Schools praised for lowering pesticide use

Subject:   S.F. schools praised for cutting pesticide use
Date:      Tue, 01 Aug 2000 08:18:00 -0400
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation

Dear Mr. Helliker, I thought you might like to read an article entitled: San Francisco Schools Praised for Cutting Pesticide Use - Jane Kay - EXAMINER ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER - July 26, 2000 - San Francisco Examiner.

The San Francisco Unified School District uses the fewest number of unsafe pesticides among the state's most populous districts, an environmental group found.

The California Public Interest Research Group, in an updated survey released Wednesday, looked at the potential use of 42 different highly hazardous pesticides in 13 of 15 districts that responded to queries.

The survey found that after the San Francisco district adopted a pesticide reduction policy in 1998, it dropped to using three from a previous high of six.

After San Francisco, the districts using the fewest dangerous pesticides were Stockton and Capistrano, eight each; and Sacramento, Riverside and San Juan, 10. Los Angeles, Fresno, Garden Grove, San Diego and Santa Ana used between 11 and 20, the survey found.

Elk Grove and Long Beach school districts used the most types of highly hazardous pesticides, more than 20 each, the survey said.

The survey didn't officially rank the schools because many responses were incomplete regarding volumes of pesticides used.

Only San Francisco and the Los Angeles Unified School District provide parents and teachers with written notification about scheduled pesticide applications, the survey said.

"We commend these districts as being ahead of the curve, and not waiting for the state to implement reforms or the federal government to ban particular pesticides," said Teresa M. Olle, toxics policy advocate at Cal-PIRG.

Oakland Unified and San Bernardino Unified school districts were the two that didn't respond to Cal-PIRG.

San Francisco, Olle said, cut use of toxic pesticides yet deals with "any bug or weed problem that has arisen. We can have a pest-free environment and also a safe environment for people to learn."

The three pesticides of concern used in San Francisco schools, according to the survey, are Maxforce FC Bait Stations, a possible carcinogen; Tempo WP, a suspected endocrine disrupter; and Contrac Blox, an acute toxicant.

After a San Francisco city ordinance in 1996 that banned most pesticides in public parks, buildings and buses, the school district in 1998 prohibited use of pesticides ranked as known or probable carcinogens or reproductive toxicants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The district also banned those listed as unsafe under Proposition 65, the state's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.

Cal-PIRG says that districts will have to tighten monitoring, reporting and notification of pesticide use if the Legislature passes the Healthy Schools Act of 2000, AB 2260. The bill, by Assemblyman Kevin Shelley, D-San Francisco, passed the Assembly and is in the Senate.

Well Mr. Helliker, This is a start, but I have safely controlled all pest problems inside and outside in over 350 schools without ever using any volatile pesticide POISONS. When will it be "legal" (in your opinion) to use any of these unregistered controls rather than your dangerous "registered" POISONS in California?

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