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Environmental Health Reports
Executive Summary
By Kagan Owens, Beyond Pesticides The implementation of safer pest management practices that do not rely on hazardous pesticides has been achieved by 27 school districts and schools in 19 states highlighted in this report. Schools that have chosen to adopt safer pest management strategies, such as an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, use alternatives to the prevailing chemicalintensive practices because of the risk such practices pose to children and other school users’ health. While many public health advocates do not like the term IPM because it is often misused by chemical-intensive practitioners, IPM was established as a program of prevention, monitoring, and control that offers the opportunity to eliminate or drastically reduce hazardous pesticide use in schools. IPM is intended to establish a program that utilizes cultural, mechanical, biological, and other non-toxic practices, and only introducing least-hazardous chemicals as a last resort, if at all. Increasingly, the principle of organic pest management, derived from organic agriculture, is being applied to characterize management practices that employ preventive methods and a discrete set of allowable materials. The elimination of toxic chemicals exposure is especially important because as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christie Todd Whitman has stated, “Childhood exposure to pesticides is an environmental health risk facing children today.”1 Safer Schools is intended to inform school community members and activists, policy decision makers and pest management practitioners, all of whom play critical roles in getting schools to implement effective IPM programs. This report provides comprehensive details of an IPM program by: (1) explaining what an IPM program is and why it is necessary; (2) highlighting 27 school districts and individual school IPM policies and programs; and, (3) outlining the basic steps to getting a school IPM program adopted. School IPM is not a new approach to pest management. It is a concept that has been implemented in various communities, schools, and government facilities for decades. Although there are no federal laws regarding school pesticide use and pest management, there is pending federal legislation, the School Environment Protection Act (SEPA), which has been introduced in Congress and adopted by the U.S. Senate twice. There are also numerous state laws, local policies, resolutions, and resources that focus on the adoption of school IPM programs. State School IPM Laws Currently there are 17 state laws that recommend or require schools to adopt an IPM program. In addition, 315 school districts and five individual schools have voluntarily adopted an IPM policy where no law mandates such programs, according to the recent Beyond Pesticides report, Are Schools Making the Grade? There are an additional nine states, including Hawaii, Indiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin, that have developed materials to facilitate schools’ implementation of IPM programs, even though there is no state law. EPA has also developed guidance materials and encourages school officials to adopt IPM practices.2 The National Parents and Teachers Association passed a resolution in 1992 urging the adoption of school IPM programs “at the federal, state and local levels to eliminate the environmental health hazards caused by pesticide use in and around schools and child care centers. These efforts will result in cost-savings when use of chemical controls is reduced; decreased health risks; and safer school and child care center environments.” The position statement also asserts, “Expansion of integrated pest management policies in schools and child care centers is an excellent long-term solution for control of pests that will significantly lower children’s exposure to harmful chemicals by using the least-toxic mix of pest control strategies.”3 (See Appendix C for a copy of the resolution.) With the adoption of school IPM policies and laws spreading across the nation, understanding how these programs take shape and the approaches used by schools and districts, as well as hurdles they had to overcome, are important to successful implementation. There are many success stories around the country that, like the 27 case studies included in this report, legitimize and illustrate the success and satisfaction nationwide. These stories show that IPM has: • significantly reduced, and in some cases eliminated, the amount of pesticides used; • is cost effective; and, • yields better pest control results. Toxic Pesticides“Particular uncertainty exists regarding the longterm health effects of low-dose pesticide exposure,” states the American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs. “Considering these data gaps, it is prudent… to limit pesticides exposures … and to use the least toxic chemical pesticide or nonchemical alternative.”4 The vulnerability of infants and children to the harmful effects of pesticides has attracted national attention. EPA, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Public Health Association, among others, have voiced concerns about the danger that pesticides pose to children. Children face higher risks than adults from pesticide exposure due to their small size, tendency to place their hands close to their face, engaging in activities on or near the ground, greater intake of air and food relative to body weight, developing organ systems, and other unique characteristics. Adverse health effects, such as nausea, dizziness, respiratory problems, headaches, rashes, and mental disorientation, may appear even when a pesticide is applied according to label directions. Pesticide exposure can adversely affect a child’s neurological, respiratory, immune, and endocrine system, 5 even at low levels.6 A recent study found organophosphate pesticides cause genetic damage linked to neurological disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Parkinson’s disease.7 Several pesticides, such as pyrethrins and pyrethroids, organophosphates and carbamates, are also known to cause or exacerbate asthma symptoms.8 Because most of the symptoms of pesticide exposure, from respiratory distress to difficulty in concentration, are common in school children and may also have other causes, pesticide-related illnesses often go unrecognized and unreported.9 Studies show that children living in households where pesticides are used suffer elevated rates of leukemia, brain cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma.10 According to EPA’s Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment, children receive 50 percent of their lifetime cancer risks in the first two years of life.11 In 1999, the National School Boards Association along with the National League of Cities and Youth Crime Watch of America stated that “dangers in the environment” such as “potentially dangerous pesticides” are one of the “10 critical threats” that jeopardize “the health, safety, and future of America’s children.” During any normal school day, children and school personnel can be exposed to hazardous pesticides. Pesticide exposure at school can occur whether applications are made before children enter the building or while they are present. Chemicals fill the air and settle on desks, counters, shades, and walls. Children and staff breathe in contaminated air or touch contaminated surfaces, unknowingly exposing themselves to residues that can remain for days and sometimes break down into other dangerous compounds or contain so-called “inert” ingredients that are not disclosed on the product label but could be highly hazardous. School Pest Management Most insect and weed pests may be a nuisance, or raise aesthetic issues, but do not pose a threat to children’s health. The public is increasingly calling into question the use of pesticides for cosmetic results alone. The 27 districts and school IPM programs highlighted in this report are examples of success stories that should be followed by all school districts, public and private, and childcare facilities throughout the nation. The IPM policies in more than 4,500 U.S. school districts documented in Are Schools Making the Grade? do not ensure effective IPM implementation. Safer Schools tells the story of how to implement these policies and provide a guide for new policies and programs to be adopted.
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