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Town Cuts Back Toxins

In an effort to protect their children’s health, residents of one California town decided it was better to spend an extra $10,000 for pulling weeds and setting rodent traps than to spray dangerous chemicals in areas where children play.

The Town Council of Moraga has adopted a “least toxic pest management” policy that has helped it greatly reduce its use of pesticides, herbicides and fumigation in public parks and gardens. The policy doesn’t ban the chemicals outright, but it restricts their use to areas such as medians, fence lines and undeveloped areas where children are less likely to be exposed.

In areas where kids play, the town has crews pulling weeds by hand, using weed wackers and mowers and fertilizing grass with organic products. The practices have been in place since 2003, and now neighboring towns are beginning to follow suit.

Pesticides not only harm children – studies have linked them to asthma and cancer – they also harm the environment when they are washed down storm drains and into local creeks and streams.

How did it all get started? When parents complained about pesticides being sprayed too close to children at a local school. It just goes to show you – speaking up can make a difference. Could your town be next?

To read more about this story, click here.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org