A broad coalition of health and environmental groups are using today – National Healthy Schools Day – to kick off a year-long effort to educate policy makers and parents about pesticide applications in and around Michigan schools. Such applications routinely expose children to chemicals linked to cancer, asthma and neurological disabilities.

School districts are required by law to notify parents and guardians in advance of such applications, but many never get the message. As spring arrives, children are unwittingly exposed to these pesticides, which largely are unnecessary when nontoxic, common sense alternatives are available.

“We ask that all Michigan residents and school leaders take time to learn more about the toxic nature of pesticides associated with child development. We need a renewed effort to minimize their use around schools,” said Tess Karwoski, health policy director with the Michigan Environmental Council.

Health experts suggest parents press school district administrators for an accounting of pesticide use in their districts. They should also demand to know what nontoxic pest control options have been instituted. Such measures often make pesticide applications unnecessary.

“Springtime regularly brings a forest of warning flags telling people to keep pets and children off treated lawns,” said Robin Heller, Executive Director of LocalMotion. “There’s good reason for such warnings.”

According to the watchdog group Beyond Pesticides, of 48 commonly used pesticides in schools: 22 are probable or possible carcinogens, 26 have been shown to cause reproductive effects, 31 damage the nervous system, 31 injure the liver or kidney, 41 are sensitizers or irritants, and 16 can cause birth defects.

Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 17 are detected in groundwater, 23 have the ability to leach into drinking water sources, 24 are toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms vital to our ecosystem, 11 are toxic to bees, and 16 are toxic to birds.

“We’ll be lobbying for stronger laws requiring alternatives to dangerous chemical treatments and requiring better notification to parents and neighbors,” said Karwoski. “In the meantime, it’s important for parents to become informed and to ask hard questions of their schools and communities.”

Organizations supporting stronger laws and education to reduce pesticides in and around schools include:

Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services
American Lung Association of Michigan
Beyond Pesticides
Metro Detroit Clean Water Action
Community Health and Social Services Center/ REACH Detroit Partnership
East Michigan Environmental Action Council
Ecology Center
Friends Alliance for Children and the Environment
Leadership Council of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Michigan League of Conservation Voters
LocalMotion
Michigan Association of School Nurses
Michigan Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
Michigan Coalition for Children and Families
Michigan Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health
Michigan Environmental Council
Michigan Land Trustees
Michigan Nurses Association
National Community Development Institution
School Community Health Alliance of Michigan
Sierra Club Michigan Chapter
Southeast Michigan Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health
Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision
Voices for Earth Justice 

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