Keep pesticides away from schools

Chemical drift from pesticide applications is like secondhand cigarette smoke - it is silent, and its unseen vapors and particles can move through the air and cause injury to unsuspecting bystanders.

Secondhand pesticide exposures occur not only from direct particle fallout, but also from volatilization and revaporization, factors that can extend the exposure period from two to 10 days.

When poisonous particles are tracked into a home or school, pesticide drift can continue to be absorbed through inhalation and skin contact for longer periods.

Many communities have taken action to separate areas where people smoke so others are not forced to inhale contaminated air. Cities such as Eugene reached this conclusion because there is general agreement on the need to reduce exposures to secondhand smoke.

State Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, and Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, are taking a similar sensible approach to protect children from pesticide drift by sponsoring Senate Bill 20 and House Bill 2978. The bills would establish protective buffer zones around public schools to reduce the likelihood that school playgrounds are fallout sites for pesticide drift.

Pesticides released at one location can become a source of human health impacts miles away. This is one reason why the Merck Foundation recently funded a joint project by Oregon Toxics Alliance and Forestland Dwellers to map the frequency and proximity of commercial pesticide operations near schools in Lane County.

The data was collected for Twin Oaks, Mapleton, Mohawk, Marcola and Blachly/Triangle Lake schools. It is startling to see 17 years of pesticide spray occurring repeatedly on sites quite close to these schools.

In some cases, helicopters and planes were used to apply chemicals aerially, while other operations involved large-scale ground spraying. At one school, the logging and spray area came all the way to the edge of a sports field.

Pesticide spray near schools is a concern because drift from commercial aerial pesticide applications can travel thousands of yards from timber and agricultural operations to places where children learn and play. Children are more vulnerable to chemical insults because their organs and immune and nervous systems are still maturing, and their ability to metabolize and excrete harmful chemicals inhaled or absorbed through their skin is not yet developed.

Despite improved technology and safety guidelines, the Oregon Department of Agriculture reports that drift incidences at Oregon schools have caused noxious odors, illness and in at least one case, the closure of a school. These examples are only the tip of the iceberg, because a majority of pesticide exposures go unreported. Most of us don't know how to report a suspected pesticide poisoning - nor would we think to do so.

Most legal pesticide exposures don't result in acute maladies. In fact, we should be most concerned about long-term effects of chronic exposures, those impacts that don't show up until months or years later. There have been many studies linking environmental
pesticide exposure to later development of cancers such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia.

Four large studies recently published in Canada, France, Italy and the United States show a twofold to sixfold increase in lymphoma in regions of frequent pesticide drift. The strongest cancer link was associated with phenoxyacetic herbicides such as 2,4-D.

In its report, Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment, the Eugene Water & Electric Board found that in 2004, almost 800 pounds of 2,4-D were sprayed in the McKenzie River watershed, the source of Eugene's drinking water and site of many rural schools.

Oregon should join the other states that are watching out for the welfare of their children. Oregon Toxics Alliance is urging Oregon's elected representatives to pass Senate and House bills to protect schools with buffer zones. The first hearing for SB 20 is set for April 10. Legislators need to hear from concerned Oregonians.

The use of buffer zones to minimize the possibility of pesticide spray drifting onto sensitive areas is an accepted practice. A federal court order now requires a 100-yard no-spray buffer zone for streams that provide salmon habitat.

Oregon state law imposes a protective buffer around streams, wetlands and salmon spawning sites. There are even buffer zones to protect the habitat of the Washington ground squirrel.

Oregon has no protective buffer zone for children. Obviously, the government recognizes the value of protecting natural resource sites.

Does our most precious resource, our children, deserve less?

Lisa Arkin is executive director of the Oregon Toxics Alliance.