The Nature of Exposure
Despite the widespread use of pesticides, often only limited precautions are taken
in terms of warning signs. While pesticides may be used in all parts of a school, most
often in kitchens, cafeterias, and on the grounds outdoors, staff, students, and parents
often have no way of knowing when they may be exposed.
Depending upon the pesticide, the target pest, the site to be treated, and other fac-
tors, pesticides may be applied as powders, pellets, liquid sprays, fogs, or mists, or
mixed with some sort of bait to attract the pest. In each case, human exposure may
occur. It may be at the application site or at other locations. The pesticide may be
carried by airborne drift, surface runoff, or tracking, as well as by routine mopping
or sweeping. Pesticides do not disappear immediately after application. They may
take days, weeks, or even months to break down outdoors. Indoors, away from sun-
light and soil bacteria that often help in their breakdown, pesticides may persist far
longer. Even natural degradation is not always the answer; for some pesticides, the
natural breakdown product is even more toxic than the original pesticide.
Also, pesticides are often used in areas of a school where exposure risks are height-
ened. For example, pesticides used in the cafeteria could end up in the food students
eat. Pesticides on a gymnasium floor could end up on the hands and ultimately in the
body via the mouth, the eyes, or other entry points. Outdoors, use of pesticides on
grass and plants in and around a school can unnecessarily expose children to toxins.
Chemical sensitivity may be a reaction to pesticides. Even though pesticides are
applied carefully, they can travel on air currents to affect chemically sensitive people.
Liquid pesticides are volatile and have been shown to move from the application site
to areas where no pesticides have been applied.
Surface treatments from a hand-held, compressed-air pump sprayer increase the
risk of exposure to airborne pesticides. This exposure may trigger reactions that could
be life threatening to sensitive individuals. Schools have the responsibility to provide
safe environments without the risk of exposure to pesticides. A school district may
also be exposing itself to legal liability if a child’s health problems are traced to expo-
sure in and around a school.
Each school must decide if pesticides will be stored on campus. If schools store
pesticides on campus, control measures must be strictly followed to limit and docu-
ment their access and use in order to reduce any risk of accidental poisoning. Many
schools do not store pesticides properly. It is common to find improperly stored pes-
ticides that are accessible to children in the classroom. Pesticides have been found in
sink-based cabinets, on shelves, and even on teachers’ desks. The improper storage of
pesticides is an accident waiting to happen. One of the primary responsibilities of a
school is to decide on the proper storage and handling procedures for on-site pesti-
cides. Again, legal liability lingers in the background for a school district if a child is
poisoned due to improper pesticide storage.^4
A 1999 survey of Connecticut schools found that 87 percent of the state’s school
districts that responded (seventy-seven of 147 districts) sprayed pesticides inside
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