CHEM

CHEM-TOX COMMENT:
The following report on lawn pesticides was written by Nathan Diegelman of the S.T.A.T.E Foundation. This report should be used by any person or organization wishing to make changes in pesticide use policies in schools, government buildings, or even neighborhood spray policies. It is well written and clearly documents how conventional pesticide applications can cause significant illnesses over time. All pesticide health effects statements have been clearly documented, making this a reputable tool for policy change and protection of public health. We highly recommend concerned citizens write "Letters to the Editor" to their local newspapers quoting important points from this report as a "first-step" in generating public concern and understanding.

Poison In The Grass:
The Hazards And Consequences Of Lawn Pesticides

Nathan Diegelman
The S.T.A.T.E. Foundation
[email protected]

As the use of lawn chemicals and pesticides has grown, questions have
arisen regarding safety hazards and environmental consequences. This report
gives factual findings to help answer many of these concerns. Some of them
may seem shocking, since the chemical pesticide industry has made every
effort to keep this information from the public. Everything that follows in
this report is documented and supported by the U.S.Federal Government,
private agencies, and other experts.

Contrary to what lawn "care" companies would like people to believe,
herbicides (weed killers) and other pesticides are not "magic bullets".
They are broad spectrum biocides, and by their very nature can harm
organisms other than targeted species. This includes homeowners and their
families, neighbors, pets, and all other forms of life. The pesticide
industry downplays this by claiming their chemicals are heavily diluted,
but doesn't mention the toxins are still extremely dangerous in small
amounts. They also are unwilling to mention all of what is in their
mixtures. Many components are classified as "inert", which allows them to
be kept hidden from the public and not listed on product labels. These are
more than just fillers or solvents. "Inert" does not mean "inactive" -
some, such as benzene and xylene, are more toxic than listed chemicals.(1,2)

Listed chemicals can be just as dangerous. They include components of
war-time defoliants like Agent Orange, nerve-gas type insecticides, and
artificial hormones. Some the Federal Government has even prohibited from
use on it's own property. Many pesticides are not safe when dry. Water
evaporates, but most pesticides remain and continue to release often
odorless and invisible toxic vapors. In areas where lawn spraying is
common, they accumulate in a toxic smog throughout the entire season. Some
pesticides remain active for years after application. DDT is still showing
up in higher rates in women's breast milk than the government permits in
cow's milk.(4) Fat soluble pesticides accumulate over time in our bodies,
then are released at potentially toxic levels when illness or stress
results in our fat reserves being metabolised.A large portion of a woman's
lifetime exposure to such pesticides is released in the breast milk for her
firstborn child.(37)

It is a violation of U.S.Federal law to claim pesticides are "safe when
used as directed" since nothing can assure safety.(2,3,5) (However,
Agriculture Canada, the federal agency responsible until recently for
licensing pesticides in Canada, routinely used this statement, adding for
good measure that "most pesticides are safer than table salt". Fortunately,
pesticides in Canada are now licensed by Health Canada.) Some pesticides
labeled "bio-degradable" degrade into compounds more dangerous than the
original. Examples include Mancozeb, which degrades into a substance that
is an EPA-classified probable carcinogen.(6) The pesticide industry also
implies that "organic" means safe and natural (for example, "Nature's
Lawn"), knowing that the term legally may be applied to any compound
containing carbon and hydrogen. ChemLawn and other lawn "care" companies
and manufacturers have often been sued for fictitious claims.(5-14) Many
applicators are just as conniving and deceitful, using statements like
"absolutely cannot harm children or pets" and "perfectly safe for the
environment" to mislead the public. The New York State Attorney General s
Office sued Dow Elanco chemical company when they claimed that Dursban
shows "no evidence of significant risk to the environment" when right on
the label is stated "this pesticide is toxic to birds and extremely toxic
to fish and aquatic organisms".(15) A few years later on May 2, 1995, the
EPA fined Dow Elanco for "failing to report to the Agency information on
adverse health effects (to humans) over the past decade involving a number
of pesticides, including chlorpyrifos (brand name Dursban)". Most of the
information came from personal injury claims against Dow Elanco which the
company had hidden from the EPA. Now it is even being found that
chlorpyrifos causes multiple sclerosis.(38)

Some companies have even made claims that their products better the
environment. "Funk" lawn care of New York has coined the phrase "Growing A
Better Environment" in order to fool consumers into believing lawn
chemicals pose no ecological harm. Another states "a 50-by-50 foot lawn
produces enough oxygen to sustain a family of four." But this is only true
with a plot of land that has tall grass and no lawn care. Pesticides,
lawnmower fumes and common lawn care practices actually create a net
destruction of oxygen.(16)

The United States General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of
Congress, has also tried to alert the public to lawn chemical dangers.
GAO's undercover team noted many fictitious claims by many in the lawn
"care" industry.(35) Many included illegal claims of product safety. Others
were just deceiving, such as the ChemLawn claim that a child would have to
ingest ten cups of treated grass clippings to equal the toxicity of one
baby aspirin. In fact, the real danger is not that people will be grazing
the lawn but that most poisonings come from inhaling pesticide residues or
absorbing them through the skin.(6,7,10)

Most do-it-yourselfers are just as ignorant when it comes to proper
protection and safety precautions. Studies show most don't even look at the
warnings on their toxins. They don't wear gloves, goggles, or protective
clothing to decrease exposure. Worse, many don't keep people off the
contaminated area after chemicals are applied. Homeowners commonly use up
to ten times as much pesticides per acre as farmers.(7,17) A Virginia Tech
study for the state legislature found that most homeowners have no idea how
much nitrogen they use when fertilizing and that they apply chemicals in
ways that damage water supplies.(18)

Pesticides drift and settle during application. In the Antarctic ice pack
alone there are 2.4 million pounds of DDT and its metabolites from years
past.(26) Pesticides engulf the home and are easily tracked inside, readily
inhaled and absorbed through the skin. They do harm by attacking the
central nervous system and other essential organs. Symptoms of pesticide
poisoning are often deceptively simple, commonly mis-diagnosed as flu or
allergies. They include, but are not limited to, headaches, nausea, fever,
breathing difficulties, seizures, eye pains, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea,
sore nose, tongue, or throat; burning skin, rashes, coughing, muscle pain,
tissue swelling, blurred vision, numbness and tingling in hands or feet,
incontinence, anxiety, irritability, sleep disorders, hyperactivity,
fatigue, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, spontaneous
bleeding, and temporary paralysis. Long-term consequences include lowered
fertility, birth defects, miscarriages, blindness, liver and kidney
dysfunction, neurological damage, heart trouble, stroke, immune system
disorders, menstrual problems, memory loss, suicidal depression, cancer,
and death. The National Academy of Sciences reports that at least one out
of seven people are significantly harmed by pesticide exposure each
year.(3) Increasingly, reports from many people around the country are
"beginning to link feeling terrible with the fact the neighbors had the
lawn sprayed the day before", notes Catherine Karr, a toxicologist for the
National Coalition Against The Misuse Of Pesticides.(7) Unfortunately,
except for industrial accidents, tests for pesticide poisoning are rarely
performed, partially because they are expensive. Doctors also attribute
them to stress, allergies, influenza, or an overactive imagination.(3)

Many Americans are developing Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), a
bizarre and extremely disabling condition. In 1979, the Surgeon General
issued a report stating "There is virtually no major chronic disease to
which environmental factors do not contribute, directly or indirectly."
Indeed, people today are exposed to synthetic chemicals at levels unmatched
at any time throughout human history. Washington Post staff writer Michael
Weiskopf noted in a February 10, 1990 article that "hypersensitivity to low
levels of toxic chemicals (MCS) is a serious and growing medical problem,
threatening to cause significant economic consequences by disabling large
numbers of otherwise healthy people." MCS is a result of the destruction of
the body's ability to tolerate and synthesize chemicals after exposure to
toxic substances. Victims develop extreme reactions now not only to lawn
pesticides but also hair sprays, perfumes, soaps, formaldehyde, and many
other common household products.(5,36) Many victims include former lawn
pesticide applicators and users, their families, and children.

Sharon Malhorta, a registered nurse from Pittsburgh, would get so sick from
lawn and tree spraying that she had to leave her home every spring.
Otherwise she would suffer headaches, paralysis in her hands and feet, and
muscle seizures. Repeated exposure caused blurred vision, speech
difficulties, and severe stomach cramps. Her husband, a doctor, suspected
early on her symptoms were the result of nerve damage from
organophosphates, which are widely used nerve-gas type insecticides, like
Diazinon. After questioning lawn companies about their products he was told
they were "practically nontoxic", registered by the EPA, and not harmful to
people or pets. He later discovered that the chemicals his wife was exposed
to were in fact neurotoxins, and was shocked to discover there were
surprisingly few EPA studies on their health effects.(19)

Karen James, a Michigan postal worker, successfully sued ChemLawn in 1988.
While walking past one of their trucks, a hose ruptured and she was
drenched with chemicals. The employee told her not to worry, that only
fertilizers were in the spray. But soon after she became seriously ill, and
her eyes and skin burned. When her symptoms of fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea,
and reduced vision didn't clear up, her doctor called ChemLawn to find out
what chemicals she had been exposed to. He was told no pesticides had been
involved, but after tests on Karen s body tissue detected high levels of
Dursban, ChemLawn admitted the truck contained pesticides. Many other suits
against lawn companies are settled out of court. Frequently the settlement
restrains the victim from talking about the incident, so the public is not
informed.(19)

For the price of green lawns, children are also being poisoned. In 1985 a
married couple in Sarasota, Florida, felt pressured by their neighbors to
get their lawn treated. They hired a company, never thinking their
2-year-old daughter would be jeopardized. The company declared the yard
would be safe about an hour after the chemicals were applied. However, soon
after playing barefoot on the grass, the couple's daughter developed a rash
all over her body, her urine turned dark brown, and she ran a high fever.
Her doctor prescribed antibiotics, but her condition grew steadily worse.
Her hands and feet swelled to twice normal size, blistered, and peeled. Her
lips turned black and bled. Years later she is still permanently prone to
headaches and has 40% hearing loss in her right ear.(19)

Barry and Jackie Veysey believe lawn chemicals were responsible for the
death of their baby son. Barry was a professional turf master, and the
chemicals he worked with may have mutated his sperm or poisoned the infant
in utero. Every time Jackie washed her husband's uniforms, the chemicals
may have been absorbed through her skin and permeated the placenta. The
child was born with a severe and fatal type of dwarfism. Jackie held her
son only once before he died due to massive failure of his underdeveloped
organs.(19)

Kevin Ryan from Arlington Heights, Illinois, feels like a prisoner in his
home. "I can't even play in my own yard because the neighbors spray their
lawns and trees", he says. Kevin suffered routine chemical exposure as a
toddler from lawn spraying, and now suffers nausea, irritability, fatigue,
and loss of memory whenever pesticides are nearby. His family moves to
Colorado every spring and fall, the peak spraying times of the year, to
keep him safe.(19,20)

In 1986, Robin Dudek of Hamburg, New York pulled the garden hose off her
lawn and used it to fill a wading pool for her daughters Amanda, 3, and
Kristen, 2. Earlier her lawn had been sprayed with chemicals. When Amanda
started drinking from the hose, she began to scream that the water was
burning her. Then Kristen began crying and screaming as well. Robin took
the children inside and noticed burn marks on both of them, as well as the
smell of chemicals on Amanda's breath. The girls later suffered from
fevers, swollen eyes, and blisters the size of grape clusters around their
necks.(19)

Christina Locek was a professional ice skater and pianist before her health
was destroyed in 1985, when her neighbor s lawn was sprayed with
pesticides. Her cat and dog died that same day, and she suffers headaches,
partial paralysis, vision loss, and blood disorders.(21) Former Navy
Lieutenant George Prior developed a fever, headache, and nausea after
playing on a golf course treated with Daconil. It was later discovered he
was suffering from toxicepidermal necrolysis, which causes skin to fall off
in sheets and massive organ failure. Prior died soon after.(6,8)

According to the EPA, 95% of the pesticides used on residential lawns are
possible or probable carcinogens.(3,22) In 1989 the National Cancer
Institute reported children develop leukemia six times more often when
pesticides are used around their homes.(3,22) The American Journal of
Epidemiology found that more children with brain tumors and other cancers
had been exposed to insecticides than children without.(3) Studies by the
National Cancer Society and other medical researchers have discovered a
definite link between fatal non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL) and exposure to
triazine herbicides (like Atrazine), phenoxyacetic herbicides (2,4-D),
organophosphate insecticides (Diazinon), fungicides, and fumigants; all of
which have uses as lawn chemicals. This may be an important contributing
factor to the 50% rise in NHL over the past ten years in the American
population. Studies of farmers who once used these pesticides found
alarmingly high numbers of NHL, especially in those who didn't wear
protective clothing. This latest finding also proves the theory that most
danger from pesticides comes through dermal absorption, not ingestion.(23)
A University of Iowa study of golf course superintendents found abnormally
high rates of death due to cancer of the brain, large intestine, and
prostate.(4) Other experts are beginning to link golfers, and non-golfers
who live near fairways, with these same problems.(8,24)

Documented cases of pesticides in groundwater wells are suspect for cancer
clusters showing in many towns. In 1989, drinking water in at least 38
states was known to be contaminated.(3) After the herbicide Dacthal was
applied to Long Island golf courses, it was detected in drinking water
wells at levels twenty times the State's safety limits. The water also
contained a dioxin that is a highly toxic by-product of Dacthal(8,19). The
New York State Attorney General sued the manufacturer in 1989 to
investigate the contamination and develop a treatment program, since ground
water is the main source of drinking water for Long Island. Twenty-two
other pesticides have been found in the water so far. However, there is
still no requirement or systematic program designed to test for drinking
water contamination.(3,25) As Michael Surgan, Ph.D., Chief Environmental
Scientist for the New York State Attorney General, and an advocate for
responsible pesticide use, puts it, "If you buy the notion that we have to
accept a certain amount of risk from pesticides to safeguard the food
supply, that's one thing, he notes. But with lawns, people are applying
carcinogens simply for the sake of aesthetics. That's got to change".(4)

Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are becoming some of the worst water
pollutants in America. Discharges into San Francisco Bay from the central
valley of California are estimated at almost two tons per year.(26)
Phosphorous levels in some Maryland streams have doubled since 1986. And an
EPA study found potentially harmful levels of nitrate from chemical
fertilizers in drinking water wells nationwide. This can cause blue-baby
syndrome , an oxygen-depriving condition in infants that can be fatal.(18)
Environmental impacts are also devastating. Ward Stone, a DEC wildlife
pathologist, has long studied bird kills from pesticides that were used
according to regulation. Documented cases of owls, mourning doves,
sparrows, blue birds, and many other songbirds killed by lawn chemicals are
on the rise. Waterfowl like Canadian geese, mallards, wood ducks, and
others have suffered even worse. In 1984 there were 700 brant found dead on
a Long Island country club after it was sprayed with Diazinon.(8,27)
Pesticide exposure causes shivering, excessive salivating, grand mal
seizures, wild flapping, and sometimes screaming according to U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service volunteer Diana Conger. Ward Stone likens these birds to
miners' canaries, foreshadowing serious harm to humans from chemical
build-up in the environment.(28)

Most people seriously overestimate the amount of protection given them by
governments regarding pesticide safety. Congress found that 90% of the
pesticides on the market lack even minimal required safety screening.(3) Of
the 34 most used lawn pesticides, 33 have not been fully tested for human
health hazards.(4) If any tests are done, they are performed by the
chemical manufacturers, not the EPA. "If a chemical company wanted to, they
could start with a desired conclusion, and skew the data, and the EPA would
never know", notes David Welch, an entomologist with the EPA's Office of
Pesticide Programs. Welch did a random sampling of 15 pesticide files and
found 13 without proper reviews.(19) One third of the most commonly used
lawn pesticides were illegally registered for use. Despite the fact
executives of Industrial Bio- Test labs were given jail terms for faking
pesticides tests, the chemicals are still on the market.(3) Shortages in
funding, personnel, and interference from business has slowed re-evaluation
of these chemicals.(25) Even when the EPA does refuse a pesticide
registration, the manufacturer often files a lawsuit, which keeps the
chemical on the market.(19) Jay Feldman, coordinator of the National
Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, is well aware of this. "The EPA
should be called the IPA- the Industry Protection Agency", he charges. The
chemical industry is extremely powerful, and wraps the EPA in red tape. It
is also essential to understand that by law pesticide registration in the
U.S.A. is not a consumer safety program.(9) According to Congress, the EPA
does not have testing and assessment guidelines specifically for lawn
use.(25) EPA has admitted in court that pesticide registration does not
ensure product safety. Rather, it is a balancing act of costs and
risks.(1-5,7-9,15,22) Most lawn pesticides were registered before 1972,
when more stringent restrictions took effect under the revised Federal
Rodenticide and Fungicide Act. They were never tested for many human health
hazards like carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, and environmental dangers.
Most, as previously stated, have yet to be re-evaluated, yet remain on the
market.

Read the labels on many lawn pesticide products, sprayed by lawn companies
or sold in stores, and you will find one or more of the following: 2,4-D,
Captan, Diazinon, Dursban, Dacthal, Dicamba, and Mecocrop. Each was
registered without full safety screening. 2,4-D is an artificial hormone
that has become a synonym for "dangerous pesticide", but dermal absorption
of mecoprop is far more dangerous, and dicamba is much more persistent in
the environment - a mixture of these three is usually used, not 2,4-D
alone. Diazinon has been banned for use on golf courses and sod farms due
to massive waterfowl deaths but is still widely used on lawns and gardens.
It is an organophosphate which disables the nervous system by blocking
enzymes essential for nerve impulse transmission.

People can protect themselves and their families by knowing the facts. If
having grass that looks more like Astroturf than living plants still seems
essential, it doesn't have to come with pesticides but is possible with
products or programs that are organic and natural. This list of
alternatives continues to grow, and they are safer, cheaper, and often work
better than pesticides.(3,5) Ringer Corporation vice president Fred Hunt
markets natural fertilizers and microbes that kill pests. "We just don't
think a lot of these chemicals are necessary for aesthetic use on
homeowners' lawns", he reveals.(7) Chemicals add salt to the soil and kill
beneficial nitrogen-fixing microorganisms that provide necessary nutrients
for grass, turning a lawn into a junkie.(29) Each quick fix of green
creates a dependence for the next. Synthetic fertilizers kill earthworms
and other organisms that aerate soil, causing it to compact and kill grass
plants. Inorganic nitrogen-based fertilizers also promote the sprouting of
weeds.(30) Compounds in chemical fertilizers also acidify the soil and aid
in breeding of some insects. Lawns need a soil pH between 5.6 and 7 or else
they turn pale and thin out. Additional doses of chemicals will only make
matters worse.(31,32) Recycling grass clippings saves money, reduces waste,
and according to Lawn Institute Director Eliot C. Roberts is equivalent to
three applications of fertilizer a year without unhealthy chemicals and
their side-effects. Natural fertilizers are also better because they are
time released, allowing grass to grow slower and tougher, requiring much
less care.

Insects have been best controlled by other insects for millions of years,
and the lawn is no exception. Insecticides often kill more beneficial
insects than problem ones. Once the natural balance is destroyed, continued
reliance on insecticides will occur. This is also true of weed killers.
When a crabgrass stand is killed with an herbicide, there will still be
thousands of seeds ready to start anew.(31) In the long run, pesticides can
actually help the very pests they target by also killing their predators,
and their use becomes self-perpetuating. Until a natural balance is
restored, more and more will have to be spent each year on chemicals, and
resistant pests may also invade. Using alternative strategies will bring
better results and be kinder to the environment. Integrated Pest Management
gives simple, long-lasting solutions which require no chemicals, much less
money, and much less time and effort. Many alternatives not explored here
can be found in the books and articles listed at the end of this report.

What makes a plant a "weed" is often only a matter of opinion. For
instance, it was once a sign of prestige to have clover in a lawn. Their
flowers and silky green leaves were once prized by homeowners, as was their
natural production of nitrogen fertiliser, and clover seed was sold by the
bushels, alone or mixed with grass seed. It wasn't until a chemical company
discovered a pesticide that killed clover but not always grass and launched
an enormous advertising campaign that clover became no longer fashionable.
As a result, people today ignore its fine qualities, even though throughout
the 1950s it was "common as bluegrass".(33)

A growing list of over 9,000 Americans are participating in the National
Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat program. By growing tall
grasses, they attract a dazzling array of wildflowers, butterflies, and
birds, creating habitats that are the aesthetic match of any manicured
lawn. Suggestions on what to plant to best attract wildlife can be obtained
from the Fish & Game Department of any state in the country.(34)

The lawn pesticide industry is a very recent creation by chemical firms to
expand the market for aging farm chemicals. These products are not
necessary for use on lawns and pose serious ecological and human health
risks that outweigh any benefits they offer. Integrated Pest Management
strategies offer alternatives that work better and have less harmful
effects. Proper legislation to protect the public regarding pesticide use
is still seriously insufficient.(35) Therefore, the responsibility rests on
the public to be the ultimate judge of what the acceptable levels of risk
will be for their families and environment.(4)

References:

1.New York State Attorney General's Office. "The Secret Hazards Of Lawn
Pesticides: Inert Ingredients." New York State Department Of Law, 1994.
2.New York State Attorney General's Office. "Pesticides In The Schools: Reducing The Risks."
New York State Department Of Law, 1994.
3."Lawn Chemical Dangers." American Defender Network, 1989.
4.Davidson, Osha Gray. "Pesticides: The Killing Fields." Woman s Day 20 September 1994.
5.The S.T.A.T.E. Foundation (Sensitive To A Toxic Environment), 4 Hazel Court, West Seneca, NY 14224.
6.Begley, Sharon & Hager, Mary. "Please Don't Eat The Daisies." Newsweek 16 May 1988.
7.Stevens, William K. "Public Said To Disregard Dangers Of Manicuring The Greensward." The New York Times 17
September 1990.
8.New York State Attorney General's Office. "Toxic Fairways: Risking Groundwater Contamination From Long Island Golf Courses." New York State Department Of Law, 1990.
9.New York State Attorney General's Office. "Lawn Care Pesticides And Safety: What You Should Know". New York
State Department Of Law, 1994.
10.Meier, Barry. "Lawn Care Concern Says It Will Limit Safety Claims." The New York Times 30 June 1990.
11.United States Environmental Protection Agency Pesticide Information Network.
12.gopher@earth1. The United States Environmental Protection Agency Internet Server. EPA WAIS Gateway.
13.fedworld.gov. The United States Government Internet Database.
14.www.whitehouse.gov. The White House WWW
Server. Executive Branch.
15.Raver, Anne. "Fertilizing Your Lawn? Look Before You Leap." The New York Times 24 April 1994.
16.Fischer, Aldeheid. "Grass Is Not Always Greener: Reasons Not To Love Lawns." Utne Reader
September/October 1990.
17.New York State Department Of Environmental Conservation, Pest Control.
18.Cohn, D Vera. "The Chemical Quest For The Perfect Lawn: Pesticide, Fertilizer Runoff Ending Up In Area's Water
Supply." The Washington Post 28 April 1991.
19.Sayan, Kathyrne. "The Pesticide Scandal." Family Circle 2 April 1991.
20.Associated Press. "Lawn Care Chemicals Raise Health Concerns: GAO Faults EPA On Commercial Regulation." The Washington Post 31 May 1990.
21.Skow, John. "Can Lawns Be Justified?" TIME Magazine 3 June 1991.
22."Warning: The Use Of Pesticides May Be Hazardous To Your Health". American Cancer Society, Erie County Branch.
23.Zahm, Sheila and Aaron Blair. "Pesticides and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma." Cancer Research 1 October 1992.
24.Associated Press. "Lawn Herbicide Called Cancer Risk For Dogs." The New York Times 4 September, 1991.
25.United States Congress General Accounting Office. "Lawn Care Pesticides: Reregistration Falls Further Behind and Exposure Effects Are Uncertain." GAO/RCED-93-80, Washington, DC: April 1993.
26.Rudd, Robert C. "Pesticides." Encyclopedia Americana 1990.
27.Hershenson, Roberta. "Study Finds Use of Some 'Safe' Pesticides Harmful." The New York Times 14 April, 1985.
28.Levy, Claudia. "Pretty Lawns May Be Lethal For Songbirds: Pesticides Blamed For Toll On Wildlife." The Washington Post 28 April 1991.
29.Polk, Nancy. "The Perfect Lawn Isn't Always Green." The New York Times 17 October 1990.
30.Findlay, Steven & Terry Thompson. "Watch That Weed Killer." US News & World Report 16 September 1991.
31.Henkenius, Merle & Eugene Thompson. "Natural Lawn Care." Popular Mechanics July 1993.
32."The Green Way To A Green Lawn." Consumer Reports June 1990.
33.Schultz, W. "The Chemical Free Lawn." Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1989.
34.Glastris, Kukula. "Letting The Lawn Run Wild." US News & World Report 27 August 1990.
35.United States General Accounting Office. "Lawn Care Pesticides: Risks
Remain Uncertain While Prohibited Safety Claims Continue." GAO/RCED-90-134. Washington, DC: March 1990.
36.Bartle, Hazel. "Quiet Sufferers of the Silent Spring". New Scientist 18 May 1991.
37.International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes. "Selected Persistent Toxic Substances in Human Breast Milk in the Great Lakes Basin". March 1990.
38.Arch.Env.Health, 48:89 (1993)
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Joyce Shepard, CSW
Citizens' Action Committee for Change
E-Mail: [email protected]
Telephone: 718-279-2069
Facsimile: 718-279-3281