Transcript Make Your Lawn A Safe Lawn for Play!

Healthy Lawns for
Healthy Families
A Pesticide Awareness Partnership Project with
Acton, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Littleton, Westford
www.healthylawnsforhealthyfamilies.com
Presented by Elaine Major, Westford Water Department
and
Sponsored by the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at UMass Lowell
Project Purpose
• Raise public awareness about health issues
from pesticides
• Protect water resources
• Reduce pesticide use on a regional scale
(TUR)
• Provide safer lawn care alternatives
• Involve local citizens to develop new town
policies
Approaches
• Meet with local Boards and Committees
• Press releases and newsletter distribution
• Printed materials: brochures, posters, flags
• “Our Children at Risk” video on local cable tv
• Provide organic lawn care workshops
• Model lawns with signs
• Display posters in unique locations
Information to Transfer
• Human health effects “Our Children at Risk”
• Hydrologic cycle and movement of materials
through environment
• What a healthy lawn really needs
• Lawns and soils are interdependent, living
systems
• Integrated pest management is not the same
as an organic approach!
USEPA Definition of Pesticides
• “-cide” means “to cut or kill”
• Substance or mixture of substances intended for
preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any
pest
• Term also applies to herbicides, fungicides, and
various other pest-controlling substances
• Under U.S. law, also any substance or mixture of
substances intended for use as a plant regulator,
defoliant, or desiccant
Why Reduce Pesticide Use?
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They are designed to kill living things
No pesticide can be considered safe
Inert ingredients can also be toxic
Children and pets are especially vulnerable
They persist and kill beneficial soil micro-organisms
Alternative, non-toxic, methods can work!
Government regulations don’t necessarily protect us
How We Are Exposed
• Voluntary
– Personal Use
• Involuntary
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Air (local and global)
Water supply
Food residues
Industrial pollution of air and water
How do Pesticides Work?
• Conventional and Synthetic Materials
– Biochemical Mode of Action works to disrupt
enzymes, hormones, and/or nervous
transmission of target pest
• Least toxic Materials
– Operate physically or mechanically on the pest
for example: silica dusts, silica, diatomaceous
earth, insecticidal soaps
Unique Vulnerability of Children
• Highly vulnerable to toxics
• Absorb more toxics from their environment than
adults:
– Play close to the ground
– Hand-to-mouth behavior
– Unique dietary patterns
• Undergoing rapid growth, development, and
differentiation of their vital organ systems
• Decreased ability to detoxify and excrete toxics
• Skin is more permeable
Emerging Knowledge
• USGS study found pesticides in groundwater from
every major chemical class
• Effects to nervous system, lungs, reproductive
system, immune and endocrine systems, cancer,
low sperm counts, and asthma
• Pets: link to bladder cancer in Scottish terriers,
may be similar genes responsible for human cases.
• No research on interaction of chemicals and
human health effects
• Pesticides create an “addicted lawn” (treat
symptoms, not problems)
• Typical water treatment doesn’t remove pesticides
Human Health Effects
While effects associated with chronic, low level pesticide
exposures are not yet well understood, a growing body of
scientific evidence suggests that environmental pesticide
exposures are associated with:
• Neurological and reproductive damage
• Effects on growth and development
• Birth defects
• Endocrine disruption
• Cancer
Source: Physicians for Social Responsibility
Exposure Studies
• In humans - Dursban* detected in 92% of children
and 82% adult urine samples
• In food - detectable residues of at least one
pesticide on 72% fruits/vegetables
• In homes – 3 to 9 pesticide residues in typical
home with 70% infants exposure from dust
• In air - indoor air levels 10-100X higher than
outdoor air
• In water - 95% stream samples and 50% of wells
*Chlorpyrifos (Dursban, Lorsban), a widely used insecticide now phased out for homeowner use (Sale stopped 12-31-01)
Impact on non-target species
• Application of most pesticides results in small
amounts, often ~ 1%, reaching the target pest
(With the exception of poisonous baits which usually just attract and kill the pest)
For Example: fungicides used to control diseases
may fall on soil and inhibit growth of beneficial
fungi important for plants to obtain nutrients
2002 Body Burden Study
Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, NY
First comprehensive look at human chemical burden in blood and urine
Nine volunteers tested for 210 chemicals in blood and urine: None work with chemicals on the job
Body Burden Results
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167/210 chemicals detected*
48 PCBs
15 dioxins and furans
10 organochlorine pesticides and metabolites
6 phthalates
77 semivolatile and volatile chemicals
4 metals
*Chemicals associated with 183 types of consumer products (brake fluid, paint,
flame retardants, pesticides, floor cleaners, rust guard, hand cream,
thermostats, particleboard, batteries, gasoline)
*64 chemical functions (plasticizers, froth flotation agents, defoaming agents)
Lawn Care Pesticide Information
• ~35 pesticides are used in >90% of lawns
• ~80 million lbs of active ingredients used on >30 million
acres of US lawns/yr
• Homeowners use ~10X more pesticides/acre on lawns than
farmers use on crops (USFWS)
• Pesticides are intentionally toxic materials
• Lawn-care pesticides not tested for chronic health effects
• Many pesticides have potential to contaminate
groundwater
– Depends on chemical, soil, site conditions, management
• Safety levels are often compromises
Environment and Human Health, Inc.
www.ehhi.org/pubs/pesticides/index.html
What is On the Label
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EPA registration number
Active and inert ingredients
Health warnings
Application information
What is Not on the Label
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Inert ingredients
Metabolites or breakdown by-products
Impurities or contaminants
Known or suspected long-term effects
Known or suspected risks to children
A statement about safety
Inert Ingredients
Undisclosed inert ingredients –90-99% of product
– Not necessarily “inert”
– Can be more toxic or increase toxicity of the product
– Toxicity testing done on pesticide, not inert product
According to EPA “Many consumers are mislead by the
term "inert ingredient", believing it to mean "harmless."
Since neither federal law nor the regulations define the term
"inert" on the basis of toxicity, hazard or risk to humans, nontarget species, or the environment, it should not be assumed
that all inert ingredients are non-toxic.” 1997
Common Lawn and Garden Pesticides
HERBICIDES
INSECTICIDES
FUNGICIDES
Atrazine (not in MA)
Balan
Betasan
2,4-D
Dacthal
Dicamba
DSMA
Endothall
Glyphosate
MCPA, MCPP, MSMA
Oxadiazon
Pronamide
Siduron
Acephate
Baygon
Bendiocarb
Carbaryl
Cyfluthrin
DDVP
Deltamethrin
Esfenvalerate
Imidacloprid
Lamda-cyhalothrin
Malathion
Methoxychlor
Oftanol
Permethrin, Spinosad
Trichlorfon, Triumph
Bayleton
Benomyl
Chlorothalonil
Diphenamid
Maneb
PCNB
Sulfur
Ziram
Source: Cornell
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/issues/la
wnissues.html#Pesticides
Source:UMASS
http://www.umassturf.org/mangemen
t_updates/2004_archive/04jul22.htm
Federal Laws
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act 1988
regulates the registration of all pesticides used in the US,
licensing of pesticide applicators, re-registration of all
pesticide products, and storage and transportation
• Safe Drinking Water Act 1974 establishes federal drinking
water standards by setting MCLs
• Clean Water Act 1972 enacted to restore and maintain the
chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s
waters
• Toxic Substances Control Act 1976 requires testing, screening,
and regulation of all chemicals produced or imported
***Federal licensing is no guarantee of safety!
State Laws
• Massachusetts Pesticide Control Act (333 CMR)
regulates labeling, distribution, sale, storage,
transportation, use and application, and disposal of
pesticides in the Commonwealth. Enforced by the
Pesticide Bureau under DFA
• Children’s Protection Act acknowledges that
pesticides contain toxic substances, outlines
notification procedures, promotes safer
alternatives for use at schools
What the Law Does Not Do….
• Respond immediately to human health and
environmental issues
• Address inert ingredients
• Ban toxic materials quickly
• Protect vulnerable groups
• Address preventative actions
USEPA Re-registration
• Phase-out of the two most commonly used
household pesticides
Dursban (Lorsban, Chlorpyrifos) insecticides in pet flea collars, garden and lawn pesticides, indoor bug sprays,
posed an unacceptable risk to children because of its potential effects on the nervous system and brain development.
Chlorpyrifos (Dursban, Lorsban), a widely used insecticide now phased out for homeowner use (Retailers stopped sale
12-31-01).
Roundup is a broad spectrum herbicide is toxic to earthworms, beneficial insects, birds and mammals. It is also
persistent, only degrades by microbes not sunlight and water. Soil half life is 24 to 249 days. Detected in runoff four
months after applied and in stream sediments.
Community Trends
• Local communities with IPM policies:
Marblehead Dover-Sherborn Wellesley Swampscot
Newton
In progress: Amesbury Andover
Stoneham
• Ban on cosmetic use of pesticides:
Supreme Court of Canada unanimously upheld the town of
Hudson, Quebec’s right to legislate the use of pesticides.
Other municipalities are expected to follow.
Recently released comprehensive review by family doctors
highlights the link between pesticide exposure and serious
illnesses and disease
Information from the Massachusetts Pesticide Awareness Collaborative &/or from Dr. Sarah Little
http://www.ocfp.on.ca/English/OCFP/Communications/CurrentIssues/Pesticides/default.asp?s=1
Precautionary Principle
Shift in policy regarding pesticides by the
Canadian Cancer Society from “Cancer can
be Beaten” to: “When an activity raises
threats of harm to human health or to the
environment, precautionary measures should
be taken even if some cause-and-effect
relationships are not fully established
scientifically.”
NOFA Principles
• Do no harm.
• Grow the right plant, in the right place, in
the right soil
• Work with natural systems rather than
dominate them
• Maintain and increase the long-term health
of soil
• Avoid pollution
Organic Lawn Care Workshops
• Hydrologic cycle description and movement
of materials in the environment
• Overview of health issues
• Steps to encourage healthy soil
• Suggestions for managing problems
• Questions and answers with experts
Key to Organic Management:
Healthy Soil
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Diseases suppressed -no more need for pesticides!
Retain nutrients and stop runoff and leaching
Nutrients available as plants require them
Decomposes toxins
Improves soil structure
Reduces water use and increases root depth
Evaluate physical structure, chemical and biological
properties
Management Practices
• Test soil and look for labs that make organic
recommendations
• Get in touch with it!
• Mow high with sharp blade
• Maintain good aeration
• Leave clippings – keep thatch <.5 inches
• Water less frequently -encourage root growth
• Use organic products for problem areas
• Consider limiting the size of your lawn!
Problem Management
• Talk to your landscape maintenance personnel!
– Find out specifically what they are using and why
– Chemicals address the problem – not the cause
– “Organic” means different things to different people
• Ex. look for N values of <13%
– Ask about compost tea applications
• Alternative materials
– Organic fertilizers
– Compost and compost tea
– Corn Gluten
• Endophytic types of grass
– Resistant to insects, drought, and fungal diseases
Weeds
Low density
– Physical removal
High density
– Spray with vinegar and lemon juice
– Smother with newspaper, plastic, or cardboard
1 part + 2 parts
Indicator Weeds & Symptoms
Chickweed likes acidic soil and low OM
Crabgrass likes low Ca and specific pH
Dandelions Ca low or absent and reduce P & N
Insects-Grubs
Identify type of beetle
Milky spore (soil T >60ºF)
Nematodes (60% success rate
& apply to warm soils)
(Handout)
Insects-Webworm & Billbug
Sod webworm – threshold 1-10 larvae/sq. ft.
Controls
– Decrease thatch
– Keep proper soil moisture
– Nematodes
Bluegrass billbug – check pavement for >1 adult/min
Controls
– Reduce thatch
– Endophytic grass
– nematodes
Insects- Chinch Bugs
Chinch bugs – threshold 15-20/sq. ft.
Controls
– Endophytic grasses
– Big-Eyed bugs
– Neem
– Beauvaria sp. fungi
Diseases
Dollar Spot
Red Thread
Control:
• Maintain adequate fertility
• Reduce compaction and thatch
• Minimize leaf wetness
Rust
Diseases (cont.)
Necrotic Ring Spot
Summer Patch
Controls:
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Avoid excessive late season Nitrogen applications
Maintain balanced soil fertility
Mow at recommended heights
Minimize leaf wetness
Limit thatch
Diseases (cont.)
Leaf Spot/Melting Out
Controls:
•Avoid late season growth
•Prevent/reduce soil compaction
•Mow at recommended heights
•Use tolerant cultivars
Snow Mold
Flags to Advertise Your
Organic Lawn
Long-term Goals
• Reduce pesticide use region-wide
• Initiate citizen-led efforts to develop town
policies restricting pesticide use and
promoting organic lawn care
• Project continues after grant funding ends
• www.healthylawnsforhealthyfamilies.com
Summary
• Government regulations do not necessarily
protect us
• Alternative approaches can work – why
take health risks if you don’t have to?
• Pesticide use works against keeping the soil
healthy and creates a “drug addicted” lawn
• With this issue, we CAN initiate change on
a local level
Upcoming 2005 Events
Date
Event
Place
Time
March 5
Workshop
Jones Farm
10am
9
BOH Class
Millenium School, Rm 10
7pm
12
Guest Speakers from
Marblehead
Westford Library
10am
19
Workshop
Eric’s Greenhouse
10am
26
Workshop
Parlee’s Nursery
10am
April 4
Guest Speaker from
UMass
141 Keyes Rd, Concord
7:30pm