Legislative Victories and Actions You Can Take to Help

Reducing School Children’s Exposures to Pesticides...

Oregon Toxics Alliance is thrilled to announce that the Integrated Pest Management in Schools bill, Senate Bill 637, is on its way to the Senate floor!

The bill was approved by the Senate Education and General Government Committee
on a unanimous vote last Friday (April 24).

The case for protecting school children from pesticides was made in a strong and convincing way to the senators on the Committee. Testifying on behalf of the bill, OTA’s Executive Director presented our report Warning! Hazards to Children: Pesticides in our Schools, and explained why this legislation is soimportant to the health of young Oregonians.

You can help by taking the following action:

1) Write to your State Senators and tell them to vote YES on Senate Bill 637 – IPM in Schools – when it comes to the Senate Floor.

Paste this into your email or read it over the phone:

Dear Representative/Senator NAME:

We urge you to support SB 637 which requires the use of Integrated Pest Management policies in Oregon’s Schools. The research shows that children are particularly vulnerable to harm from exposure to insecticides and herbicides.

Medical literature links pesticides to asthma, cancer, learning disabilities and birth defects. Data from our own state agencies shows that Oregon’s school children have been exposed many times over the past decade, even resulting in school evacuations and closures. Please vote yes on SB 637 when it comes to the Senate floor.

2) Contact your local legislator by email or phone. Urge them to support SB 637 reduce children’s exposures to pesticides and require Integrated Pest Management in Oregon Schools.

3) Please cc the OTA so that we can archive our contacts with legislators: jjcascade@oregontoxics.org

4) Resources:
List of State Senators: http://www.leg.state.or.us/senate/
List of Representatives: http://www.leg.state.or.us/house/
To find your local legislator: http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/

End Field Burning NOW! The field burning bill is still alive in the Senate...
help us make sure it gets passed this year!