pesticide poisonings in schools[ & the environment]

On top of everything else to be concerned about, this one popped up today.
But, since so many of us have sensitive systems and unexplained bouts of
tummy trouble ---  it might be worthwhile to find out any pesticide
application/maintenance schedules at school and work if not provided.
I never realized how frequently arsenic-based products have been used in the
U.S. - from cattle dips for ticks to ground soil cover as pesticide.
Maine's groundwater system was contaminated with high levels of
arsenic/arsenate until the use of that poison was banned.  I think I
remember rat poison containing it and maybe ant baits.  I don't think it's
used any more tho for those things.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/331774p-283527c.html

School poisonings rise

BY PAUL H.B. SHIN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The number of children poisoned by pesticides at school has jumped in recent
years, according to a new study that measured the casualties of haphazard
spraying in and around classrooms.
The rate of American children being sickened by pesticides at school jumped
39% in four years, from 5.6 out of every million students in 1998 to 7.8 per
million in 2002, researchers said yesterday.

That doesn't count the untold number of children who may not know they were
exposed to pesticides at school or don't suspect pesticides caused their
sickness, said Dr. Walter Alarcon of the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health.

Using reports from three national toxic surveillance programs, Alarcon's
team tracked 2,593 people who got sick after being exposed to insecticides,
disinfectants, bug repellents and weed killers at schools.

"Pesticide exposures at schools continue to produce acute illnesses among
school employees and students in the United States, albeit mainly of low
severity," said Alarcon, whose findings appear in today's Journal of the
American Medical Association.

"We think there's definitely under-reporting," Alarcon told the Daily News.
"Some patients will not associate their illnesses with pesticide exposure."

Pesticide poisoning commonly goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, because
symptoms resemble flu-like illnesses, pink eye or stomach problems, said Dr.
Allen Dozor, chief of pediatric pulmonology at Westchester Medical Center.

"Little kids have very sensitive lungs and even very low levels of chemicals
can irritate and inflame their airways," he said.

In the Northeast U.S., pesticide-related illnesses spiked in 2000, rising
from 5.4 cases per million students in 1998 to 10.4 cases. It's unclear if
that was due to bug spraying in the wake of the West Nile virus.

There are no federal rules limiting pesticide use in schools. But city
public schools only use pesticides as a last resort, Education Department
spokeswoman Margie Feinberg said.

If pesticides are going to be used, "schools must provide written
notification to all parents, guardians and staff," at least 48 hours before
they are used, Feinberg said.


With Joe Williams



Originally published on July 27, 2005