Chapter 85 of the Acts of 2000
AN ACT PROTECTING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES FROM HARMFUL PESTICIDES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The general court finds that:
- the people of the commonwealth have a fundamental right to know about the use of pesticides;
- pesticides contain toxic substances, many of which may have a detrimental effect on human health and the environment and, in particular, have developmental effects on children;
- citizens of the commonwealth are being denied their right to know and their ability to make informed decisions about the level of pesticide exposure to them and their children; and
- information compiled regarding pesticide use in the commonwealth is not maintained in a manner which is useful to the public, thereby making it difficult to assess and address the potential health and environmental impact of pesticide use in the commonwealth;
(b) The policy goals of this act are to:
- prevent unnecessary exposure of children to chemical pesticides;
- promote safer alternatives to pesticides;
- ensure that clear and accurate notification concerning the use of pesticides in schools, day care centers and school age child care programs be made available so that measures may be taken to prevent and address pest problems effectively without endangering children or adults;
- promote the use of integrated pest management techniques to reduce the need for reliance on chemical pesticides; and
- develop a comprehensive, reliable and cost-effective
system for collecting and organizing information on all categories of
pesticide use in the commonwealth for review by government agencies,
researchers, policy makers and the public to ensure the public health and
safety and to protect the environment of the commonwealth.
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