Subject: Organic pest control planned
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 08:07:12 -0500
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
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker, I
thought you might like to read an article entitled:
DOVER / SHERBORN
Organic pest control planned
By Allison Buff, Globe Correspondent, 3/4/2001
Within the next year, the towns of Dover and Sherborn
would like to diminish - if not put an end to - the use of synthetic
pesticides on school playing fields and develop an organic pest-management
program for the well-being of their children, wildlife, and the preservation
of ground water.
Not knowing the extent of damage that pesticides have
already caused has many in the area concerned. Dover and Sherborn rely on
their ground water because they do not have sewer systems.
But these two towns have reputations for being
environmentally conscious communities with residents joining town officials in
monitoring anything that might taint their wells. The towns have chosen to use
little or no salt on local streets, and the public works crews monitor
neighboring communities that do to keep the salt from getting into Dover and
Sherborn ground water.
In the fall of 1999, Sherborn resident Mary DeBlois
became concerned about the pesticides the town was using on the elementary
school's playing field. DeBlois, who uses only organic pest management on her
lawn, voiced her concern to the town and the town stopped spraying.
''I am worried about the long-term effect these
pesticides will have on our children and wildlife. Many of these pesticides
break down over time into harmful carcinogens. We have to start thinking about
other methods for the safety of our children. We need to educate the
townspeople and increase awareness by letting them know there are other
alternatives to chemicals,'' said DeBlois.
This issue was passed on to the Groundwater Protection
Committee in Sherborn, which subsequently met with town officials and members
of the school boards to make them aware of the matter.
''There have not been any pesticide applications done on
our playing fields in the past few months. If we do use pesticides, we will
give notification that the fields are not to be used for one week,'' said
Perry Davis, superintendent of the Dover/Sherborn schools. ''We have also
contracted with the University of Massachusetts for training in the field of
pest management. Our priority is to protect the safety of our children and to
listen to the experts.''
Pesticides and the purity of ground water are something
that have gotten attention at the state level as well. In May, Governor Paul
Cellucci signed an act to ''protect children and families from harmful
pesticides,'' which forbids pesticides from being applied indoors or outdoors
at schools, day-care centers, and child-care programs while children are on
the property, and notification must be given before outdoor applications.
The law also calls for those places that care for
children to have an an Integrated Pest Management Plan set up by Nov. 1.
''The purpose of the plan is for notification and
communication purposes. It will allow us to concentrate on preventing and
controlling pests,'' said Brad Mitchel of the state's Department of Food and
Agriculture.
One of the Sherborn Groundwater Protection Committee's
first actions was to get experts in to help it develop a pest management
proram by the deadline.
''This outside source will help us understand the certain
risks of using pesticides and to make our fields resistant to pest attacks,''
said Daryl Beardsley, an environmental engineer and member of the Ground Water
Committee. ''We want to know what the hazards of pesticides are and their fate
and transport. We want to understand how the chemicals that we have been using
move and what will come of it in terms of our ground water and other
environmental issues.''
This story ran on page W1 of the Boston Globe on
3/4/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.
Well Mr. Helliker, when will it be "legal"
(in your opinion) to use safe and far more effective alternatives to actually
control pest problems in California?
Respectfully, Stephen
L. Tvedten
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