environments expose children to high levels of toxic substances, from industrial-
strength pesticides to harmful building and cleaning materials to playground equip-
ment made of arsenic-treated wood.
Schools and their kitchens, cafeterias, athletic fields, playgrounds, classrooms, and offi-
ces are regularly treated with a variety of pesticides. An increasing body of scientific data
on the potentially harmful effects of pesticide exposure on people and the environment
rightfully raises concerns about the broad use of these toxic substances. Children spend
30 to 50 percent of their waking hours in school, nine months of the year, making a
healthyschoolenvironmentallthemorevitaltotheirgrowthanddevelopment.
The GAO reported in 2000 that it could find no credible evidence on how much
pesticide is used in the nation’s 110,000 public schools, how often students are
exposed to dangerous chemicals at school, or what the health effects are. Pesticide
opponents estimate there are some fifty insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides com-
monly used in and around schools. Many herbicides applied to school grounds may
leave persistent residues in soil for weeks, months, or even years.^2Lack of KnowledgeMost parents know that their children are exposed to pesticides on foods. But
many may not be aware of the quantity or pervasiveness of other non-food pesticide
exposures their children encounter in a typical day, or they may not understand the
risk of these cumulative exposures. Parents may not be aware of pesticides in schools.
Many people assume that schools are environmentally safe places for children to
learn. It often takes a pesticide poisoning, repeated illnesses, or a strong advocate to
alert a school district to the acute and chronic adverse health effects of pesticides and
the viability of safer pest management strategies. Schools that have chosen to adopt
such strategies, such as an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, use alterna-
tives to the prevailing chemical-intensive practices because of the health risks such
practices pose to children and other school users.What Organizations Say about IPMThe American Public Health Association, the National Association of School
Nurses, and the National Parent-Teachers Association support effective alternative
pest control methods such as IPM in these comments:
‘‘In managing pests, the emphasis should be placed on minimizing the use of
broad spectrum chemicals, and on maximizing the use of sanitation, biological con-
trols, and selective methods of application.’’
‘‘A healthy school environment is essential. All students and staff have a right to
learn and work in a healthy school environment, safe from air pollution, radiation,
sound and mechanical stress, and chemical exposures.’’
‘‘National PTA supports efforts [at IPM implementation] at the federal, state, and
local levels to eliminate the environmental health hazards caused by pesticide use in
and around schools.’’^3114 | Pesticides