Steve Tvedten of Get Set, Inc.'s email to Lyndon Hawkins of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation forwarding a press release on the vote of the Los Angeles Unified School District's decision to eliminate pesticides and herbicides.

Questions have been asked of the California Department of Pesticide Control since Fontana Unified School District declined to consider a pesticide free IPM program because of the Department of Agriculture's opinion about only utilizing registered pesticides to eliminate pests.  The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has remained silent and not responded to these issues:

Subject:         IPM (WITHOUT PESTICIDE POISONS) ADOPTED BY L.A.  SCHOOLS
 Date:             Thu, 25 Mar 1999 20:44:19 -0500
 From:              Rosalind Tvedten <stvedten@earthlink.net>
 Organization:      Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To:                   Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>

Irene Wilkenfield from Safe Schools, sent the following to everyone concerned about kids, pesticides, and (true) IPM  in our schools:

According to an article in the March 24, 1999 issue of The Los  Angeles Times (Metro Section), The Los Angeles Unified School District adopted a new pest control policy that will phase out the  use of dangerous pesticides and herbicides over the next three years.  This will be the most stringent policy in the nation.  By contrast, a survey of 556 schools in 1993 by the state Department of Pesticide Regulation found that 62% currently have no such pest management plan.

The Los Angeles school district currently uses nearly 60 pesticides.

"This is a big deal.  Our policy will be a national model for other jurisdictions," said YiHwa Kim, district deputy director of environmental health and safety.

On hand to witness the unanimous vote by the Los Angeles Board of Education were dozens of parent activists and physicians wearing yellow badges with the words, "Schools are for Kids, Not Poisons."

The goal is to eliminate indoor pesticides within two years and outdoor use of hebicides within three years. This new IPM policy recognizes that "no pesticide product is free from risk or threat to human health," and places the burden on chemical manufacturers to prove their products are safe rather than on the public to prove there is harm.  It also calls for extensive staff training and the creation of a Pest Management Team that will include parents, teachers, community groups, health professionals and district officials.  Any product used by the district will have to be approved by this team after a careful review of contents, precautions and low- risk methods.

I HOPE THAT YOU CAN TAKE THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AND CAUSE A TIDAL WAVE OF IPM POLICY ADOPTION, NATIONWIDE.

To safer schools and kinder classrooms...
Irene Wilkenfeld
SAFE SCHOOLS

HTTP://WWW.LATIMES.COM/home/news/etro/T000026466.html
 

"LYNDON, TRUTH IS VIOLATED BY FALSEHOOD, BUT IT IS OUTRAGED BY SILENCE.".  WHEN WILL IT BE LEGAL (IN YOUR OPINION) TO WASH YOUR CAN IN CALIFORNIA?