Woman Injured by Pesticides Shares Wisdom
as GOP Attempts to Conceal Pesticides in Schools

Bunny Snow 20jul01

 Xylene contributes to short term memory loss, confusion, inability to solve problems.  I know, as I was poisoned in 1995 with xylene, and back in the early 80's with an insecticide. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs71.html

 Across the USA, public and private schools contract to spray toxic pesticides to kill a variety of pests from weeds, insects, fungi and to rodents.  These synthetic chemicals can poison our kids where they spend most of their days: in the classroom, lunchroom and on the playground.  All schools, even universities are affected.  Parents and grandparents, even teachers  need to urge their U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators to save our right to know and not cave in to the pesticide industry.

 We all should have the right to know through mandatory postings which pesticide is being sprayed, where, and when.  This information should be posted in advance, in large, clear letters for all to read.  It should not be posted behind a closed door in an inner office, or be abandoned all together..

Information is the first  way to prevent pesticide poisonings.

According to the Recognition and Management of Pesticide Poisonings
(published by the US Environmental Protection Agency: and written by physicians: http://ace.orst.edu/info/nptn/rmpp.htm)

"Pesticide poisoning is a commonly under-diagnosed illness in America today.  Despite recommendations by the Institute of Medicine and others urging the integration of environmental medicine into medical education, health care providers generally receive a very limited amount of training in occupational and environmental health, and in pesticide-related illnesses, in particular."
[Source: paragraph 2 online page 1, Chapter 1, Introduction]

"There is general agreement that "prevention" of pesticide poisoning remains a much surer path to safety and health than reliance on treatment."
[Source online page 1; document page 2; last paragraph, Chapter 1.]  http://ace.orst.edu/info/nptn/RMPP/rmpp_ch1.pdf

"Pesticide poisonings may go unrecognized because of the failure to take
a proper exposure history."
[Source: http://ace.orst.edu/info/nptn/RMPP/rmpp_ch3.pdf Chapter 3, Environmental and Occupational History; paragraph 1, online page  1 / document page 17]

When I became ill from pesticide exposure during the early 1980's, my physician knew something was wrong, because I regurgitated blood, but the tests came up negative.  He could not diagnose the reason --only try and treat my symptoms.

Other people were not as ''lucky''.  They have been turned away at hospitals because physicians have failed to recognize or could not treat their exposure.  Sometimes, there is absolutely NO ANTIDOTE.  Hence, avoiding  chemical pesticides is often the best prevention.

Please, read and act using the information in this Washington Post article. 

• Action Link http://www.beyondpesticides.org/SEPA_alert.htm 

Thanks.
~Bunny Snow

School Pesticide Measure Is Attacked
House GOP Vows to Kill Senate Provision for Parental Notice of Chemicals' Use

By Eric Pianin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2001; Page A02

House Republicans vowed yesterday to eliminate a proposal, which the Senate added to President Bush's education bill, that would require school districts to regularly disclose to parents the use of pesticides on school grounds.

Senate Democratic and Republican leaders crafted the measure last month in consultation with representatives of the pest control and chemical industries, school officials and environmentalists. Supporters said it was designed to protect students, teachers and staff from excessive exposure to potentially dangerous pesticides.

But Republicans attacked the provision during a hearing of the House Agriculture Committee, in response to complaints from some pesticide manufacturers and school district officials who said it would discourage pest control and substantially add to their paperwork, costs and legal liability.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has assured Agriculture Committee Republicans that House conferees will oppose the measure when they begin negotiating with the Senate on a final version of the education bill later this week. Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee and a senior member of the Agriculture Committee, said through a spokesman that he will oppose the measure.

"Frankly, I think this is legislative overkill and will do more harm to the public health issue than good," said Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the Agriculture subcommittee on department operations and nutrition. "This will lead to some school systems deciding not to apply pesticides as vigorously as they normally would . . . and could lead to more incidents of West Nile virus, rat bites and bee stings."

Goodlatte was joined by other committee Republicans and some Democrats in urging that the measure be dropped from the bill. But Jay Feldman, executive director of the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, said the Republicans were making a mistake by trying to upend a carefully negotiated settlement that "puts the interest of children first."

Feldman said that children are "especially vulnerable" to pesticides and that low levels of pesticide exposure can adversely affect the neurological, respiratory, immune and endocrine systems, as well as behavior and the ability to concentrate.

Jay J. Vroom, president of the American Crop Protection Association, which represents 10,000 manufacturers and distributors of crop control and pest control products, also backed the measure, saying that "it ensures that parents are informed not only about the pest control products used in their school, but also about pest threats that their children face."

But the industry's support of the measure is not universal, and representatives of school districts criticized the amendment during yesterday's hearing.

Marshall W. Trammell Jr., a county school board chairman from the Richmond area and spokesman for the National School Boards Association, said it would cost his school district an additional $350,000 to $450,000 a year or more.

The measure, which was added to the Senate version of the education bill on June 19, would require schools to improve their pest management practices to protect the health of students, teachers and staff and to notify parents three times a year about the uses of pesticides on school grounds.

The provision -- which was strongly backed by Sens. Robert G. Torricelli (D-N.J.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) -- also would require school districts to create a registry of parents who want to be notified in advance of any application of potentially hazardous pesticides. The proposal is similar to laws or regulations in 31 states, including Maryland.

Torricelli said yesterday that Senate Democrats are confident they will prevail in their fight with the House. "This is an example of people advancing the cause of a special interest beyond the interest of the special interest," he said. "This measure is the result of a compromise between educators, parents and the pesticide industry itself."

source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16197-2001Jul18.html 20jul01