To the editor:
Everyone — people and animals — naturally need clean water to drink, clean food to eat and clean air to breathe. However, the use of toxic pesticides to manage pest problems has become a common practice. Pesticides are the only toxic substances released intentionally into our environment to kill living things, but to what end?
Just this last spring I would see and hear many lovely birds around my home. I even saw a species I never have seen before in my life. After generous amounts of pesticides were sprayed around us, it became quiet. No more birds, not even one!
People need to be more responsible for the environment in which we live in. There is much information available to raise public awareness about the effects of pesticide use on our health and our environment. Whatever choice is made to rid homes of pests is just a band aid unless we address how they entered the home first.
Pesticides have been linked to a wide range of human health hazards, ranging from short-term impacts such as headaches and nausea to chronic impacts like cancer, reproductive harm, and endocrine disruption. There is more evidence all the time surfacing that human exposure to pesticides is linked to health problems. For example, in May 2010, scientists from the University of Montreal and Harvard University released a study that found that exposure to pesticide residues on vegetables and fruit may double a child’s risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition that can cause inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity in children.
Even if we know that a pesticide causes severe health and environmental impacts, including cancer and genetic damage, it may still be allowed for use. The EPA may determine that a cancer-causing chemical may be used despite its public health hazard if its “economic, social or environmental“ benefits are deemed greater than its risk. According to the U.S. EPA, more than 70 active ingredients known to cause cancer in animal tests are allowed for use. Even though pesticides may be considered safe, companies are still required to post a sign depicting crossbones, suggesting that children and pets should avoid the area.
The impacts of pesticides on the environment are well known. Pesticides are toxic to living organisms. Some can accumulate in water systems, pollute the air, and in some cases have other dramatic environmental effects. Scientists are discovering new threats to the environment that are equally disturbing. Pesticide use can damage agricultural land by harming beneficial insect species, soil microorganisms, and worms which naturally limit pest populations and maintain soil health; Weakening plant root systems and immune systems; reducing concentrations of essential plant nutrients in the soil such nitrogen and phosphorous.
We need to make our food, our air, our water, and our soil free from toxic chemicals.
The real solution to our pest and weed problems lies in non-toxic and cultural methods, not in pulling the pesticide trigger. Try a home remedy using vinegar or you can purchase a mint spray. There are environmentally safe products that businesses use for pest control when they come to your home. Organically grown foods and sustainable methods of pest control are keys to our families’ health and the health of the environment.
Rose Reina-Rosenbaum
Hillsborough
