VICTORY FOR CHILDREN’S HEALTH!
OTA’s Call to Reduce Pesticides at Oregon Schools led to the passage of the first Integrated Pest Management law in the Northwest!
During the last weeks of the 2009 Oregon legislative session,
SB 637, an act to require Integrated Pest Management in Schools passed both the House and Senate and is on its way to the Governor’s desk for signing.
The passage of this bill is important because Oregon children were being exposed to dangerous pesticides during their regular school day in classrooms, hallways, ballfields and playgrounds. Dozens of cases resulted in pesticide poisoning, school evacuations and children sent to emergency rooms. The pesticides that were routinely used at schools were sometimes harsh carcinogens and hormone disruptors.