Connecticut bans pesticides on school grounds
20 Jun, 2007 LM Direct!HARTFORD, CT —.Over the vigorous objections of the Connecticut Grounds Keepers Association, state legislators here recently passed a bill banning chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides on elementary and middle school grounds.
On Monday, June 18, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, at a ceremony at East Harford High School, signed the bill into law.
“This law will help protect the health of more than 100,000 Connecticut middle school students,” Governor Rell said. “While pesticides are known to be detrimental to people of all ages, we must take extra precautions to ensure that our young people are protected from potential harm. Today, we take another step toward better protection of our children by reducing unnecessary exposure to harmful chemicals.”
The new legislation extends a previous bill passed in 2005 that banned the use of lawn care chemicals on preschool and elementary school grounds. The new restrictions go into effect in October, although the chemicals will be allowed for use on playing fields until July 2009. Professional applicators who knowing break the law may be fined up to $1,000, jailed up to 30 days or both, the law says.
The bill passed 140-9 in the House and 35-0 in the Senate.
Dick Tice, executive director of the Connecticut Grounds Keepers Association, remains unconvinced the law will accomplish anything positive but will instead result in a waste of money and poorer quality school grounds..
The entire concept behind the bill has been based on emotional rhetoric that has no basis of fact involved, he said. This bill imposes on the people of Connecticut the wishes of a very vocal and intimidating few. All discussion on scientific data has been ignored.
Rather than banning pesticides, the more workable and better option would have been to institute mandatory IPM programs on school grounds, he said.
Please send any technical comments or questions to our webmaster.