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June 4, 2009 R-G Editorial
Supporting SB637
Contact the EPA...TODAY!
Action Alert!
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP PROTECT FARM WORKER CHILDREN
SEND A MESSAGE TO EPA TODAY...
AND HELP THE FARM WORKER CHILDREN OF TOMORROW!
Children in farming communities are on the front lines everyday because they live, play and learn near agricultural fields. Pesticides applied to these fields don’t stay put -- they drift, vaporize, land in homes and on schoolyards. Current regulations don’t account for this reality. This issue is made worse by the fact that farm worker and rural children typically live in poverty and without access to health care.
If we can get EPA to act right now on three rule changes under consideration this week, thousands of kids will be protected!
One of the rule changes would set up protective pesticide buffer zones around homes and schools. This is the same proposal that OTA put to our state legislature in 2007 (and that we plan to introduce again!). Let’s work together to make this happen at the national level!
Join Oregon Toxics Alliance and Pesticide Action Network and other organizations around the country, as we advocate for the health and safety of farm worker children all over the U.S.
If you’d like to send a message to EPA Director Lisa Jackson directly, just copy the text below and send it in an email to: jackson.lisa@epa.gov
You can also visit our web site and read our pesticide report to formulate your own language…
Sample Letter ----------------------------------------
Dear Administrator Jackson,
Children only get one chance to grow up healthy, and they deserve to live in a safe environment, free of chemicals that derail their development. We’re writing to urge the EPA to act on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect millions of children from pesticide exposure.
Across the country, kids in farming communities face regular exposure to pesticide drift simply because they happen to live, play or go to school near agricultural fields. This is a problem that affects farm worker children first and worst – and is compounded by their disproportionate poverty and limited access to healthcare. This is a clear environmental justice tragedy with immeasurable national consequences. You can stop it today.
Right now EPA is considering several actions that address rural children’s exposure to pesticide drift:
>> Buffer zones. The EPA has before it a petition* that asks it to immediately prohibit the use of neurotoxic insecticides around schools, homes, and other places were children are likely to be. EPA should implement this common sense public health measure without delay.
>> Labeling. The Agency is also considering changing how pesticide drift is regulated. This is an excellent opportunity for the Agency to enact real protections for children in rural areas. Pesticide labels should state clearly that pesticides must not move away from where they are used either during or after application, and that applicators and manufactures will be liable should drift occur.
>> Risk assessment. EPA also recently proposed improvements to how it assesses pesticide risks to farm workers and their children. These improvements should be adopted, but by themselves they are not enough. They neglect inhalation and dermal exposure and the combined effects of multiple pesticides. This should be corrected.
EPA’s current approach fails to account adequately for the on-the-ground realities of rural—and especially farm worker—kids’ lives. Taken together, these measures would go a long way towards closing this gap.
We urge you to take swift and decisive action: Implement the requested buffer zones, strengthen drift language on pesticide labels, and update risk assessments to more adequately address the realities of pesticide drift exposure in farming communities.
On behalf of farm worker and rural kids across the country, we thank you for your serious consideration.
* “Pesticides in the Air – Kids at Risk: Petition to EPA to Children From Pesticide Drift.” Submitted on October 13, 2009 by Earthjustice and Farm worker Justice on behalf of United Farm workers et al.
END of Sample Letter ----------------------------------------
Or, if you prefer an online form…you can TAKE ACTION NOW and sign the Pesticide Action Network petition!
WE THANK YOU FOR TAKING ACTION TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM PESTICIDES!
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BEST News of 2009: Oregon House passes pest management for schools
Recent Resources
The Toxics Issue Relative to Invasive Species Eradication - What are the Concerns for Future Projects? by Lisa Arkin, Oregon Toxics Alliance (PDF file) - a lecture given during the annual meeting of the Oregon Invasive Species Council during a joint session with Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California Invasive Species Councils
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Pesticides in Our Schools (a special report prepared by Oregon Toxics Alliance) |
To learn more about our multi-faceted Pesticide Campaign, select your area of interest:
- Schools and Children’s Health
- Rural Rights and Roadside Spraying
- Human Rights
- Alternatives (IPM/IVM)
- Coalitions and Outreach
- Gypsy Moth Spraying in Eugene
(1) 2007 PURS Report
Multimedia Clips
Tom Kerns, PhD*
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Hear Lisa Arkin, OTA Executive Director, interviewed about pesticides and environmental justice on
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*Tom Kerns, PhD is a board member of the Oregon Toxics Alliance and Executive Director of Environment and Human Rights Advisory. Dr. Kerns is also Philosophy Professor at Seattle Community College and teaches online courses, including Introduction to Bioethics and Environment and Human Rights. He is author of Environmentally Induced Illnesses: Ethics, Risk Assessment and Human Rights (McFarland, 2001) and served as commissioner on the New Zealand People’s Inquiry in 2006.