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What do we know about the health effects of the chemicals we routinely use to keep our lawns free from insects and weeds? Not as much as we should, considering that these products are used widely by millions of Americans. Recent figures set the amount of pesticides being used on our lawns alone at about 70 million pounds per year.
Scientific studies have conclusively demonstrated that chemicals contained in lawn pesticide products persist longer and travel farther than previously understood, and cause significant harm to humans, wildlife and the environment. Residue from pesticides used on our lawns have been found on outdoor furniture and play sets, children's toys, and in birdbaths and pools. Storm water runoff can carry lawn pesticides into local surface waters, and into our drinking water supplies. And of course, pesticides can enter our houses through open windows or be tracked indoors on shoes, where they can remain active for long periods of time.
So-called "inert" ingredients in pesticides are chemicals that make the product more potent or easier to use (e.g., solvents, surfactants, carriers, synergists, etc.). Manufacturers claim that these ingredients are trade secrets and should not be disclosed, but studies show that inert ingredients can be more toxic than the active ingredients listed.
It also appears that children are disproportionately exposed and affected by pesticides. A National Cancer Institute study found that children were up to six times more likely to get childhood leukemia when pesticides were used in the home and garden, and other research has demonstrated links between exposure to pesticides and endocrine disruption and neurological problems. Mothers exposed to pesticides during pregnancy can pass these toxins to the developing fetus with profound consequences.
Web Resources
The following web sites offer chemical fact sheets for common lawn and home pesticide products.
Beyond Pesticides - a nonprofit membership organization that works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to achieve a world free of toxic pesticides.
Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) - works to protect people and the environment by informing about pesticide hazards and alternatives, increasing the use of alternatives to pesticides in agriculture, participating in public policy decisions relating to pesticides and fighting for the public's right to know all of the ingredients in pesticide products.
Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Pesticides Database - PAN created this project to compile information on human toxicity, ecotoxicity and regulatory information for roughly 6,400 pesticide active ingredients, which is integrated with the US EPA database of information on consumer pesticide products.
Publications:
Risks from Lawn-Care Pesticides by John Wargo, Nancy Alderman and Linda Wargo, a report published by Environment & Human Health, Inc., 2003.
Redesigning the American Lawn: A Search for Environmental Harmony by Bormann, Balmori & Gebale, Yale University Press, 2001.
Handbook of Successful Ecological Lawn Care by Paul Sachs, Edaphic Press, 1999.
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Resources