how pesticides are undermining our children’s health & intelligence
DESCRIPTION
How pesticides are undermining our children’s health & intelligence by Kristin S. Schafer, Policy Director for Pesticide Action Network and author of numerous reports on pesticides and health, most recently A Generation in Jeopardy.TRANSCRIPT
A Generation in Jeopardy
How pesticides are undermining our children’s health & intelligence
Kristin Schafer, Policy Director
Yountville, March, 2014
Kids are less healthy
This generation is
experiencing diseases
& disorders their
parents or
grandparents were
unlikely to face.
Children’s Health Harms on the Rise, 1975 - 2011
Kids are less healthy
Developmental disabilities. 400,000 to 600,000 of the
4 million children born each year are affected.
Childhood cancer: Overall incidence up 25% since
1975; leukemia & childhood brain tumors up 40%
and 50%, respectively.
Asthma: More than 7
million now affected,
up from 2 million in 1980.
Pesticides contribute to
childhood health harms
Particularly
compelling data:
Brain & nervous
system.
Certain childhood
cancers.
Kids are exposed to pesticides
where they live, learn & play
Environments we’d like
to consider “safe” —
from womb to
classroom to kitchen
table — often bring
children into contact
with harmful
pesticides.
Kids are exposed to pesticides
where they live, learn & play
Relative to their size,
children eat, breathe
and drink much more
than adults.
Daily exposure =
cumulative &
synergistic effects
Kids are exposed to pesticides
where they live, learn & play
Even at very low levels,
interference from
pesticides at critical
moments can derail
development.
Some effects can last a
lifetime.
Schools, parks & playgrounds
Pesticides often
linger in indoor
environments
Residues on
books, walls,
counters & desks
Schools, parks & playgrounds
Of 40 pesticides most
often used in schools:
28 cancer links
26 reproductive
effects
26 nervous system
harms
13 birth defects
Schools, parks & playgrounds
Herbicide use on
playing fields is
widespread; often a
mixture of active
ingredients
Children pick up
residues on their
clothing, shoes and
hands
Schools, parks & playgrounds
Young children
explore the world in
hands-on ways
Pesticides used on
wooden play
structures and lawns
end up on fingers &
in mouths
Moving toward solutions
School districts, cities and counties across the
country are reducing use of pesticides where
children live, learn and play
Moving toward solutions
CT: Herbicide-free
playgrounds and
fields for daycare &
K-8 since 2005.
NY: Child Safe
Playing Fields Actof
2010, daycare & K-
12
Moving toward solutions
California’s Healthy
Schools Act, 2000
Parent notification
Encourages IPM
using least-toxic
controls
Moving toward solutions
Model IPM
programs:
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Santa Barbara
Palo Altowww.panna.org/green-schools
Moving toward solutions
Strengthened
Healthy Schools Act,
2014 (SB1405)
IPM plan required
Least toxic pest
management
training
Moving toward solutions
Dozens of cities in
Pacific-NW maintain
pesticide-free parks
and playgrounds
Moving toward solutions
Nova Scotia,
Quebec & 100s of
Canadian
municipalities ban
“cosmetic”
pesticide use on
lawns, parks and
playgrounds
Moving toward solutions
“Children cannot make choices about their environment; it is up to adults to
make the right decisions to ensure they are protected.”
- Dr. Lynn Goldman
Resources
panna.org/kids
panna.org/schools
beyondpesticides.org/schools
safelawns.org
sustainableplaces.org