Portland, Oregon- -According to a report (PDF 102k) issued today by three Northwest environmental groups, the Portland 1J school district gets poor marks for its use of large volumes of cancer-causing pesticides on its grounds during the one-year period reviewed in the report (1997). The district also was found to be a much heavier user of pesticides than either of two other Northwest school districts examined over a one-year comparison period. [See chart comparing Eugene, Portland and Seattle school district pesticide use.] The groups called on the Portland district to adopt a new approach to indoor and landscape pest management that puts protection of children's health first.

"Our priorities are sadly misplaced when, despite the availability of non-toxic alternatives, we put children at risk by the widespread use of harmful pesticides to control such harmless 'pests' as weeds or sugar ants," says Becky Riley, Program Associate with the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) and author of the report. "Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of many toxic chemicals, because their bodies are smaller and still developing."

Among the report's findings are:

* The active ingredients of at least 10 of the 37 pesticide products used by the school district are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as possible human carcinogens. Cancer testing results for the active ingredients of at least 18 other products are either not known or are inconclusive.

* At least 11 of the pesticides used in the Portland 1J school district are nerve poisons.

* More than 15 different bug-killing sprays or dusts were applied in or around Portland school buildings during the review period, and 11 additional insecticide baits and lures were used.

* The district applied herbicides to the landscapes at 108 school sites.

* Other pesticide sprays and baits were used in or around more than 56 school sites.

* In addition to carcinogens and nerve poisons, ingredients in 3 of the products used by the Portland district are classified by EPA as developmental or reproductive toxins, 2 have ingredients classified as hormone (endocrine) disruptors, 7 have been listed by EPA as posing other health risks, and 7 are classified as environmental hazards.

Cancer is now the second leading cause of death in children aged 1 to 14. Rates of acute lyphocytic leukemia increased 27 percent in children between 1973 and 1990, and brain cancer increased nearly 40 percent from 1973 to 1994, according to the National Cancer Institute. "Many experts suspect that recent increases in childhood cancer may be related to exposures to chemicals in the environment," explained Riley. Numerous epidemiological studies over the past few decades have supported this conclusion by finding links between home and garden pesticide use and elevated rates of several childhood cancers, including acute lymphocytic leukemia and brain cancer.

The risks of pesticide use at school are not just theoretical, Riley points out. "Just last spring, a Portland-area elementary school (in the Reynolds school district) was evacuated and 12 children and two adults were treated by paramedics when herbicides being applied outdoors entered classrooms through the building's air conditioning ducts," Riley noted. "In an appalling incident in 1993, over 65 students and teachers reported illness after another Portland-area school (in the David Douglas school district) was contaminated with nerve-poisoning pesticides sprayed for sugar ants. The school was closed early for the year after several cleanings failed to end health complaints," Riley continued.

"Given these sobering statistics and incidents, schools must take steps to protect children's health by dramatically reducing or eliminating the use of toxic chemicals on school property. Pesticides should be used only as a last resort, when non-chemical alternatives are not available, and if a pest poses an imminent health and safety risk to children or school staff," Riley emphasized.

The groups note that the Portland district uses very large quantities of the herbicide Casoron, whose active ingredient is classified as a possible human carcinogen, in shrub beds at nearly all schools. This granular herbicide emits a continuous "vapor" into the soil that prevents the roots of newly-sprouted plants from developing. Children may be exposed to the granules or to the vapors, which are notorious for drifting or leaching off the treatment site and damaging nearby vegetation.

"Weeds and grasses in shrub beds do not pose a risk to children's health, and their presence does not justify the use of possible cancer-causing pesticides. There are many non-toxic alternatives the district could adopt, including hand weeding, or learning to design and appreciate more naturalized school landscapes," Riley noted.

The groups are urging the Portland school district to follow the lead of other districts around the country that have adopted strict pesticide use reduction or elimination policies and practices. School districts with such policies and practices include San Francisco, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids (Michigan), Eugene (Oregon), and many others.

Reports for three Northwest school districts were jointly released by NCAP, the Oregon Center for Environmental Health, and the Washington Toxics Coalition. A comparison shows that the Seattle school district, which has approximately the same number of schools and administrative sites as the Portland district, used a much smaller quantity of herbicides on its landscapes. The Seattle district also made only one-third the number of indoor or structural pesticide treatments during the same one year time period. The Eugene school district is the only district of the three that has a policy restricting herbicide use on its landscapes.

NCAP is a grassroots, regional organization that promotes sustainable resource management, prevention of pest problems, use of alternatives to pesticides, and the right to be free from pesticide exposure. Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP); PO Box 1393; Eugene, OR 97440 (541) 344-5044