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POISONS IN SCHOOLS (11 - 2000)
“Chemicals In School Yards, Playing field had died” ,this was the headline in a local paper that went on explaining how a contractor had applied Monsanto’s Roundup to kill weeds prior to establishing new turf at the local grade school.
Are we all loosing our minds to allow poisons to be poured onto a grade schools playing fields without any questions being raised. Who was responsible for allowing this to happen? As Pogo would say if he were here, we have met the enemy and the enemy is all of us. With libraries full of books and librarians, schools filled with educators, administrators and consultants, health practitioners, garden clubs, organic farmers and landscapers, with our large governments at the federal, state, county and town with all governmental consultants and experts, why can anyone say yes go ahead and pour poisons onto the playing fields of a grade school? Maybe it is because nobody can think for themselves. Maybe it is because as the contractor was quoted as saying “this is common in the trade.” “ Common” to pour poisons onto school playing fields.
Lets look a little deeper. How have the grounds of our schools been taken care of? Have they been being treated as is “common in the trade”, with poison pesticides and herbicides to give green, weed free playing areas? How about inside the schools. Are poisons used inside the schools because that is “common in the trade”?
What is “common” has brought us to where we are today. “Common” is to pour poisons onto our farm fields, golf courses, home properties, and yes even our school grounds.
Well here are just a few facts about Roundup that are not commonly known in our towns.
Monsanto's’ Roundup , C 6 H 17 N 2 O 5 P , chemical name Glyphosate
1- Roundup or Glyphosate can be persistent. From Monsanto's own tests glyphosate containing herbicides took up to 140 days for one half of the applied herbicide to breakdown or disappear. Residue of glyphosate were found in harvested crops that had been planted one year after the glyphosate treatment. Ever play in a school playing field? How about chewing on a blade of grass? Sort of makes you think.
2- Roundup or Glyphosate can drift. Tests done by the University of California at Davis, found that glyphosate drifted up to 200 meters (1300 feet) during ground applications.
3- Glyphosate products are acutely toxic to animals and humans. The surfactant ( wetting agent ) used in Roundup is more acutely toxic than the glyphosate itself. The combination of the two is yet more toxic.
4- In laboratory tests Roundup and glyphosate showed long term toxicity including inflamed stomach linings, genetic damage in human blood cells, effects on reproduction included reduced sperm counts in rats, increase in abnormal sperm in rabbits, and increase frequency of liver tumors in male rats and thyroid cancer in female rats.
Schools are to be a safe place for children. Parents are not sending the children to become guinea pigs for any poison manufacturer.
Don’t take our word for it, do your own research. Here are some links to help you get started.
This article was generated with the help of information found at, the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP).“The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) works to protect people and the environment by advancing healthy solutions to pest problems.” http://www.pesticide.org
"Steps Parents and Teachers Can Take to Reduce School Pesticide Use"
http://www.pesticide.org/stepscantake.html
"Unthinkable Risk: How Children are Exposed and Harmed When Pesticides are Used at School",
http://www.pesticide.org/UnthinkableRisk.html
“Pesticides in Schools: Reducing the Risks”, Attorney General of NY State
AK
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