Recently, there was a rally hosted by the Coalition for a
Safe and Healthy CT , at the State Capitol in Hartford . Among the participants was a couple
who were handing out a flyer. The flyer said:
Google: “Beware of the little flags on the
lawn.” Murphy, our therapy dog, died last year on his 6th birthday
due to second-hand pesticides and herbicides used by our neighbor.
The couple described how their beloved dog was exposed to an
herbicide which their neighbor had sprayed along their fence line, to kill
weeds, and how that herbicide had traveled through the air, and into their
yard. When they asked their vet why
their dog had gotten cancer at such a young age, the veterinarian replied, “Was
your dog exposed to lawn pesticides?”
This was the same question Senator Ed Meyer, co-chair of the CT
Legislature’s Environment Committee was asked, by his veterinarian, when his
dog died from cancer.
Would a pediatrician ask a grieving parent, who’s child was
diagnosed with leukemia or non-Hodgkin' s lymphoma: “Did your child play sports
on chemically treated fields?” or “Have you used toxic chemicals, such as
pesticides, on your lawn to make it beautiful?” Probably not. But, numerous
studies have linked the 30 commonly used lawn pesticides with serious health
effects.
19 studies link these pesticides with cancer, 13 with birth
defects, 21 with reproductive
problems, and 15 with neurotoxicity or abnormal brain
development, 26 with liver and kidney damage, 27 are sensitizers or irritants,
and 11 have the potential to disrupt the endocrine (hormones) system. Additional studies have linked these
pesticides with hyperactivity, developmental delays, behavioral disorders and
motor dysfunction. Children are particularly vulnerable because their bodies
are developing so quickly, their close proximity to the ground, and their
smaller size and lower body weight in relation to the amount of chemicals they
are exposed to. When children play hard, running fast, they are breathing
deeply and more quickly, increasing the amount of toxic chemicals inhaled. When they fall on the field, their exposed
skin absorbs the pesticides. These toxins go directly into the bloodstream. These toxins have been found in the blood of
pregnant women, fetal cord blood, and in urine tests done on young children as
well as adults.
When you walk or drive around this spring, observe all the
little yellow signs displayed on the pristine lawns, and perhaps for the first
time, you will ask yourself: “is it really worth it?”
