Pesticide use near schools still major concern

The use of pesticides in agriculture is standard farm operating procedure and is highly regulated. On the Central Coast it’s fair to say residents and farmers need to be good neighbors. Add to this strawberries being the number one cash crop on the Central Coast, and fumigants such as Chloropicrin undoubtedly raise questions about its use near schools. Enter controversy.

Just how safe is it?

As you might imagine there is science on both sides of this issue that says its okay or it’s not okay. In Monterey County, the Ag Commissioner’s office is the permitting entity for pesticide use. Bob Roach, Assistant AG Commissioner has told me that his office monitors sensitive sites very closely and they work with growers to limit use of pesticides around schools at times when children are present. Even then, the critics question procedures citing what they call the dangers of ‘pesticide drift.’

Just this week, the State Department Pesticide Regulation released its draft 2014 findings at testing sites in California. The findings at the Salinas testing site found no immediate health risks or need for further evaluation of the 32 substances screened.

The Director of the DPR, Brain Leahy had this to say, “DPR’s Air Monitoring Program, which is based on good scientific data, shows our overall approach is working to protect Californians as pesticides are used to grow food for the nation. It is a useful tool which gives us real life data about the pesticide levels in the air.”

One 24-hour sample was collected each week in Salinas on random days in 2014. Researchers found none of the pesticides exceeded any of their screening levels and only Chloropicrin was found to be the highest pesticide detected relative to its screening level.

Seven other pesticides were slightly detected in Salinas. The rest of the substances were detected at trace levels or not at all.

But the Pesticide Action Network has a different take on this topic and latest DPR report. Their understanding is that hazardous pesticides continue to be found in the air near California schools, underscoring concerns about rural children’s health.

They cite three of the six sites used for testing in California are in close proximity to schools and have documented several different pesticides in the air, including cancer-causing fumigants 1,3-D (Telone) and Chloropicrin, and brain-harming Organophosphate Chlorpyrifos.

PAN cites a 2014 report from the California Department of Public Health which found heavy use of pesticides in close proximity to California schools. As a result DPR is beginning hearings this week to draft new rules to better protect schools, as well as encourage agricultural innovation zones near schools.

Emily Marquez, PhD, staff scientist for Pesticide Action Network responded to the latest DPR report, “Despite continued shortcomings in the sampling plan, pesticides have been regularly found in state air monitors since the program began in 2011, including cancer-causing and neurotoxic pesticides. These results should spur officials to take further action to protect schoolchildren from volatile and drift-prone pesticides.”

Marquez says, “DPR’s summary of its air monitoring network data leaves out important contexts. State air monitoring results show continued troubling levels of exposure for sensitive populations such as children. The cancer-causing fumigants 1,3-D and methyl bromide were found in the air at all monitoring sites, including Ohlone Elementary in north Monterey County’s Royal Oaks area.”

Marquez continues, “No samples were taken in the fall, when use of these carcinogenic fumigants are the highest, leaving us with an incomplete picture of what the worst exposures might be during peak times of use. The new results yet again confirm that pesticide drift is happening. They should take the latest information as a sign to create stronger no-spray buffer zones around schools and adopt innovative agricultural practices to replace antiquated and hazardous pesticides.”

The DPR doesn’t respond to comments such as Marquez’. But DPR spokesperson Charlotte Fedipe did say this, “Our monitoring data is robust and scientific. It may be helpful to remember that DPR is not legally required to carry out air monitoring but we do so because we believe that it is a good tool to help us understand whether there are trace amounts of pesticides in the air. Many states do not carry out such monitoring. We are also pleased that despite the fact that California grows much of the food for the country, the air monitoring data shows there is no significant health risk to kids, parents and the community.”

DPR’s report is for overall pesticide air quality and not for specific applications in areas around schools or subdivisions.

So let the workshops on pesticide use around schools begin.

There are strict regulations on the use of individual pesticides and the DPR’s regulatory framework for restricted pesticides also allows County Ag Commissioners to establish additional rules to address local conditions through permits. The department is considering whether to adopt some of these rules on a statewide basis, as well as consider other restrictions.

“DPR wants input from the public as it creates a statewide policy that will help mitigate the challenges created by schools being placed close to working farms,” said Brian Leahy, DPR director. “The policy will include minimum statewide requirements that clearly reflect the responsibilities of schools and farmers as agricultural pesticides are applied close to schools.”

DPR would like to hear ideas about:

Improving communication through notification to schools of intended applications of certain pesticides. The department is seeking input, for example, on when and under what circumstances such notifications should be made.

Reducing the risk of exposure by requiring additional restrictions on certain pesticides: Among other questions, the department is seeking input on is whether such restrictions should focus on specific application methods and within a certain proximity to the school.

The department intends to use these workshops as listening sessions, and gather input that will later help to craft a statewide regulation about pesticide use near schools.

DPR has scheduled the workshops in five counties to largely coincide with the school year. The workshops are open to the public.

You can attend a workshop in Salinas this Tuesday June 2 at the Cesar Chavez Library, 615 Williams Road at 3 p.m. for applicators and growers. And on the same day and location at 5:30 p.m. for the community in general.