Parental Concern

We continue to find it puzzling that parents of infants and young children think nothing amiss about contracting with 'lawn care' companies to have their lawns regularly sprayed with pesticides. It's hardly credible that anyone in this day and age can be ignorant of the controversy that surrounds the use of cosmetic pesticides. The knowledge is there that such chemicals sprayed on lawns contaminate the environment for everyone.

Children, small animals, insects, birds are all at risk of coming in harm's way because of the ubiquitous use of chemical lawn sprays, both herbicides and pesticides. Why people equate good housemanship with having a green lawn is beyond me. Why they allow themselves to be convinced that the only way to achieve a nice green lawn is with the use of harmful chemicals is puzzling beyond belief.

Some simple gardening expedients, starting with a good spring de-thatching of the lawn sets it up for future health, enables it to breathe, and for the grass plants to thrive. Invariably, the same people who contract to have pesticides sprayed also mow their grass far too short in the hot summer months, and then they're dismayed when the sun burns it. They waste water by attempting to reverse the harm they've caused and make the lawn dependent on frequent watering.

But that's the caretaking end of it. A far more serious aspect is the exposure side of pesticide use. A new survey released by the David Suzuki Foundation, authored by David Boyd, tracked data from poison control centres across Canada to draw the conclusion that pesticide poisoning is a far more serious phenomenon than previously appreciated.

Gideon Forman, executive director of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment describes the results as "shocking". "It is very worrisome that almost half of the victims were under six years old", he concluded. These are young children dependent on the parental wisdom of their lawn-adoring parents, in large part.

The report indicated that immediate effects of acute pesticide poisoning are recognizable as blistering of the skin, respiratory distress, heart palpitations, and vomiting. That's in the short term. Long term effects of exposure to pesticide place people at higher risk for cancer, neurological diseases (Parkinson's), birth defects and organ damage.

The record shows that almost three thousand children under the age of six suffer acute pesticide poisoning every year - that's as far as reported incidents are concerned. It stands to reason that agriculture-based economies like Saskatchewan and Alberta report a higher incidence than Ontario. Caused by exposure to industrial applications on farms.

Incidence reporting isn't mandatory in Canada, however, and the true figures are likely to be higher than those reported. Many communities in Canada have enacted by-laws to restrict cosmetic use of pesticides. The nation's capital is a sad laggard, toying with the idea, then drawing back from bringing it into law, and that's truly poor municipal management.

The truth is we don't really know what the outcome of chronic, low-level exposure to such chemicals will lead to. The medical establishment in Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society are upfront in warning that children (as well as adults) are more likely to contract cancer as a result of such exposure.

Another interesting, but nasty fact is that there are roughly one thousand pesticide products available in Canada which are banned in other nations.

There is such a thing as personal responsibility.

All of us make decisions, some good some not. When it comes to the health of our children, let alone that of the broader community and the environment as well, it makes good sense to become better informed so that our decisions won't have a deleterious impact on those we love.