate policy makers and parents about pesticide applications in and around School districts are required by law to notify parents and guardians in
advance of such applications, but many never get the message. As spring
arrives, children are unwittingly exposed to these pesticides, which largely
are unnecessary when nontoxic, common sense alternatives are available. “We ask that all Health experts suggest parents press school district administrators for
an accounting of pesticide use in their districts. They should also demand to
know what nontoxic pest control options have been instituted. Such measures
often make pesticide applications unnecessary. “Springtime regularly brings a forest of warning flags telling
people to keep pets and children off treated lawns,” said Robin Heller Executive
Director of LocalMotion. “There’s good reason for such
warnings.” According to the watchdog group Beyond Pesticides, of 48 commonly used
pesticides in schools: 22 are probable or possible carcinogens, 26 have been
shown to cause reproductive effects, 31 damage the nervous system, 31 injure
the liver or kidney, 41 are sensitizers or irritants, and 16 can cause birth
defects. Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 17 are detected in groundwater, 23
have the ability to leach into drinking water sources, 24 are toxic to fish and
other aquatic organisms vital to our ecosystem, 11 are toxic to bees, and 16
are toxic to birds. “We’ll be lobbying for stronger laws requiring alternatives
to dangerous chemical treatments and requiring better notification to parents
and neighbors,” said Karwoski. “In the meantime, it’s
important for parents to become informed and to ask hard questions of their
schools and communities.” Organizations supporting stronger laws and education to reduce
pesticides in and around schools include: Arab Community Center for Economic and
Social Services; American Lung Association of Michigan; Beyond Pesticides; Metro
Detroit Clean Water Action; Community Health
and Social Services Center/ REACH Detroit Partnership; East Michigan
Environmental Action Council; Ecology Center; Friends Alliance for
Children and the Environment; Leadership Council of the Sisters, Servants of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary; Michigan League of Conservation Voters;
LocalMotion; Michigan Association of School Nurses; Michigan Coalition for
Alternatives to Pesticides; Michigan Coalition for Children and Families;
Michigan Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life; Michigan Council for
Maternal and Child Health; Michigan Environmental Council; Michigan Land
Trustees; Michigan Nurses Association; National Community Development
Institution; School Community Health Alliance of Michigan; Sierra Club Michigan
Chapter; Southeast Michigan Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health;
Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision; Voices for Earth Justice ## Hugh McDiarmid Jr. Communications Director 119 Pere 517-487-9539 |