Tackling the Toxic Problem of Pesticides

If you’ve ever faced a pest infestation in your home, you know how quickly you want the critters gone–whatever the cost. Whether it’s roaches, termites, or rodents invading your space, it’s natural to want to strike back. You want the toughest weapon you can find to beat back the onslaught of little beasties before they multiply and take over completely.

But before you go out and buy that can of Raid and take aim at the crawling menace, pause to ask yourself: Do you really want to coat your home in toxins that you can’t see and that may persist on surfaces for weeks? Are you willing to put your children and pets at even greater risk than what you yourself face from these poisonous chemicals? Are you sure the solution isn’t more dangerous than the problem?

Educating the public about the dangers of chemical pesticides and promoting safe, effective alternatives for dealing with pests is the mission of Chicago-based nonprofit Safer Pest Control Project. Since 1994 this organization — which began as a coalition of four environmental groups–has worked to reduce the risks to human health wherever pesticides are commonly used, including in schools, childcare centers, residential buildings, yards and parks and in agriculture.

• » See also: Chicago Gets First Green Jewel-Osco Grocery
• » Get EcoLocalizer by RSS or sign up by email.

The Problem of Pesticides: Bigger than You Think

What are the risks that pesticides pose? Safer Pest Control Project Executive Director Rachel Rosenberg says that the toxins in commercially available pesticides aren’t understood completely, even though these products have undergone risk assessment by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “People think the EPA label on the bottle is some sort of Good Housekeeping seal of approval, but it’s not. It’s actually illegal for the manufacturers to claim that these products are completely safe.” She goes on to explain that most people have no idea how often they come into contact with pesticides. “Involuntary exposure happens all the time because pesticides are used everywhere, whether it’s in a grocery store, restaurants, the library, a police station, or your neighbor’s lawn.”

The Safer Pest Control Project has compiled some pretty scary statistics about the health costs of all this exposure, especially to children. In addition to the fact that pesticides are the second most common source of childhood poisonings, these chemicals have an insidious effect on small, growing bodies even when ingested in small amounts. That’s because kids have higher metabolism rates and often play on the ground and put objects in their mouths. Research has also shown:

• Children have a 50% higher incidence of leukemia if their mothers are exposed to pesticides in the home up to three months before a pregnancy, during or after it.
• Children under age 2 have 10 times the adult risk of developing cancer after pesticide and other chemical exposure; ages 3-15 have triple the risk.
• Children have a greater risk of developing asthma by age five after pesticide exposure within the first year of life.

Pest-Free Without Poison?

To help eliminate these dangers, the Safer Pest Control Project advocates for the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a proven method of pest control that emphasizes simple, inexpensive prevention practices that cause the least harm to people and the environment. IPM focuses on eliminating the cause of pests by physically restricting the pests’ access to food, water and hiding places. Only as a last resort does an IPM strategy include the application of chemicals to control a species, and only the chemicals which are proven to be the least toxic available. An IPM plan can be used in many different contexts, whether agricultural or residential, and anyone can use these principles to control household or garden pests.

At its core, IPM is about coming to a deeper understanding about the biology of unwanted flora and fauna, and using that knowledge to engineer smarter, deeper solutions. It’s about shifting the paradigm from “eradication” to “control.” It’s about adjusting our mindset from “zap the bastards” with kill-on-contact poisons to “let’s out think these critters and make sure they also stay away in the future.” But changing these attitudes isn’t easy, especially in a society that has for many decades relied on chemical products to provide the illusion of immediate solutions.

Educating the Public, Reforming the Policy

The challenge of changing public perception is one the Safer Pest Control Project takes seriously, and it fights this battle on an impressive number of fronts. (Check out the list of educational resources SPCP provides, most of which are free and require just a simple registration.) As the only organization of its kind in the Midwest, it has worked with school districts and government agencies to expand the use of IPM in schools, day care centers and public housing throughout the region. Due largely to the efforts of Safer Pest Control Project, Illinois passed two laws in 1999 that require public schools to adopt safer methods of pest control inside school buildings. The organization has also worked with Chicago Public schools to produce training programs for administrators looking to implement IPM programs in schools.

In its collaboration with the Chicago Housing Authority, Safer Pest Control Project has worked to give training to building managers about IPM and to educate the low-income housing residents about how to make their homes less attractive to pests. “It can be as simple as clearing away cardboard boxes, which cockroaches love, ” Rosenberg says.

The stakes are high. As asthma rates skyrocket and more is learned about the long-term hidden dangers of all kinds of chemicals found in the products we use every day, the public debate about how to protect people from exposure to toxins figures to be a big part of the environmental movement in this country going forward. Safer Pest Control Project does amazing work to help the public not only understand the harm of toxic pesticides, but also to embrace different expectations about what constitutes responsible pest control.

Whether or not you’re convinced that pesticides put you personally at risk, you have to admire the concrete steps that Safer Pest Control Project is taking to equip the public with the knowledge and tools to make sure the most vulnerable members of our society aren’t harmed by our chemical habit. It may seem like common sense that all children need to grow up free of contact with chemicals that are designed to kill living things. But as George Orwell said, “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” Safer Pest Control Project should be commended for engaging in this struggle in such a comprehensive way.

Next week: Some eye-opening facts about the environmental costs of maintaining turf grass in yards and parks in the U.S., and what Safer Pest Control Project is doing to expand the practice of organic lawn care.

More Information

Video tips on pest control - Safer Pest Control Project

Factsheets on Least Toxic Control of Home Pests - Beyond Pesticides

Photo credit: Flickr

Tweet This Post