The Healthy Day Cares bill—AB 2865 (Torrico)—heads
to the governor after final bipartisan approval by the California Legislature
on Wednesday, August 30. The bill would require
private licensed day care centers to notify parents about pesticide
applications and to post notices in areas treated with pesticides. The bill also would provide all day care
providers with information and trainings on
least-toxic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques to help them create a
safer environment in which to care for our most vulnerable population.
“Children ages zero to five are particularly
sensitive to the potentially harmful effects of pesticide exposure,”
said
Rachel Gibson, Staff Attorney for Environment California—the sponsor of
the bill.
“The more parents know about the pest control practices of their
child’s
day care, the more they can protect their kids from unnecessary
pesticide exposure. Likewise, the more child care providers know
about safer pest control practices, the more likely they are to use
them and
the safer children under their care will be.”
83% of children of working parents regularly spend time in
non-parental care, averaging 35 hours per week. In a recent U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency study on pesticide exposure, levels of pesticides found in dust were
significantly higher in day care settings than in residential homes.
Children’s exposure to pesticides during critical stages of development may
have permanent, irreversible effects. One recent California study found that children exposed to any pesticide in
their first year of life were more than twice as likely to suffer from
persistent asthma before the age of five.
Another study found that the risk of childhood leukemia increased more
than six times when garden pesticides were used at least once per month.
In 2000, Environment California worked to help pass the Healthy Schools Act of 2000, which
requires public schools to notify parents about pesticide applications
and to post notices in areas treated with pesticides, in addition to providing
schools with training on IPM. Under existing law, private child care
facilities are exempt.
The bill moves next to the governor for his
signature or veto.
