Gov. Davis signs...
Healthy Schools Act of 2000
Although it does not stop the poisoning, parents will finally have the information necessary to remove their children from dangerous situations.
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Gov. Davis signs...
Healthy Schools Act of 2000
Although it does not stop the poisoning, parents will finally have the information necessary to remove their children from dangerous situations.
Calif. Schools To Alert on Sprays
By TOM HARRIGAN -Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Some 600 elementary students shouted ``No more pesticides, please!'' as the governor signed a bill which requires that parents be notified anytime weed or bug killers are used on school campuses in California.
``Kids should not be exposed to dangerous and toxic materials,'' Gov. Gray Davis said at the signing ceremony Monday.
Concern that bug and weed sprays contain carcinogens or can cause respiratory and neurological ailments prompted the bill, which requires that parents and teachers be advised of spray dates.
The measure also requires that signs be posted at a site for 24 hours before and for 72 hours after spraying. Specifics on the chemicals involved would be posted at a new state Web site.
Thirteen other states also have some sort of law requiring schools to notify parents of pesticide use, said Gene Harrington of the National Pest Control Association. They are Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia.
Some 70 educational, environmental, health and civic organizations supported the California bill, including the American Lung Association of California.
``There are other ways to kill pests that don't cause cancer and aggravate other health problems,'' lung association spokesman Andy Weisser said.
The California Public Interest Research Group determined this year that the state's 14 largest school systems, which combined have 1.5 million students, used 76 different chemicals for controlling bugs and weeds on campus.
It found that the Los Angeles and San Francisco districts were the only ones providing written notification to parents and teachers.
Here's an email that suggests that there may be many more benefits to removing these volatile registered pesticide poisons (or at least the children) from contaminated schools: http://www.getipm.com/schools/more-emails/dept-educ.htm
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