Poisoned Playgrounds

Survey Finds Widespread Use of Hazardous Pesticides in Washington Public Schools

by Angela Storey, WTC

A majority of Washington's children attend school in districts using pesticides that could cause serious long-term health problems such as cancer and nervous system damage, according to "A Lesson in Prevention", a new report by the Washington Toxics Coalition. The report documents pesticide use by 50 of the state's largest school districts (50 of 58 districts with more than 5,000 students).

Our children can't succeed in school where there are poisons on the playground and chemicals in the classroom that can harm their ability to learn, states the report. School districts should eliminate the use of hazardous pesticides and replace them with safer methods.

The report finds that:

• 96% of Washington's largest school districts use high hazard pesticides linked to cancer, reproductive or developmental harm, nervous system damage, or endocrine (hormone) disruption.
• Many districts are not tracking pesticide use as required by state law.
• Some school districts are breaking the trend, successfully reducing and eliminating the use of hazardous pesticides.

Since these districts are the state's largest, these findings mean that a majority of Washington's children (67%) attend school in districts using high hazard pesticides.

The report calls on school districts to eliminate the use of all high hazard pesticides and adopt policies to replace pesticide use with safer alternatives. School districts should also keep full records of pesticide use and prepare the annual summary required by the Children's Pesticide Right-to-Know Act, which took effect in July 2002.

The report also calls on state legislators to ban school use of the most hazardous pesticides and to provide training and other support for schools to adopt safer alternatives.

Six school districts in Washington have shown that they can eliminate the most harmful pesticides and still have attractive landscapes and safe buildings. Our state leaders need to take action now to make the rest of Washington's school districts safe for our kids by banning high hazard pesticides.

The full text of the report, including information on pesticide use by these 50 districts, can be found at: www.watoxics.org.

To start working with your local district to reduce pesticide use, contact Angela Storey at 206-632-1545 ext. 11 or astorey@watoxics.org.