According to the EPA, the majority of lawn care chemicals in use today are possi-
ble or probable carcinogens. A National Cancer Institute Study indicated that chil-
dren in homes where lawn and garden pesticides were used were 6.5 times more
likely to develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia than those living where pesticides
were not used.
Despite labels that indicate that treated lawns are safe for human and animal con-
tact after twenty-four to forty-eight hours, many lawn and garden pesticides have
been found to persist far longer than that period of time. As previously mentioned,
pesticides can also contaminate indoor environments when they are tracked or blown
inside. Thus family members and pets can be exposed to pesticides when playing on
a treated lawn even after the reentry period listed on the label.
Even when used as directed, pesticides can kill non-target organisms, such as bene-
ficial insects, desirable plants, birds, and other wildlife, along with their target pests.
Because most pesticides work by interfering with physiological processes shared by
many organisms, they can kill indiscriminately. Crashes in honeybee populations,
damage to wild plant life, fish and bird die-offs have all been linked to herbicide and
insecticide use.^43
Of the commonly used lawn pesticides, nineteen are carcinogens, thirteen are
linked to birth defects, twenty-one are linked to reproductive effects, fifteen are neu-
rotoxic, twenty-six may cause liver or kidney damage, twenty-seven are irritants, and
eleven can disrupt the hormone system. Pregnant women, infants, children, the aged,
and the chronically ill are at greatest risk from pesticide exposure. Pets too are regu-
larly poisoned.
A report by the Toxics Action Center on the company ChemLawn, the largest pro-
vider of lawn care services in the United States, uncovered that more than 40 percent
of the chemicals in ChemLawn’s consumer product range contain ingredients banned
in other countries. All of the products in their lineup not only pose a threat to
human health, but to water supplies, aquatic organisms, and non-target insects.^44Impact on Water SuppliesLawns and gardens treated with pesticides and fertilizers can be a significant source
of surface water contamination when the chemicals used run off into neighboring
water bodies. When pesticide residues contaminate waters, they can kill small plants
and animals at the bottom of the food chain as well as damaging some fish species.
Homeowners may unknowingly contaminate their own well water by using pesti-
cides on their lawns. Factors that influence a pesticide’s potential to contaminate
water include physical and chemical factors, environmental influences, application
methods, and other practices associated with the pesticide use. Only two of the top
five lawn care pesticides, 2,4-D and glyphosate, are regulated under the Safe Drinking
Water Act, despite governmental acknowledgment of the intensity of the effects of
their release on the environment, and their potential to leach into groundwater
supplies.^45172 | Pesticides