Legislative News Update

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.

This is a monumental achievement. Against the odds and opposition from pesticide applicators, farming and chemical groups, Oregon now has a law that requires schools to adopt an integrated pesticide management plan (IPM) that will:

• Protect the health children, faculty and staff;
• Protect the environment;
• Prevent the use of pesticides for aesthetic purposes or routine uses;
• Prioritize sanitation, structural barriers, non-toxic techniques, monitoring and
the other hallmarks of a good IPM plan;
• Require notification to parents and students and posting before pesticides are used;
• Prevent students from being assigned the use of a pesticide as part of a school project;
• Require anyone applying a pesticide at a school to be fully licensed.

 

OTA is proud to have played an essential role in the education of the public and our elected leaders to raise awareness about the importance of protecting children from pesticides and to empower them to act this year to make sure school children are protected!

Please see OTA’s report on pesticides, schools and children’s’ health and the Register Guard’s editorial on Senate Bill 637.