OPAWG - Healthy Kids and Safe Schools

The following is the Oregon Pesticide Action Work Group’s Healthy Kids and Safe Schools Plan for Oregon's 2009 legislative session:

1. Kid-Safe Pest Policies: Require that all Oregon public schools adopt and implement an Integrated Pest Management Policy (IPM) by 2012. The IPM policy will call for preventative measures and non-chemical alternatives as the first steps in solving pest problems.
2. Informed Use: If pesticides are determined to be necessary, require that application be done by a licensed pesticide applicator trained in IPM methods, using the least toxic alternatives.
3. Right to Know: Require that schools notify students, parents, faculty, and staff prior to pesticide application. Require that schools post notices of pesticide use before and after application on school grounds and include information about safe re-entry times.  Such notifications will also be supplied to user groups such as community or sports groups that are on school grounds on days when posting is necessary.  Notifications must include exposure information (acute symptoms, resources, etc).
4. Responsible Recordkeeping: Require publicly accessible information about pesticide use in all schools, reported to the Department of Agriculture and included in the Pesticide Use Reporting statute.
5. Protection from Off-Campus Pesticide Drift: Require adequate buffer zones (minimum 300 yards) for aerial applications of organophosphate, phenoxy herbicides, fumigants and other restricted pesticide classes based on level of toxicity and volatility.  Require users of pesticides within 1 mile radius of a school to participate in the DEQ’s Pesticide Stewardship Program, which helps farmers and foresters adopt best management practices, identify problems and improve water quality associated with pesticide use at the local level. 
6. Full Funding:  Require adequate dedicated funding from the legislature to educate and enable school districts to implement recommendations #1-4 above.  Provide additional funding to expand the DEQ’s Pesticide Stewardship Program.