New York Governor Signs Pesticide Law

The law requires companies that use pesticides to give at least a 48-hour warning to neighbors living within 150 feet of any spraying site. It also requires schools and day care facilities to provide parents and staff with a notice before pesticides are applied on school grounds.  

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Subject:   New York Governor Signs Pesticide Law-------
Date:        Thu, 24 Aug 2000 18:43:53 -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 8/22/00 article entitled: N.Y. Governor Signs Pesticide Law - By The Associated Press.  

SYOSSET, N.Y. (AP) -- Nicole Hudson was gardening outside her Farmingville home when she spied a white cloud with a noxious odor wafting over from her neighbor's yard.  

As the mix of chemicals floated toward an open bedroom of her house where her newborn slept, Hudson called over to the worker who was clad in protective gear.

``Don't worry about it lady, I'm done already,'' he yelled back.  

In horror, she raced upstairs to find her baby, who was crying. The child was later treated for allergic reaction to a toxic chemical. Hudson was told to destroy the baby's linens.  

Hudson's story helped pass legislation aimed at protecting New York  residents against the possible harmful effects of pesticide spraying by neighbors.  

The law requires companies that use pesticides to give at least a 48-hour warning to neighbors living within 150 feet of any spraying site. It also requires schools and day care facilities to provide parents and staff with a notice before pesticides are applied on school grounds.  

Gov. George Pataki on Monday signed the bill, which advocates say is the nation's first law of its kind. The neighbor notification law goes into effect March 1, 2001.  

``Every neighbor will now know to take in the wash, close the windows, and not have the kids roll around in the yard,'' Pataki said at the bill signing ceremony in the Willets Elementary school yard.  

``This is a great victory for the health and safety of our residents,'' Neal Lewis, head of the Nassau-Suffolk Neighborhood Network, who first suggested the legislation after hearing Hudson's story in 1992.  

Notices must contain information regarding the date and location of applications, as well as the name of the product being applied. The law allows exemptions for more than 30 specific types of pesticides with a low toxicity, such as boric acid and horticultural oils, and for pesticide applications to cemeteries and spot treatments of less than 9 square feet.  

Lewis said at least seven states allow residents to register with the state if they want to be notified about pesticide spraying near their home. But New York will become the first to require residents of adjacent properties to be warned ahead of time, he said.

``I hope that this bill will set the standard for states throughout the country,'' said State Sen. Carl Marcellino, R-Plainview, who co-sponsored the bill with Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli, D-Thomaston.  

                     Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company  

Well Mr. Helliker, there does seem to be a move on (elsewhere) to stop the routine "use" of your "registered" POISONS.  But, from you and your DPR there is only continued SILENCE,  I would like to mention a simple way for you all to come to a simple decision.  Benjamin Franklin once wrote: "When confronted with two courses of action, I jot down on a piece of paper all the arguments in favor of each one - then on the opposite side I write the arguments against each one. Then by weighing the arguments pro and con and canceling them out, I take the course indicated by what remains.  I am sure if you can be honest with your answers, you will allow the "legal" use of safe and far more effective unregistered alternatives.  Until then, I await your reply.  

Respectfully,  Stephen l. Tvedten

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