By ERIC STEVICK and WARREN CORNWALL Herald Writers
Daily Herald, Everett, WA
Chances are that pesticides that can cause cancer and other serious health problems are being used at a school near you.
Eighty-eight percent of the school districts surveyed across the state reported using pesticides during the 1997-98 school year, according to the Washington Toxics Coalition study released Tuesday. Five of those districts were from Snohomish County.
The study examined chemicals used to kill weeds, insects and rodents but did not compare previous years. The largest volumes of pesticides were used for weed control.
"I don't think people freak out so much that (they say), 'Oh my God, my kid is going to get cancer,' " said Elizabeth Loudon, pesticide policy analyst for the toxics coalition. "But people are concerned that harmful pesticides are being used around their children, and when they find out, they want it changed."
Children are more likely to be exposed than adults because they are lower to the ground, run around on the grass more and put their hands to their mouths more, according to the toxics coalition.
Scientific studies have linked the pesticides commonly used in schools to learning disabilities and behavior problems, damage to the nervous system and cancer, the coalition reports.
School districts say they have dramatically reduced their pesticides use over the last decade.
Consider the logistical challenges in the sprawling Edmonds School District where there are 42 buildings, including 34 schools, spanning 400 acres. Nine groundskeepers and a mechanic maintain the properties. That means roughly five people are mowing full time over nine months of the year.
Paul Koehn, grounds foreman who has been working in the Edmonds district for 19 years, said the district has taken a "reduce the use" approach to pesticides. When he started, the strategy was to apply pesticides in anticipation of problems. Now, it is to analyze and react to each problem as it comes up.
"The idea is if you absolutely have to apply a herbicide on something, that you are doing it with the right thing in the right way," Koehn said.
District staff members reported that they have reduced outdoor pesticide use by 90 percent in the past several years, the coalition report said.
Loudon, of the toxics coalition, said more can and should be done to reduce pesticide use. She pointed to the use of the insect spray Rid in the Edmonds district to control lice. An Environmental Protection Agency manual for schools says, "Never, under any circumstances, should lice sprays be used."
At the Lakewood School District, maintenance workers last year dealt with ant problems with a swift squirt of insecticide, said Fred Owyen, director of support services for the district. That changed after district officials met early in 1999 with the toxics coalition and learned the sprays might pose more health risks than benefits, he said.
Now, workers will block up holes ants use to get into buildings or spread a natural and less harmful substance that repels the insects.
"Rather than going up there with the shotgun approach, we're going up there with the least toxic approach first," he said.
Loudon compared the issue to openly smoking tobacco in restaurants and public places 20 years ago. What was acceptable then is not acceptable now.
"Schools need to provide a healthy environment for children to learn," she said. School districts need to adopt policies that require the use of alternatives to pesticides."
Some schools have taken the initiative to severely restrict, and in some cases eliminate pesticide use. They are using volunteers and alternative pest and weed management techniques.
Two years ago, Columbia Elementary in the Mukilteo district became the first school in the state to sign a pledge to refrain from using chemicals and, if they are necessary, to only use the least dangerous.
Martha Lake Elementary also has been using volunteers. Parents there have been working with the school, the PTA and the Edmonds district to find alternatives to spraying.
Some districts, such as Stanwood, are taking spraying concerns into account when they design the grounds for new schools. For instance, mowing edges can be made easier by pouring concrete along the bottom of fence lines, or plants that are more weed resistant can be used for landscaping.
You can call Herald Writer Eric Stevick at 425-339-3446 or send e-mail to stevick@heraldnet.com .
You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to cornwall@heraldnet.com .