82 per cent back ban on lawn pesticides

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Subject:   82 per cent back ban on lawn pesticides............
 Date:      Wed, 7 Nov 2001 08:44:15 -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 dated: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 - Page A9 - The Globe and Mail - entitled: 82 per cent back ban on lawn pesticides By Martin Mittelstaedt, Environment Reporter.

More than three-quarters of Ontario residents want their municipalities to ban lawn pesticides, and one out of 10 households report having someone who requested a neighbour stop using these products, according to a poll to be released today.

The survey is being released by the Toronto Environmental Alliance and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, as part of an effort by them to persuade municipal governments to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides.

Several major cities, including Ottawa, Hamilton and London, are discussing such restrictions, but many municipalities, including Toronto, are not working on such bylaws.

"What this tells me is that while governments dither, citizens are becoming increasingly concerned about the health risks of pesticides, and . . . Canadians are talking over fences to their neighbours asking them to stop," said Rich Whate, an alliance spokesman.

Among the reasons cited for asking neighbours to stop using the chemicals are the health of humans and of pets and other animals.

According to the survey, 82 per cent of respondents want municipalities to adopt bylaws that would stop neighbours from using pesticides on their lawns, gardens and trees.

Municipalities recently won the right to institute such regulations under a Supreme Court ruling supporting a Quebec community that imposed a ban.

The poll found that 73 per cent of respondents do not use pesticides while 27 per cent do. Respondents 55 and older were the most frequent users, with 35 per cent of that age group saying chemicals are applied to their properties.

Pesticide applications are most widespread in Southwestern Ontario, where 41 per cent of respondents said they used sprays.

The survey found a high number of people who have no confidence in the ability Health Canada, the federal pesticide watchdog, and the Ontario government, to assess any dangers that may be linked to these products.

Asked if they thought "cosmetic pesticides have undergone extensive federal- and provincial-government testing for safety and effectiveness," 46 per cent disagreed, 37 per cent agreed and 16 per cent didn't know.

The poll was commissioned by the alliance and conducted by Oraclepoll Research Ltd. It involved interviews with 625 randomly selected people in mid-September. The margin of error in a poll of this size is 3.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Source url; http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/GIS.Servlets.HTMLTemplate?tf=tgam/common/FullStory.html&cf=tgam/common/FullStory.cfg&configFileLoc=tgam/config&vg=BigAdVariableGenerator&date=20011031&dateOffset=&hub=environment&title=Environment&cache_key=environment&current_row=1&start_row=1&num_rows=1

Well Mr. Helliker,  It is becoming very clear why Fairfax wants to be at least notified before your "registered" POISONS are used/misused - why are you so against that simple request?

Respectfully,  Stephen L. Tvedten

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