Port Moody To Ban Cosmetic Pesticides
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Port Moody To Ban Cosmetic Pesticides
Date:
Fri, 26 Jul 2002 08:52:06 -400
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: Thursday, July 25, 2002 from the Vancouver Sun entitled: Port Moody to ban cosmetic pesticides - Municipality plans three-year phase-in period to educate public by Karen Gram.
Port Moody has become the first municipality in western Canada to take action against pesticides used to beautify private lawns and gardens. In a motion passed unanimously Tuesday night, Port Moody councillors voted to begin a three-year education campaign to teach residents about the risks of pesticide use and possible alternatives.
At the end of that period, a bylaw will be drafted to prohibit so-called cosmetic pesticide use.
"I am very pleased," said Councillor Diana Dilworth who chairs the committee that put forward the motion. "There is tremendous support for this type of initiative. Now our job is to educate, educate, educate."
Vancouver council voted Tuesday to consider the issue in September.
It would like to see a regional approach to the issue, with all Lower Mainland municipalities banning pesticides at once to ensurecompliance, but Port Moody Mayor Joe Trasolini says he has no intention of waiting for others to come on board. "We are individual municipalities," he said. "I wish we could get together on this, but individual councils make their own decisions."
Dilworth said Port Moody focused on cosmetic pesticides because they are so unnecessary. She said the municipality is not talking about preventing people from using chemicals to deal with a termite problem in the house or to remove a wasps nest.
"This is just for beautification purposes. We are not suggesting people stop using these for safety purposes."
However, the committee considers a cosmetic ban the first step in eliminating pesticide use entirely. Further public consultation with residential, commercial and industrial stakeholders would be held before there is any recommendation to ban non-cosmetic pesticides.
Port Moody has long been frustrated by pesticide use within its boundaries. In 1998, council appealed a provincial environment ministry decision to permit the Canadian Pacific Railway to spray along railway tracks. The permit was upheld and while CPR voluntarily backed away from spraying in Port Moody for two years because of concerns about the fishery, it began spraying again this summer.
In June 2001, when the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the right of the council of Hudson, Que., to prohibit cosmetic pesticide use within its borders as a preventive health measure, Trasolini quickly moved to establish a committee to consider a similar bylaw in Port Moody.
"I said, 'Municipalities do have the right to look after the health of their communities,'" Trasolini said in an interview. "It's a huge issue here because of the use of pesticides on the rail track. So I had a committee going about it and council was very supportive."
While this initiative doesn't stop CPR from using pesticides, Trasolini says council is talking to the corporation to encourage alternative methods and eventually, council does plan to eliminate all pesticide use in the community. "It's the lives of our citizens at stake here and we should have the final say." Trasolini is using his backyard as a pilot project, using nearly boiling water to kill weeds right to their roots. The steaming water is poured on to the weeds between his paving stones.
"In 21/2 months, I haven't had to pull a single weed," he says. Since Hudson passed its bylaw in 1991, at least 36 other Quebec municipalities have passed bylaws restricting cosmetic use of pesticides.
Halifax is the only municipality outside Quebec to have drafted a phased-in bylaw prohibiting cosmetic pesticide use.
Phase 1 came into effect in April 2001. It is now illegal to use pesticides, including such everyday lawn-care products as Weed 'n' Feed, within 50 metres of registered private properties, as well as any school, licensed day care, park, playground, licensed senior citizens' residence, university, church or hospital. A total ban comes into effect next spring.
Like Vancouver and many other Lower Mainland municipalities, Port Moody has an integrated pest management program for its public lands.
For 10 years, except in rare circumstances, no pesticides have been used on parks, school yards, playing fields, boulevards or medians.
Instead, staff members have learned to plant pest-resistant native species, to use biological controls such as ladybugs against aphids and to plant pest-repelling plants next to vulnerable ones.
Dilworth said council will establish a demonstration garden to show residents the alternatives. It will also conduct extensive public consultations to determine public sentiment and the extent of pesticide use.
She said the committee hasn't determined what form the bylaw will take. Hudson's bylaw requires residents to seek a permit to apply a pesticide. There is a list of exempt situations, but a pesticide intended for "cosmetic" or "esthetic" purposes would not qualify for a permit. With a population of 4,600, Hudson issues 20-25 permits per year.
Westmount, Que., bans the use of cosmetic pesticides outright from June through September. In the winter months, a permit is granted only for extreme infestations following an inspection. Both municipalities enforce the bylaw only when complaints are filed by neighbours.
Dilworth said she expects some opposition to a ban because some people are so accustomed to using pesticides. They are easier than manual weeding and for some, like the CPR, pesticide spraying is less expensive than more labour-intensive pest management programs.
"For many, pesticides are a convenience," she said. "But you need to balance that against the safety of people and the safety of the environment." Numerous studies have linked pesticide use to neurological disorders, immune disorders and birth defects. While the studies have not been conclusive, proponents of a ban say society can't afford to wait for definitive results.
Cynthia Van Ginkel, a Port Moody resident, mother of an infant and member of the environmental committee, says society has a responsibility under international law to take precautions against environmental degradation. This responsibility was reiterated by the Supreme Court in its Hudson ruling. Van Ginkel says many pesticides now in use have only been tested by their manufacturers and only on full-grown men.
Children, fetuses and pets are especially vulnerable to the toxins in pesticides because they haven't developed the ability to metabolize and eliminate residual toxic substances. They are also closer to the floor and often ingest dust and dirt. Several studies have found pesticides get tracked indoors and accumulate in carpets and floor dust.
Veterinarians report chemically burned paws, hyper-thyroidism in cats, bladder cancer in dogs and neurological damage, some linked directly to pesticides, some only suspected.
"There are increasing cancer rates, immune disorders, allergies, arthritis and anemia," says Cathy Wilkie, a West Vancouver veterinarian.
Barry Capozzi, (left) of Bloom Garden Centre already sells Safer's brand products for pests and other garden problems. Vancouver Sun Home gardener Deborah Kerstyn (above) is happy that Port Moody is banning pesticides.
© Copyright 2002 Vancouver Sun.
http://www.canada.com/search/site/story.asp?id=7761DED0-5FE9-4FCA-8702-0A38C525264A
Well Mr. Helliker, Numerous studies have linked pesticide use to neurological disorders, immune disorders and birth defects. While the studies have not been conclusive, proponents of a ban say society can't afford to wait for definitive results; are you going to wait until there is no "scientific" doubt whatsoever that your "registered" POISONS are not "safe" before you will allow the use of safe and far more effective (unregistered) alternatives?
Respectfully, Stephen L. Tvedten
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