Seattle and King County will soon stop using the most hazardous pesticides to control bugs and weeds along roads, in parks and on other public land. The plan, to be announced today, will phase out the use of dozens of hazardous pesticides as the city and county explore less toxic alternatives.

Subject:   The times they are a changing----------------
Date:     Fri, 08 Oct 1999 08:38:51 -0400
From:     Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To:     Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>
 

Lyndon - I thought you might like to see that one of your northern neighbors has decided to look for alternatives to some of your more dangerous "registered" poisons: City, county to reduce their pesticide use - Most-hazardous poisons will be largely avoided -

Wednesday, October 6, 1999 - by TRACY JOHNSON - SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER.

Seattle and King County will soon stop using the most hazardous pesticides to control bugs and weeds along roads, in parks and on other public land. The plan, to be announced today, will phase out the use of dozens of hazardous pesticides as the city and county explore less toxic alternatives.

A June 30 deadline has been set for the pesticide phaseout.

And Seattle will go a step further, planning to reduce its overall pesticide use by 30 percent by the end of 2002.

Environmentalists are pleased with the broad approach, hoping it will be copied by other local governments in the Northwest. City and county officials hope private landowners will also follow suit. "We're going beyond legal requirements, and we're going to be eliminating products that pose the greatest risk for human health and the environment," said Tracy Dieckhoner, an environmental analyst for the city of Seattle.

Earlier this year, the city made a study of its pesticide use, which rated the products according to their hazards. Use of insecticides and herbicides deemed "Tier 1" -- most hazardous -- will be phased out. Among other things, Tier 1 pesticides either contain known cancer-causing ingredients; they are labeled highly toxic to birds, fish or animals; or they seep quickly into ground or surface water.

Together, Seattle and King County will study ways around using the hazardous chemicals. They'll test weed-controlling techniques including mulching, weed pulling and killing the pesky sprouters with steam or heat. Both the city and county will need to find alternatives to pesticides such as Casaron, a possible carcinogen, and products containing 2,4-D, an ingredient in the infamous Agent Orange and one of the most widely used herbicides in the country.

The city will quit using Dursban to control insects on golf courses and Snapshot to kill weeds in parks.  There will be exceptions to the ban on some chemicals, but generally only if there are major health or safety considerations.

And city use of Tier 1 fungicides, mainly applied to golf courses and gardens, won't be completely stopped.  The county most frequently uses the "fairly beneign" herbicide Roundup to kill weeds, said Dave Galvin, county Hazardous Waste Program manager. Deemed "Tier 2," it's still OK under the new policy.

A driving force behind the new policy was the Endangered Species Act and its listing of chinook salmon, as well as the simple idea "we could do a better job of reducing the amount of hazardous chemical used by the county," Galvin said.

Last spring, the city came under fire when it asked residents, in large newspaper ads, to "avoid using weed killers or harmful pesticides on your yard" as a way to help save salmon. City crews, meanwhile, continued to regularly spray herbicides at city parks and along roadways and planting strips.

Environmental groups are pleased the city will practice what it preaches.

"We've been urging them to go in this direction for a long time," said Erika Schreder, director of pesticide reform for the Washington Toxics Coalition.

"It's exciting to finally see some action accompanying all that talk" about helping salmon and the environment, said Pam Johnson, field director for People for Puget Sound, a non-profit group promoting water quality.

 Both groups would like to see zero pesticide use in the near future.

But others say even eliminating the use of Tier 1 pesticides will be a disaster, leading to overwhelming problems with weeds, mosquitoes and rats.

"I think it's an approach that will come back to haunt them," said Heather Hansen, executive director of the non-profit Washington Friends of Farms and Forests, which represents agriculture, landscaping and timber (and poison) interests.  Pesticides, used in moderation, are an integral part of controlling weeds, she said. "Obviously at high enough levels, there are all kinds of products (poisons) that will be harmful to salmon," she said.

King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle City Councilwoman Margaret Pageler will announce the policy at an 11 a.m. news conference.

You know Lyndon, it really is funny to what lengths the poison "industry" will go to try to "justify" how all their "registered" poisons "protect" us from those deadly dandelions - how on earth did man survive for all those millenia before these terrible toxins were invented?

In the few generations that have been "lucky" enough to be on earth since the advent of their volatile, synthetic pesticide poisons we have seen an INCREASE in pest problems and the contamination of the entire earth.   It is now "normal" for all of us to have 500-1000 toxins in us that were not in our grandparents!  No matter how many times the pests are sprayed with their terrible toxins - the pests survive and thrive.  We and the wildlife however do not do as well as the "pests".

For the record - I have eliminated all the pest problems inside and outside in over 350 schools without ever using ANY of their volatile, "registered" pesticide poisons!  When will these safe alternatives be "legal" (in your opinion) to use in California?

Respectfully,  Stephen L. Tvedten

---

[ Pesticide Poisoning and Kids ] * [ Symptoms of Pesticide Poisoning ]