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New
York City Curtails use of Pesticides
http://www.nypirg.org/release_nycpest.html
Largest City In U.S. Adopts Plan To Curtail Use Of Pesticides
New York City will lead the nation in protecting the health of millions
of
people by enacting a law today that will begin restricting hazardous
pesticide use on all city land. Also to be signed today is legislation
that
requires commercial landscapers to give neighbors prior notice before
spraying pesticides.
(New York City, May 9, 2005) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is
expected today to sign into law legislation that will top the list
nationwide in protecting the largest number of people from
cancer-causing
and highly toxic pesticides. The new law requires the City to phase out
acutely toxic pesticides and those that are known or suspected to cause
cancer or developmental disorders by November 2006, and develop a
strategy
to utilize less toxic methods in the future on city property.
The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) and Beyond
Pesticides
applauded the New York City Council and Mayor Bloomberg for enacting
this
bill and another that requires neighbor notification before commercial
landscapers spray pesticides.
"These bills put New York City at the forefront of the national
effort to
move pest control in a new direction, away from poisons and towards
prevention," said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate for
NYPIRG, a
New York State environmental and consumer advocacy group. "Whole
generations
of children in New York City have been exposed to pesticides that the
EPA
subsequently banned because they were unsafe. Fortunately, there are
safer
and smarter ways of controlling pests that are more effective and far
less
harmful than using toxic chemicals."
"The new law recognizes that we do not have to poison people and
the
environment to manage buildings and landscapes," said Jay Feldman,
executive
director of Beyond Pesticides, a Washington, D.C.-based national
environmental group. Numerous jurisdictions across the country have
adopted
a similar law or policy, including San Francisco and Seattle. "New
York City
stands out among other jurisdictions because of the sheer number of
people
that will benefit from the new law," said Mr. Feldman.
The NYC Pesticide Reduction Law (Intro 329A), introduced by New York
City
Council Members James Gennaro and Christine Quinn, requires City
agencies
and contractors to reduce their use of toxic pesticides on property
owned or
leased by the city. It phases out the use of pesticides that are acutely
toxic, and those that are known or suspected to cause cancer or
developmental disorders, over the next 18 months. It also requires City
agencies to adopt a pest control strategy that emphasizes safer
alternatives. The city of New York has nearly 100 different agencies,
300,000 employees, thousands of contracts, and owns and manages a great
deal
of real estate, including over 28,000 acres of parkland.
The Neighbor Notification law (Intro 328A), also introduced by Council
Members Gennaro and Quinn, requires commercial pesticide applicators to
provide 48-hour advance notice to adjacent neighbors before spraying
lawns,
shrubs and trees with harmful pesticides. Seven counties in New York
State
have already opted into the law, which was enacted in 2000: Albany,
Erie,
Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk, Tompkins, and Westchester.
Numerous studies have been conducted about the health effects of
pesticide
exposures in New York City after a report released by NYPIRG and
Environmental Advocates in 1998 revealed that New York City accounted
for
more than a quarter of the total pesticide use in New York State.
Concerns
about pesticide health risks also triggered several successful pilot
projects in New York City using non-toxic and least toxic methods to
control
roaches, mice and rats.
"New York City is one of the nation's first, and certainly the
largest,
cities to take concrete steps to eliminate its use of the most toxic and
harmful pesticides," said Haight. "These two bills are a major
step forward
in reducing the risk to New Yorkers of harmful pesticide exposure, and
will
hopefully set an example for other cities to follow. If we can make
safer
pest control work here, we can make it work anywhere."
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