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California Assembly & Senate Say NO to Experimentation On K - 12 Public School Kids!
"Kids go to school to learn, not to die"
Nicholas Baker
Nicholas Baker
Los Angeles, CA - Elected officials get slammed too often. Working out of public view, deciphering interests ranging from moms to manufacturers, they create the laws of our state. When they do something right, as the California Assembly did this last session, they deserve credit.
After months of meetings and Committee hearings, AB 405 passed the California Assembly, and the Senate and sits now on the Governor's desk this waiting for his signature.
This bill is short in word count but its protective power is enormous. AB
405 would close a loophole that permits experimental pesticides to be used
at K-12 public school sites. Experimental pesticides are those whose full health effects are unknown. For example, these products may lack studies showing Metabolic, Mechanistic, Residue, Risk Assessment, Leaching, Dosage, Application, and Resistance information that is significant to the health of children, teachers, and all school employees. This bill allows products, which have been fully registered to continue to be used for their original registered uses, but makes sure that, as happens now, kids no longer can be treated as human experiments.
Is it legal to expose kids to untested toxins? Absolutely! And until AB 405 becomes law, it will stay that way. Currently, California allows pesticide products without full registration and missing health data to be applied on school sites, which may expose school children, teachers, and other members of the public to unreasonable and unknown health risks.
Historically, pesticide products that have conditional registration or experimental use permits have been sold and used for years without completing outstanding data requirements. Missing data typically includes information about metabolic impacts, mechanistic properties, the fate of residue, risk assessment, efficacy, leaching, stability, receptor dosage, application, and resistance studies. In this case, what you don't know can certainly hurt you.
AB 405 , authored by Assemblymember Cindy Montanez and sponsored by California Safe Schools, a children's environmental health organization, closes that loophole. Additionally, the bill prohibits the use of pesticide products on school sites for which registration has been canceled, suspended, or marked for phase out of use.
The dread we all feel about increasing numbers of cancer, asthma, learning disabilities, and birth defects has triggered a movement for proactive health measures. Because of their constantly developing physiology, children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to the damage of chemical exposures.
Aside from disrupting the immune and reproductive systems, kids can be impacted neurologically- ironically harming their ability to learn in the institution they are sent to be educated. The fact that threshold levels of pesticide exposure and health studies are currently based solely on an adult male of approximately 160 pounds underscores that children are counting on adults to protect them. So far, we are failing.
The bill's long list of endorsers include the California Medical Association, California State PTA, California School Boards Association, California Teachers Association, Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America, Los Angeles Unified, Learning & Disabilities Association of America, Sierra Club, California League of Conservation Voters, and the Environmental Health and Environmental Justice Community. While the recent victories of AB 405 are encouraging, the battle is not over.
Even with more than hundreds of chemical products available in this bill to
address all health and safety emergencies, no financial impact to school districts or industry, the Governor's office is already hearing from a brigade of chemical industry lobbyists.
The only hope for our children, teachers and school employees is that the Governor hears from you too.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
For further information:
Robina Suwol
Executive Director
California Safe Schools
http://www.calisafe.org
818-785-5515
See also:
After months of meetings and Committee hearings, AB 405 passed the California Assembly, and the Senate and sits now on the Governor's desk this waiting for his signature.
This bill is short in word count but its protective power is enormous. AB
405 would close a loophole that permits experimental pesticides to be used
at K-12 public school sites. Experimental pesticides are those whose full health effects are unknown. For example, these products may lack studies showing Metabolic, Mechanistic, Residue, Risk Assessment, Leaching, Dosage, Application, and Resistance information that is significant to the health of children, teachers, and all school employees. This bill allows products, which have been fully registered to continue to be used for their original registered uses, but makes sure that, as happens now, kids no longer can be treated as human experiments.
Is it legal to expose kids to untested toxins? Absolutely! And until AB 405 becomes law, it will stay that way. Currently, California allows pesticide products without full registration and missing health data to be applied on school sites, which may expose school children, teachers, and other members of the public to unreasonable and unknown health risks.
Historically, pesticide products that have conditional registration or experimental use permits have been sold and used for years without completing outstanding data requirements. Missing data typically includes information about metabolic impacts, mechanistic properties, the fate of residue, risk assessment, efficacy, leaching, stability, receptor dosage, application, and resistance studies. In this case, what you don't know can certainly hurt you.
AB 405 , authored by Assemblymember Cindy Montanez and sponsored by California Safe Schools, a children's environmental health organization, closes that loophole. Additionally, the bill prohibits the use of pesticide products on school sites for which registration has been canceled, suspended, or marked for phase out of use.
The dread we all feel about increasing numbers of cancer, asthma, learning disabilities, and birth defects has triggered a movement for proactive health measures. Because of their constantly developing physiology, children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to the damage of chemical exposures.
Aside from disrupting the immune and reproductive systems, kids can be impacted neurologically- ironically harming their ability to learn in the institution they are sent to be educated. The fact that threshold levels of pesticide exposure and health studies are currently based solely on an adult male of approximately 160 pounds underscores that children are counting on adults to protect them. So far, we are failing.
The bill's long list of endorsers include the California Medical Association, California State PTA, California School Boards Association, California Teachers Association, Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America, Los Angeles Unified, Learning & Disabilities Association of America, Sierra Club, California League of Conservation Voters, and the Environmental Health and Environmental Justice Community. While the recent victories of AB 405 are encouraging, the battle is not over.
Even with more than hundreds of chemical products available in this bill to
address all health and safety emergencies, no financial impact to school districts or industry, the Governor's office is already hearing from a brigade of chemical industry lobbyists.
The only hope for our children, teachers and school employees is that the Governor hears from you too.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633
For further information:
Robina Suwol
Executive Director
California Safe Schools
http://www.calisafe.org
818-785-5515
See also:
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