Pesticide and herbicide use is coming under closer scrutiny because we are finding that even when properly used toxins from these products end up in our bodies, our children's bodies, our pets, plants and animals around us and in our waterways.  These toxins could be responsible for various cancers and health problems for many unintended victims. There are alternatives to the aesthetic application of herbicides and this page provides some of those alternatives.  Also, this page provides numerous resources and local news links on the use and misuse of pesticides, including a sub-page on the recent adoption of the 48 Hour Neighborhood Notification Law. for Monroe County. 

Pesticides

Pesticides in the Rochester-area News

Resources on Pesticides:

Go here to find information and a description of the Monroe County 48 Hour Neighborhood Notification Law.

Other Rochester Issues:

[ energy ] [ brownfields ] [ wind power ] [ great lakes ] [ finger lakes ] [ parks ] [ food ] [ animals ] [ plants ] [ environmental health ] [ pesticides ] [ air quality ] [ urban sprawl ] [ wetlands ] [ water quality ] [ lead poisoning ] [ recycling ] [ genesee river ] [ Transportation_Rochester ] [ invasive species ]

"Pesticide use in Monroe County is sixth highest among New York's 62 counties, according to a recent report." ---DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE

A must read if you want the complete case against Pesticides and other organochlorines that have poisoned our planet and ourselves, the repercussions and why our present model of Risk Assessment does not work. Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy by Joe Thornto

Controlling lawn and garden pests safely From Mayo Clinic, this gives some good practical advice.

       Before you dump chemicals on your lawn: from Monroe County Cornell Cooperative Extension-  the WEC - Great Lawns/Great Lakes Great Lawns/Great Lakes  Would you like a healthy green lawn and learn how to help protect water quality? The Great Lawns/Great Lakes program is for residents who want  to learn environmentally friendly lawn care practices that keep fertilizers and pesticides out of our waterways.  Program participants learn about easy soil-testing, weed-free mowing, and practical, cost-saving lawn tips. Attend neighborhood workshops to learn how to use Integrated Pest Management techniques (researched at Cornell University) on your lawn. Trained volunteers will help you with soil testing and developing lawn care management plans at free neighborhood and community workshops.  Read about easy lawn care tips and information here. (there are many publications so I decided not to list them all here)  Call (585) 703-4690 or e-mail: communitywaterwatch@yahoo.com to find out more about the program and the location of a free workshop near you. With Monroe County experiencing a very high level of Pesticide Use, you should read this report by the Center For Disease Report: CDC's Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals  The Report is the second in a series of publications that provide an ongoing assessment of the exposure of the U.S. population to environmental chemicals using biomonitoring. Biomonitoring is the assessment of human exposure to chemicals by measuring the chemicals or their metabolites in human specimens such as blood or urine.

 RAMP Info: lots of information in Rochesterians Against The Misuse of Pesticides (RAMP) newsletter: Gardens instead of lawns, Fixing Conesus, Kellogg mercury, Liberated Lunches, and an update on West Nile Virus this summer. You can join RAMP, one of the most effective environmental organizations in Rochester, by writing to 10 Landing Road South, Rochester, NY 14610.  RAMP is a certified non-profit 501(c) (3) organization under Section 4930 of the Internal Revenue Code.  Contributions to RAMP are fully tax deductible.  Donations, both large and small, are gratefully received. Each one helps support RAMP in its work to enhance public awareness of toxic chemicals and other health hazards.  Donations can also be given to honor friend and relatives on occasions such as weddings, graduations, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, and memorials.

Are you being bugged by bugs, but don't want to pollute our environment? Go to the Office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and find out about: Integrated Pest Management Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic approach to pest control, not an alternative pest control method. It employs a variety of methods, and minimizes the potential for adverse effects on health and the environment.

EANY - Focus on Pesticides Archives FOCUS ON PESTICIDES - Focus on Pesticides is a series of fact sheets summarizing topics regarding pesticide health risks, exposure, and policy. --from Environmental Advocates

Grassroots Environmental Education - A Non-Profit Environmental Education Organization -  learn about the dangers of treating lawns with pesticides--and some organic alternatives.  Read Grassroots Environmental Education's "Tips for a Natural Lawn."    For a quick review, check out: Lawn Pesticides: An Unacceptable Risk or (color version)

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer released a "Citizen's Guide to Pesticide Notification Laws in New York State'. For a copy of the guide log onto http://www.oag.state.ny.us or call (800) 771-7755.  --from Times Union. 

The Neighbor Notification Law, Rule and Regulation- The Neighbor Notification Law, formally known as Chapter 285 of the Laws of 2000, added Sections 33-1004 and 33-1005 to the Environmental Conservation Law. These new sections add requirements for 48 hour notice to neighbors for certain commercial lawn applications, posting of visual notification markers for most residential lawn applications, providing notice to occupants of multiple dwellings and other occupied structures, and posting of an information sign by retailers who sell general use lawn pesticides. This law is furthered clarified in regulation at 6 NYCRR Part 325 Section 41. The Neighbor Notification Law and regulation are only effective in a County, or in New York City, that has adopted a local law to "opt into" the Neighbor Notification Law in its entirety and without any changes. As of January 1, 2002, Albany, Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties have "opted in". If a commercial lawn applicator uses certain pesticides defined in the Neighbor Notification Law and regulations, the applicator is exempted from the requirement to provide 48 hour written notice to neighbors. The exempted pesticides include certain antimicrobial pesticides, certain pesticides that meet all of the requirements for minimum risk pesticides and certain pesticides that meet the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency requirements for reduced risk pesticides or biopesticides. --from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

  Questions and Answers Regarding New York State Pesticides Program - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Welcome to the Pesticides Program's series of Questions and Answers (Q&A). This Q&A series is designed to provide information on Pesticide Program subjects of interest to the public and the regulated community. The Q&A cover a range of subjects, such as pesticide product labels, commercial lawn applications, certified applicators, and many more topics. The subjects covered in our Q&A are listed below in alphabetical order under "Topics". Please click on topics of interest to you to gain information on those subject areas. We plan to regularly expand this Q&A series to address additional questions in those and other subject areas. --from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

 Important information for homeowners: PLAY IT SAFE: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced in February that arsenic-treated lumber routinely used in outdoor playsets can cause cancer. It is the first time the government has so clearly recognized the danger of this common wood preservative. Arsenic-treated lumber is used in nearly 90 percent of all backyard decks and wooden playsets. It can leach out of wood for up to 20 years. The Environmental Working Group offers simple home tests for a small fee that can tell how much arsenic is on a deck, playset, or picnic table, and in the soil below. Visit: www.ewg.org to order a kit and for more information on pressure-treated lumber.

1997 New York State Pesticide Poisoning Registry Data are presented for the New York State Pesticide Poisoning Registry for 1997. Data from 1996 have been included for comparison purposes. Although the registry does not receive reports on all pesticide poisonings, analysis of the reports received still provides an indication of possible prevention opportunities. More than half of the suspect cases reported to the registry were considered likely poisonings with the percentage of occupational cases varying widely between the years. Review of the registry data has provided information on industries, occupations and environmental exposures that are associated with increased incidences of poisoning

Pesticide Poisoning should be on all parents mind during National Poison Prevention Week from March 20-26:  Checkout EPA: Pesticides - Poison Prevention: Lock Up Household Poisons Lock household pesticides and chemicals in a high cabinet. That's EPA's simple poison prevention message for Poison Prevention Week. EPA will observe National Poison Prevention Week from March 20-26 to increase awareness of the danger to children of accidental poisonings from pesticides and household products, and to encourage parents and caregivers to lock up products that could potentially harm children.

Is there arsenic in your back yard? Find out with our simple home test kit The Poisonwood Rivals: Order a Home Testing Kit --from Environmental Working Group | Washington, DC

From the EPA: EPA: Pesticides - Ten Tips to Protect Children from Pesticide and Lead Poisonings

Pesticides in the Rochester-area News (Please note: links below open in a new window. )

Resources on Pesticides

•  Pests and Pesticides --from NYS Department of Health 
•  Learn About Chemicals in your Home There are many household products used around your home. What do you know about them? --Office of Pollution and Prevention & Toxics from the EPA 
•  Flowers and Pesticides: Fast Facts from Environmental Media Services
•  HOME AND GARDEN PESTICIDES: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT SAFETY AND ALTERNATIVES ELIOT SPITZER Attorney General of New York State, Environmental Protection Bureau
•  Plagued by Pesticides- An Analysis of New York State's 1997 Pesticide Use and Sales Data October 1998 Environmental Advocates New York Public Interest Research Group
•  Pesticides and their Metabolites in Selected Surface-water Public Supplies in New York State, 1999
  by Patrick J. Phillips, David A. Eckhardt, Melissa A. Smith, and Larry Rosenmann
•  Pesticides Education Resources - Pesticide Education at the University of Nebraska is run from the Pesticide Education Office. Our office is a member of the Agronomy-Horticulture Department. Our office is located on "East Campus" at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) within the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), in Lincoln, Nebraska.
•  For more information on pesticide use in schools and elsewhere: Call Rochesterians Against the Misuse of Pesticides, (716) 383-1317; Call New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides at (518) 426-8246, or visit its Web site: www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/nycap 
•  Call the Healthy Schools Network at (518) 462-0632, or visit its Web site at: www.hsnet.org
•  Pesticide Use At New York Schools: Reducing the Risk --Attorney General of New York State
•  Pesticide Use By County Governments: Reducing The Risk --Attorney General of New York State
•  Pesticide Impact Assessment --from Cornell Cooperative Extension
•  The Killer in Your Yard Each time you douse your lawn with pesticides, you could be poisoning birds, wildlife, even the neighbor's kids. Here are some alternatives.--Audubon.
•  Pesticides and Mosquito Control --from the EPA
•  The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) works to protect people and the environment by advancing healthy solutions to pest problems.
•  Office of Pesticide Programs--from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  The source authority on pesticides. 
•  NYCAP New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides. The New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides is a 501(c)(3) non-profit grassroots organization committed to the elimination of pesticide hazards. Through education and outreach, NYCAP seeks to improve public and environmental health by promoting safer alternatives to pesticides, and campaigning for environmentally-sound public policy. NYCAP provides the information you need to fully assess the risks posed by pesticide use. Check out Toward Safer Mosquito Control in New York.
•  U of R Pathology Internet Resource Page 
•  Plagued by Pesticides An Analysis of New York State's 1997 Pesticide Use and Sales Data Environmental Advocates New York Public Interest Research Group
•  Pesticides and their Metabolites in Selected Surface-water Public Supplies in New York State, 1999 --U.S. Geological Survey
•  PESTICIDE USE REDUCTION. Everyday we learn more about the ways in which pesticides threaten our health. Environmental Advocates is working on a broad range of policy initiatives to reduce pesticide use and enhance the public's right to know about it's exposure. Focus on Pesticides
•  The Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) site. Explore our extensive resources, find out about our organization and work, and join us in reducing the use of hazardous pesticides.
•  Plagued by Pesticides An Analysis of New York State's 1997 Pesticide Use and Sales Data--including very specific information for Rochester. From: Environmental Advocates New York Public Interest Research Group
•  Pesticides and Mosquito Control --from the EPA
•  The final county totals for 1999 commercial pesticide applicator use in New York State. The final data is also available on DEC's website at www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/pesticid/prl.htm
•  A copy of the 1999 Toxic Release Inventory Report for New York State is available on DEC's website at www.dec.state.ny.us/website/ppu/tri99.pdf, or by calling (518) 457-4222 or (518) 402-9472.
•  PANUPS The Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS) is a free international news service covering the latest pesticide research, regulatory and other policy decisions, and pesticide- and agriculture-related activism.
•  St. Petersburg Times Online  According to RAMP (Rochestarians Against the Misuse of Pesticides) this newspaper is a great source of information on pesticides.
•  Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) - 49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA-  Phone: (415) 981-1771- Fax: (415) 981-1991- Email: panna@panna.org  Web: http://www.panna.org
•  BEYOND PESTICIDES Beyond Pesticides began in 1981 as the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, a non-profit membership organization that was formed to serve as a national network committed to pesticide safety and the adoption of alternative pest management strategies which reduce or eliminate a dependency on toxic chemicals. We are governed directly by our membership, including individuals and organizations, which elects a 15- member board of directors. In 1998, the board of directors decided that the name Beyond Pesticides better captured the mission of the organization
•  Resource Lists for Pesticide Alternatives has an extensive list of alternatives for using chemicals around your house and garden. Here you can find: how other insects, animals, safe products, and safe practices can rid annoying insects from your property. There's also quite a bit of information about what kinds of poisons you may already be exposed by common products. For when you travel, there's even information on hotels that offer green rooms. I highly recommend this site.

•  01500539 is a document from Michigan State University Extension. Controlling insects around the home is more than just reaching for the deadliest thing on the shelf. Get the facts from this useful site.

•  Chapter 8, Cockroach Control Manual From University of Nebraska-Lincoln, this seven page document explains how dangerous insecticides can be and why you might think twice before using them.

•  Rachel Carson Council Pesticide Information, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and Alternative Pest Control Learn about the dangers of pesticides on this informative site.

•  ARC The Agricultural Resources Center (ARC), chartered in North Carolina in 1976, is a private, nonprofit public interest organization which engages in research and public education on issues and policies related to safe food, family farm agriculture and preservation of natural resources with a special interest in pesticides.  Pesticides are a poison and they are a danger to Children, Ground Water, and our environment in general.

•  Pesticide Information From NPTN National Pesticide Telecommunications Network.  This site provides extensive information on all aspects of pesticides, including a database of information, and even a 800 number (1-800-858-7378) for more information.

•  Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) Home Page This is a major resource site for pesticides.  You can also find a large listing of more sites on pesticides here: http://www.efn.org/~ncap/other.html