Schoolyard Pesticides Face Expulsion

EPA zeroes in on toxic chemicals.

Consumers are becoming aware of possible dangers associated with the use of pesticides and other chemicals. Specialty grocery stores offer organic foods grown without use of bug-killing chemicals. Some parents peal all fruits and vegetables so children aren't exposed to any dangerous chemicals. But with all the precautions that are taken at home, the real danger may lie in the schoolyard.

A recent General Accounting Office study concludes that insufficient information is available to determine if children are exposed to toxic chemicals at school. Pesticides are often used inside schools as part of pest-management programs and outside for landscape development.

"The report is consistent with the Environmental Protection Agency's desire to get a handle on chemical exposure and health risk. However, it is ill-defined because the driving force is data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers. This data is often misinterpreted since it does not fairly reflect exposures and merely talks about 'incidents,'" says Lynn Bergeson, who specializes in chemical product approval and regulation and environmental health and safety issues partner for the Washington, D.C., law firm Bergeson & Campbell.

EPA summoned

Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) is calling on the EPA to gather new information on the potential risks to children and to establish parental notification guidelines for use of pesticides around schools. EPA officials say they will consider Lieberman's recommendations to gather information. "The EPA's response to the report could include rulemaking, enhanced scrutiny of EPA-approved uses on pesticide labels, and/or pesticide buffers around schools," says Bergeson.

Concern about this issue has been building. In August 1999, the Natural Resources Defense Council said it would sue the EPA, for violating a congressional order to protect children from harmful pesticides.

The National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, which has also been critical of government efforts to protect children from toxic exposures, says state governments don't do enough to inform people exposed to pesticides of the dangers they may face. Coalition researchers found 38 states do not require public notification when pesticides are used in buildings. The 12 states that do require notification all have different methods, which complicates the public safety purpose.

New restrictions

The EPA recently announced increased restrictions on two pesticides deemed particularly dangerous to children. EPA Administrator Carol Browner announced the agency would ban methyl parathion, a pesticide developed from World War II nerve gas research. The pesticide azenphos methyl will be highly restricted. Farmers currently use those pesticides on cotton, wheat, rice, peaches, and apples. The new EPA rules take effect this spring.

In the meantime chemicals are poisoning children. A Texas jury found chemical retailer Friendly Systems Inc. guilty of charges it illegally sold pesticides to be used in disinfecting childrens' toothbrushes at the Rosebud Sioux Tribe's Head Start centers in South Dakota. The company could be fined a total of $600,000 for three counts of selling products with claims different from purposes stated on EPA-approved labels.

Parents say their children developed chest and joint pains, blister, and nosebleeds as a result of coming into contact with the pesticide solution on the toothbrushes. The chemical used was only approved for sanitizing floors, walls, and tables.