After three months of deep mounds of snow and
ice, it is hard to imagine brown grass at this point, let
alone the green turf of an athletic field. Yet it is a time
when most field managers are thinking green - about
their turf management. Green as in pesticides-created
or “green” as in something the entire planet should be
thinking about? I hope it’s the latter.
I am the daughter whose parents had a total
of four kinds of cancer plus a bone-marrow/blood
disease. Their shortened lives and my suspicion of
their pesticide exposure are major reasons why I
am committed to a preventive lifestyle, especially
the reduction of chemicals in the environment – on
an indoor and outdoor home level and also on a
community and planet-earth level. It is a reason that I
choose to be part of the Pesticide Reduction Group, a
community-action working group that spawned from
the Cedar Valley Cancer Committee’s Beyond Pink
Team.
The group formed in the fall of 2006 after Dr.
Kamyar Enshayan, Director of the Center for Energy
and Environmental Education at the University of
Northern Iowa and Cedar Falls City Councilman,
presented to Beyond Pink’s Iowa Breast Cancer Eduaction
advocacy group on pesticides’ effects on the
environment and creatures. He has been instrumental
in involving the community in reducing the use of
lawn pesticides through the UNI CEEE’s Yard for Kids
program.
The program’s accomplishments are substantial.
The Cedar Falls Parks Department saved $50,000 over
five years by reducing chemical spraying of parks from
100 to three percent. (In 2007, our group tried and so far
has been unsuccessful in stopping the last three percent
- the fogging done at the Sturgis Falls celebration). The
Waterloo is adding to number of pesticide-free parks.
The Waterloo and Cedar Falls school districts have
committed to significant pesticide reduction. UNI
Physical Plant has reduced turf herbicide application by
over half in recent years while maintaining overall turf
quality. While there are still many fields and properties
to go, we should be thankful for this progress, because
a growing body of scientific and medical evidence finds
pesticides do cause significant health problems.
Children’s Special Vulnerability to Pesticides
According to Beyond Pesticides, a national
coalition against the misuse of pesticides http://www.beyondpesticides.org/schools, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Academy
of Sciences, among others, have voiced concerns about
dangers that pesticides pose to children. “Adverse
health effects, such as nausea, dizziness, respiratory
problems, headaches, rashes, and mental disorientation
may appear even when a pesticide is applied according
to label directions. Pesticide exposures can adversely
affect a child’s neurological, respiratory, immune, and
endocrine system and have been shown to cause or
exacerbate asthma symptoms.”
A study released in 2003 by the University of
Massachusetts-Lowell and the Boston University
School of Public Health showed childhood cancer
cases increased 21 percent between 1975 and 1998.
Children face higher risks than adults due to
their small size and greater intake relative to body
weight. Children also tend to place their hands close
to their face and engage in activities at ground level.
They are still developing organ systems and their
brains and detoxification systems aren’t fully developed
until adolescence. That’s a lot of years of playground
exposure their brains and bodies have to handle. Does
No Child Left Behind take into consideration we may
be leaving brains behind due to environmental issues?
The Volumes speak Volumes
I have heard adults and educators across the
country in the last few years comment that all levels
of school-age kids are having greater difficulties with
mental processing. Warren Porter, Ph.D., in the article
“Do Pesticides Affect Learning and Behavior? - The
Neuro-Endocrine-Immune Connection,” Pesticides
and You, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2004, p. 11-12, reported on
research showing that RoundUp can affect early cell
division processes in embryos. He cites a study tracking
student disabilities in a metro Madison, Wisconsin
school district between 1990-1995. There was an
87% increase in the number of emotionally disturbed
students, a 70% increase in learning disabilities, and an
83% increase in children born with birth defects. Not
unique to Madison, he calls this a serious epidemic
that he observes to be a global phenomenon. “Studies
show that pesticides can function as nerve poisons
and as pseudo hormones, modify hormone levels and/
or impact immune system function.” Because of the
interconnection of communications among the body’s
systems, he suspects the “fundamental foundation on
which the whole human body superstructure rests may
be eroding in very subtle ways.”
In the article “Ten Reasons Not to Use Pesticides,”
Journal of Pesticide Reform, Summer 2006, Vol. 26, No.
2, Caroline Cox writes, “Pesticides that damage human
health are used in staggering amounts. Consider just the
27 most commonly used pesticides. EPA has classified
fifteen of these as carcinogens and their use totals about
300 million pounds every year. Eight cause pregnancy
problems, according to EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory
program, and their use totals about 150 million pounds
per year. The National Library of Medicine reports that
15 of these pesticides damage genes, and their use totals
250 million pounds per year.”
The Executive Director of the Breast Cancer
Action Fund, Jeanne Rizzo said, “There are 85,000
chemicals registered for use in the United States. Less
than 10 percent of them have been tested for their
impact on health and the environment.”
Chemicals have their place, but they clearly are in engulfing our lives. Kids on playgrounds and athletes
who play in outdoor sports have an increased and
more direct exposure to products that are used on
school playgrounds and athletic fields. Furthermore,
when asked if application of pesticides is done prior
to the students’ activity versus afterward, leaving time
to dissipate overnight, Enshayan emphasized that
application prior to use happens all the time.
Take it one step further and see those particles
transferred back in the locker rooms or brought
home. “It is not necessary to use pesticides”, Enshayan
said. “There are alternatives. There are better ways of
managing the athletic fields and playgrounds.”
Steps Toward Improvement
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a
safer preventive strategy employing an integration
of alternatives to chemical-intensive measures,
introducing least hazardous chemicals a last resort.
Dr. Mark Shour, School IPM Coordinator of the Iowa
State University Extension, has been working with 10-
20 Iowa school districts during the past six years in
transitioning schools to IPM.
During 2004-2005, he conducted a School
Athletic Field IPM Pilot Project funded by a grant from
the U.S. EPA and Pesticide Environmental Stewardship
Program through the Iowa Department of Agriculture
and Land Stewardship. A summary report of this safer
turf management project on athletic fields and school
grounds is available at http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/
ipm/schoolipm/athletic
Recently, Iowa State Representatives Deb
Berry (Waterloo), Lia Heddens (Ames), Kurt Swaim
(Bloomfield) and Mark Kuhn (Charles City) have
introduced a bill (HF 128) in the Iowa House that
requires the board of directors of each school district
to adopt an Integrated Pest Management plan. It
provides for parental notification regarding pesticide
applications within a school or on school grounds. It
also provides reimbursement for districts where costs
to implement the plan exceed the savings from reduced
pesticide use. The bill needs more sponsors and you
can help by contacting your local state representatives
and asking them to support it.
There obviously are complex issues of field
management not addressed in this space. But the
need is clear and the way is being paved. The volume
of information on alternative solutions is higher than
this winter’s Iowa snow banks, if one is willing to dig
through them. Safer solutions may initially cost a bit
more until a healthier turf is established. However, the
argument that it costs more is a non-issue compared
to rising health care costs and absenteeism. A healthy
body and environment are priceless in value. A better
bottom line is this: Our children’s brains and lives are
our world’s hope and economic future.
I think we need to keep asking questions and
keep discussions open on exploring alternatives, not
only with schools and athletic fields, but golf courses,
ball parks and the growing number of soccer fields.
Even the businesses and organizations need to examine
their environments. Those looking for community
partnering opportunities may want to be involved in
solutions; every population is affected. Closer to home,
residents can be pro-active in their neighborhoods as
well.
Safer Alternatives Are in Our Food Chain
• Corn gluten meal is an effective natural preemergent
herbicide when applied to turf grass early in
the season and later as a high-nitrogen fertilizer and
top dressing.
• Vinegar in at least a 20 percent solution can be
used to spot treat weeds instead of RoundUp.
• Perhaps the most unusual alternative is a very
potent “super garlic” liquid called Mosquito Barrier that
is applied in a spray, even in large quantities for acres of
coverage. Garlic juice has been used for generations to
safely kill mosquitoes and chase away ticks, fleas and
gnats, but is not harmful to humans, pets, plants, bees,
butterflies or birds. When mixed with oil, it suffocates
larvae in standing water areas. The odor goes away in
minutes for humans, but mosquitoes still detect it for
up to a month and more. I can think of worse things
to smell. According to the company’s website http://
www.mosquito-repellant.biz/HTML/garlic.html, four
applications using just two quarts are enough for
the average-sized home for the whole mosquito and
tick season. Testimonials range from home users to
restaurants to parks and campgrounds, municipalities
and outdoor sports arenas.
Starting Points
The above examples scratch the surface of
information and solutions available. Other places to
start making a difference:
• Cedar Valley’s Pesticide Reduction Group, http://
www.iowabreastcancer.org/IBCE_new/pesticidegroup.
htm, has informative materials to use for advocacy,
including a video about IPM, a list of local safer lawn
care and pest control services in the area and a growing
number of organic products in nursery centers. Of
course, we welcome interested people to visit or to
roll up their sleeves and join us. For our meeting
information or to volunteer for future projects, contact
chair Christine Carpenter at 319-266-0194.
• Yards for Kids, visit www.uni.edu/yardsforkids
Contact: kamyar.enshayan@uni.edu or call 319-273-
7575.
• Talk to your school officials. Ask them about
what is being used, how much, how often, and what
times of the day. Recommend an IPM program or
review one in place.
• Contact local pest control companies and
mosquito management officials and ask that they try
safer alternative product options. Ask local festival and
concert planners to switch as well.
• A reminder for homeowners: dispose of
older unused pesticides through proper means. In
late September, there is an annual local toxic waste
collection day for the community at the Energy and
Environmental Fair at Cedar Falls Utilities.
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