The hazardous impacts of pesticide use comprise a startling list. From cancer to birth defects to abnormal brain development, none of these effects are something you want your child to experience.1 Thus the emergence of pesticide-free school grounds laws.
Pesticide Basics
While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows over 200 pesticides to be used for lawn care , they are still intentionally toxic substances in that their main purpose is killing pests.2 Of the 48 most commonly used pesticides in schools, 81% are irritants, 69% are neurotoxins, 69% are linked to kidney and liver damage, and 50% are linked to cancer. Pesticide exposure has also been linked to asthma and asthma is currently the leading cause of absenteeism in schools annually.3
Alarmingly, lawn-care pesticides do not have to be tested by the EPA for chronic health effects unless they are being used in food production.5 When the EPA does test pesticides for health effects, they focus on active ingredients within the pesticide.6 However, in addition to active ingredients, pesticides also contain inert ingredients. Some inert ingredients are also extremely toxic and can comprise 90-95% of the substance.7 Thus, the EPA’s focus on only active ingredients does not address the potential complete health impacts of pesticide exposure.
Children are particularly susceptible to pesticides because of their decreased ability to detoxify toxins. Children under the age of five are especially vulnerable because their cells are reproducing at such rapid rates.8 Children have more frequent hand-to-mouth behavior that also increases their susceptibility. Typical routes of exposure include inhalation, skin exposure, and accidental ingestion. Pesticide residue often ends up indoors via sports equipment and sneakers, increasing risk for students at school as well as at home.9
States Take Action
Connecticut made history in 2005 by becoming the first state to ban synthetic pesticide use on school grounds at public elementary schools.10 The law was expanded to cover day care centers and middle schools several years later.11 Unfortunately, amending the law to include high schools has proven to be difficult, despite the fact that teenagers are also susceptible to the negative impacts of pesticides.12 The pesticide industry lobby’s influence on the Connecticut State government combined with citizen concern over high school field aesthetics has made it challenging to keep even the current law in place. In fact, in March 2012 the statewide law faced the threat of a complete repeal.13
A rollback of the Connecticut law would have allowed Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as a practice. The EPA states, “Integrated Pest Management is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices… IPM takes advantage of all appropriate pest management options including, but not limited to, the judicious use of pesticides.”14 Since IPM does not forbid the use of synthetic pesticides, this would be a major setback in ensuring children’s health at schools. Since avoiding a repeal, supporters of pesticide-free school grounds in Connecticut are still working to expand the legislation to include high school campuses.15
Although the pesticide-free school grounds law has caused turmoil in Connecticut, New York was inspired to pass similar legislation. In March 2010, New York passed the Child Safe Playing Fields Act, which prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides on day care and K-12 school grounds. The law went into effect in May 2011 and so far has been implemented successfully.16
Awareness about the dangers of pesticides continues to grow. New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maine have all proposed similar pesticide ban legislation in recent years.17 Many states have pesticide treatment notification laws, meaning that parents must be notified if their child’s school grounds are going to be sprayed with pesticides so that their child can stay off of fields during that time.18 Additionally, many towns, from Wellfleet, Massachusetts to Takoma Park, Maryland to Santa Cruz, California, have passed municipal bans on pesticide use on town-owned land.19
These jurisdiction-based bans provide case studies showing that synthetic pesticides are not necessary to keep athletic fields in good condition. Natural methods such as aeration, over-seeding, and application of compost and fertilizers have proved to be effective when applied appropriately.20 These State and town actions are encouraging and hopefully the movement towards pesticide-free lawn care will continue to grow in the future.
