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COLUMN: Sustainable Medford
DATE: July 6, 2006
AUTHOR: By Dara Olmsted
Pesticides – hazardous to your health
It’s summer and that means it’s time to take care of the lawn and garden. How can you make environmentally friendly and healthy decisions when taking care of your lawn and garden?
Pesticides are not safe for you, your family, or the environment. Pesticides, which include herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, are a short term solution to a larger problem- they kill the pests, but do not solve the underlying issue. At the same time, they cause a whole host of other problems, and end up doing more harm than good.
Human health effects
In addition to killing pests, pesticides can cause a multitude of human health problems including: cancer, genetic mutations, birth defects, learning disorders, immune problems, male infertility, and a whole list of other health problems. Children are especially vulnerable, since they spend more time on the lawn and they have smaller bodies than adults. Lawn pesticides can be carried inside by shoes, paws, or air currents, and once inside, the pesticides get trapped and stay inside-further endangering your family. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stated that all pesticides are toxic to some degree and most pesticides have not been adequately tested to determine their effects on people or the environment. Why risk your family’s health and well being just to get rid of a few bugs, especially when there are safe alternatives
that exist?
Environmental effects
Similar to the health effects caused by pesticides, pesticides harm aquatic life, wildlife, and pollute local waterbodies, such as the Mystic River. After a storm, rain washes over lawns, picking up pesticides and other pollutants and transports them into storm drains, which flows directly, untreated, into waterbodies. A recent 10 year study released by the United States Geological Survey stated that every year more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the U.S. and that 97% of urban streams have high concentrations of at least one pesticide. Pesticides are persistent, and the study found that 94% of fish tissue in urban areas contained pesticides like DDT that were banned in the U.S. over fifteen years ago. Additionally, pesticides damage the soil; they kill microbes that are necessary for healthy soil. Unhealthy
soil is susceptible to disease and insect infestation, which often leads to more pesticide use, causing a vicious cycle of pesticide use and soil damage.
What can you do?
It’s easy to protect your family, your neighbors, and the environment. Stop using pesticides. Use alternatives to pesticides (see below). Bring your pesticides to hazardous waste collections instead of throwing in the trash. Do not use older products that contain chlorpyrifos (trade names are Dursban and Lorsban) or diazinon, as they have been banned by the EPA because of health risks. Use compost- not only is compost the ideal fertilizer, but it helps plants resist disease and increases biodiversity in the soil, which helps to keep pest populations low. Hire an organic lawn care company- the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Massachusetts has a list of accredited professionals (www.nofamass.org) or ask your lawn company to stop using pesticides. Sign the Healthy Waters Pledge on the Mystic River Watershed Association’s website (www.mysticriver.org).
Alternatives to pesticides
Mulch your lawn- it protects plants from pests and prevents weeds from growing. Use compost too. Plant native plants, which are naturally suited to our environment and do not need pesticides. Monitor your plants for pests, instead of indiscriminately spraying with pesticides. When pests are found use safe, alternative methods to prevent and get rid of the pests (Beyond Pesticides lists methods for many common pests: www.beyondpesticides.org). For example, aphids can be removed with a strong spray from a hose or by squeezing the tips of new plant growth, and beer traps or iron pellets can rid your lawn of slugs. Weeds can be prevented by having a dense lawn that is mowed high or by adjusting the pH.
What’s being done in Massachusetts?
Newton proclaimed March 2002 to be “Alternative to Pesticides Month” and implemented Newton’s Citywide Integrated Pest Management Policy. Marblehead’s Board of Health committed itself in 1998 to the goal of reducing and phasing out the use of pesticides on public and private property and created an organic pest management policy. Volunteers in Marblehead also planted “A Living Lawn… A Lawn for Living”, which is a demonstration site featuring pesticide and fertilizer free lawns. Similar efforts have been enacted in Needham, Lexington, Wellesley, and other municipalities across the state. Additionally, schools in Massachusetts are required to have Integrated Pest Management Plans. Help make Medford a pesticide-free city; stop using pesticides and spread the word to your friends, neighbors, and family.
Stay tuned for future articles on alternatives to fertilizers and water conservation strategies. If we each do our part to minimize our harm to the environment and our health, we really can make a difference without a lot of effort.
-Dara Olmsted is the Director of Community Programs for the Mystic River Watershed Association.
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