New York requires pesticide warning flags

...under a legislative agreement reached on Monday, would become the first in the nation to require homeowners to post warning flags to alert their neighbors when they use pesticides on their lawns.

Subject:    Pesticide Notification Bill--------
Date:       Wed, 21 Jun 2000 02:59:02 -0400
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To:     Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>
          Senior Research Scientist
          State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation - Integrated Pest Management

Dear Lyndon, the following article was on Excite News, Updated 5:39 PM ET June 19, 2000, By Holly McKenna - it is entitled: New York State to Require Pesticide Warning Flags. http://news.excite.com/news/r/000619/17/science-chemicals-pesticides-dc

ALBANY, N.Y. (Reuters) - New York state, under a legislative agreement reached on Monday, would become the first in the nation to require homeowners to post warning flags to alert their neighbors when they use pesticides on their lawns.

The measure is expected to be passed in both houses of the state's Legislature on Thursday and would take effect next spring if Gov. George Pataki signs the bill as he has indicated.

"Parents and homeowners have the right to know when pesticides are being used so that they can take reasonable and necessary precautions to safeguard their children, pets and themselves from unnecessary exposure to these chemicals," said Sen. Carl Marcellino of suburban Long Island, a co-sponsor of the legislation.

Under the bill, homeowners will have to post warning flags around their property prior to using bug-killing chemicals, while commercial users will have to provide written notice.

Also, counties will have an option of requiring 48-hour notice by homeowners and commercial applicators to alert their neighbors within 150 feet whenever certain applications are to occur.

Environmental advocates and breast-cancer activists hailed the new agreement, while members of the chemical application industry said they were dissatisfied with the measure.

"We generally support a notification registry of people who want to be notified, but disagree with universally notifying people," said Allen James, executive director of the Washington-based Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment, or RISE, that represents pesticide suppliers, manufacturers and distributors.

"We want to reduce the burden of notifying hundreds of thousands of people, but provide information to those who want it," he said.

An existing law requires commercial applicators to post flags on grass when bug-fighting chemicals are used and requires homeowners and commercial applicators to provide 48-hour notice to neighbors when pesticides will be applied.

The new measure was co-sponsored by Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, also of Long Island.

The New York Post on 6/20/00 noted that State lawmakers had reached a breakthrough agreement yesterday on this pesticide notification bill. The Post also noted the legislation is expected to be approved when the Legislature returns to the Capitol on Thursday, requiring mandatory 48-hour advance notice whenever pesticides (POISONS) are to be used in schools and day-care facilities.

Well Lyndon, when do you feel California "regulators" will finally decide to protect the public - or do you agree with RISE? Do you care at all that families and children are routinely being exposed to hazardous chemicals (volatile POISONS) without any warning? Just warning the people would allow the neighbors to bring in the laundry, pets and kids and/or to shut the windows. But, I suppose that common courtesy is still too much to ask from the "responsible" POISON "industry" and/or "some regulators"........

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