(Beyond Pesticides, May 24, 2012) On Tuesday, several hundred mothers and fathers joined nurses and cancer survivors at the U.S. Capitol to demand action on toxic chemicals. The group, deemed the “National Stroller Brigade” rallied in support of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg’s (D-NJ) Safe Chemicals Act, a bill to overhaul antiquated laws governing toxic chemicals. [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 26, 2012) Beyond Pesticides joins over 30 co-sponsors for the 10th annual National Healthy Schools Day in urging Federal and State governments to step up to improve the environmental health of schools nationwide. Though a growing number of states are beginning to address risks to children in schools, more work must be [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 9, 2012) With Members of Congress attempting to gut pesticide protections from the Clean Water Act and state legislators threatening to repeal Connecticut’s historic pesticide ban on school grounds, environmentalists from the Northeast and beyond are joining with researchers, authors, beekeepers, organic business leaders, elected officials, and others to discuss strategies for [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 24, 2012) On Wednesday, February 22, the Connecticut General Assembly’s Planning and Development Committee held a hearing to consider a bill that would repeal the state’s ban on toxic pesticide use on school grounds by allowing their use as part of a so-called “integrated pest management” (IPM) system. If you live in [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, February 22, 2012) Researchers have found high levels of endosulfan, a highly toxic organochlorine pesticide, in the bone marrow of children, including those suffering from hematological malignancies (blood cancers) in areas using the pesticide. Children who have endosulfan in their bone marrow have 7.5 times more risk of developing blood-related cancer compared to [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 31, 2012) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed an expansion in pyrethrins/pyrethroid insecticide uses as part of its cumulative risk assessment for this neurotoxic class of chemicals. In the cumulative risk assessment, EPA concludes that pyrethroids “do not pose risk concerns for children or adults,” ignoring a wealth of independent data [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 19, 2012) Although organic farming and land management continue to grow, policies to protect people from pesticides are threatened in the Northeast and around the country. At the same time, cutting-edge science links pesticide exposure to health problems, honey bee colony collapse, and other environmental issues. Join researchers, authors, beekeepers, organic business [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, January 6, 2011) A law in the state of New Jersey aimed at protecting children by prohibiting pesticides on school grounds has advanced in the state’s General Assembly. Public health and environmental advocates are hoping that the bill will be considered by the full legislature within the next week, before the legislative session [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, December 13, 2011) Despite opposition from Lake Tahoe water providers and environmental groups, the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (LRWQCB) voted last week to allow the use of pesticides to control invasive species like Asian clams and the underwater plants Eurasian watermilfoil and curly leaf pondweed. For years, the rules regulating pesticide [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 31, 2011) The Borough Council of Oradell, NJ has pledged to review the use of pesticides on public grounds following an incident in which children may have been allowed to prematurely re-enter an herbicide-treated soccer field. This incident recalls the recently reported exposure and poisoning that occurred in Ohio a few weeks [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 27, 2011) Forty-seven students from Edgewood Middle School in St. Clair Township, Ohio, reportedly fell ill after the school’s hired pest control company sprayed the herbicide Momentum, which contains the toxic ingredients 2,4-D, triclopyr and clopyralid, on nearby playing fields to treat for clover and other weeds. The incident and others like [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, October 3, 2011) A new film highlights North Carolina farmworker children’s stories about being sprayed with toxic pesticides while working in the field. Overworked & Under Spray: Young Farm Workers’ Pesticide Stories features interviews with six high school-age children about their experiences working in the fields in eastern NC. Most of the children’s [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 29, 2011) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last Thursday that it has entered into an agreement with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) to resolve a civil rights complaint from 1999 which alleged that the department’s renewal of the toxic fumigant methyl bromide in 1999 discriminated against Latino school [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 23, 2011) It’s that time of the year again for kids to return to the classroom. Unfortunately, children may face unexpected dangers from pesticides, including antibacterial chemicals, used in and around schools. Studies show pesticides can impact a child’s neurological, respiratory, immune, and hormone systems, even at low levels. Help create a [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 19, 2011) Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are exposed to higher levels of a slew of environmental chemicals – some currently used and some long banned – than U.S. children from other socioeconomic backgrounds, finds a study of elementary school children from urban Minneapolis, Minn. The 7- to 12-year-olds had elevated concentrations of [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 28, 2011) A new report released last week finds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) voluntary program to evaluate chemicals fails to protect children. According to the evaluation report by EPA’s Inspector General, the Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation Program (VCCEP) was hampered by industry’s refusal to voluntarily collect and submit information [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 29, 2011) The Edison Elementary Green Team, a group of concerned parents in Denver, Colorado asked the Denver Public School Board Monday to stop the use of harmful chemicals. The group has been petitioning for almost a month now, collecting over 1,000 signatures of concerned parents and community members urging the school [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 26, 2011) A new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics reveals that roughly one in six children in the U.S. have developmental disabilities, particularly those that are linked to environmental exposure, which showcases the need for stricter policies to reduce the use of pesticides and other toxic chemicals. The study is [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, May 10, 2011) In three new studies published in the May issue of the journal Health Affairs (Vol. 30, No. 5), Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers reveal the staggering economic impact of toxic chemicals and air pollutants in the environment, and propose new legislation to mandate testing of new chemicals and also [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 26, 2011) One year after the President’s Cancer Panel released its groundbreaking report highlighting environmental causes of cancer, the non-profit Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) released a new report, Dangerous Exposure: Farmworker Children and Pesticides. The report focuses on farmworker children, examining birth defects, neurological and behavior disorders, respiratory disease, as [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, April 22, 2011) Three independent investigations published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) have reached similar conclusions, associating prenatal exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides with IQ deficits in school-age children. The fact that three research groups reached such similar conclusions independently adds considerable support to the validity of the findings. The three [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 21, 2011) “Children Act Fast…So Do Poisons” is the message that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is sending in conjunction with the Poison Prevention Week Council to keep poisonous substances out of children’s hands in observance of the annual National Poison Prevention Week (March 20-26). EPA recommends locking up household cleaners, [...]

(Beyond Pesticides, March 2, 2011) To help protect children from exposure to pesticides, California State Senator Mark DeSaulnier joined with Pesticide Watch and Californians for Pesticide Reform in pursuing Senate Bill 394, The Healthy Schools Act of 2011, introduced February 16, 2011. SB 394 would prohibit use of a pesticide on a school site if [...]