{news} RE: Lawn-care Pesticides

[David Bedell]

Environment and Human Health, Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


A bill before the state legislature is facing  fierce opposition from the
chemical industry lobby. SB 916, which would allow  municipalities to 
restrict
the use of pesticides for the cosmetic care of lawn  and turf, is especially
worrisome for pesticide manufacturers. Connecticut towns  and cities are
currently prohibited from imposing more stringent pesticide  regulations 
than those
permitted by state law.


"Connecticut is one of 30 states in which the  pesticide industry has put
pre-emption clauses into state statutes, making it  illegal for towns to be 
more
protective of their citizens when it comes to  lawn-care pesticide 
exposures,"
explains Nancy Alderman, president of  Environment and Human Health, Inc. 
"In
a recent issue of Landscape Management  Magazine, Allen James, president of
the pesticide lawn-care trade industry,  warned, 'We are watching the entire
United States, but particularly the border  states of New York, Connecticut,
Maine, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Washington for  any activity relative to 
banning
pesticides, especially  for outdoor lawn  care and parks.' "


Canada has banned lawn-care pesticides in more than  70 towns and cities to
protect its citizens' health. Last year, Ontario's  College of Family
Physicians warned people to avoid exposures to pesticides  whenever and 
wherever
possible.


Of the 35 most  commonly used pesticides, many are toxic to the nervous
system, some are  carcinogenic, and some are known to cause reproductive 
problems.
Many pesticides  are endocrine disrupters and can either mimic hormones or
block hormone  receptors in the human body.


"Pesticides were first approved for agricultural  use, which meant weighing
potential health risks against the need to produce  food," says Alderman. 
"That
is very different from weighing the risks of  exposing people to these
chemicals simply to produce lawns without dandelions.  Yet it is these 
agricultural
pesticides, with all their inherent risks, that the  pesticide industry has
brought into people's homes in the form of lawn-care  pesticides."


The grassroots organization Toxics Action Center is  warning citizens about
the public health and environmental dangers of lawn  pesticides used by
TruGreen ChemLawn (ChemLawn). The Toxics Action Center kicked  off a 
campaign this
month to urge homeowners to "Refuse to Use ChemLawn," the  largest lawn-care
service in the nation.


According to the not-for-profit organization Toxics  Action Center, more 
than
half of ChemLawn's pesticide products include  ingredients that are possible
carcinogens, as defined by the United States  Environmental Protection 
Agency
(USEPA) and the World Health Organization's  International Agency for 
Research
on Cancer ((IARC). All of the company's  pesticide products include
ingredients that pose threats to the environment,  including threats to 
water supplies,
while more than one-third contain  ingredients that are banned or restricted
in other countries.


"These pesticides pose a significant threat to  children and pets," said 
Sean
Palfrey, M.D., president, Massachusetts Chapter of  the American Academy of
Pediatrics. "As a doctor, I believe we should minimize  our exposure to
dangerous pesticides and I urge residents and industries to look  for and 
use all
possible healthy alternatives."


"When customers contract with ChemLawn, they  believe they are signing up 
for
a green, plush lawn," said Jay Rasku,  Massachusetts State Director of 
Toxics
Action Center. "What many customers do  not know is that they are signing up
for a program that exposes their children,  pets and water supplies to an
arsenal of toxic pesticides."


Toxics Action Center's recently released report,  Be Truly Green: Refuse to
Use ChemLawn-Why Lawn Care Pesticides are Dangerous to  Your Children, Pets 
and
the Environment, documents the dangerous impacts of  ChemLawn's services. 
(To
download the report, visit  www.RefuseToUseChemLawn.org).


Pesticides can be very important tools. They can help reduce our risks of
Lyme disease and help us when there are hives of stinging insects. However, 
the
benefits of these products must always be weighed against their dangers.
Unnecessary exposures, including the purely cosmetic use of lawn-care
pesticides, should be eliminated if we are to protect human health.
###

--

Nancy Alderman, President
Environment and Human Health, Inc.
1191  Ridge Road
North Haven, CT 06473
(phone)    203-248-6582
(fax)         203-288-7571
http://www.ehhi.org