‘Tis the Season . . . for toxins
Driving north on Knoxville Avenue recently, I spotted a seasonally ubiquitous and totally illogical sight: a man striding across a tiny swatch of turf grass near a strip shopping center. Marching across the little manicured patch of green in big measured steps, he waved a wand rhythmically back and forth in front of him.
He’s one of the foot soldiers in the chemical army that descends on Central Illinois this time of year. He’s been informed of the mission to kill (weeds), but probably he’s unaware of his own environmental exposures.
Whether we live in the city or the country, we see property owners using toxic chemicals to try to control weeds and insects. By July, the battle is in full swing, but it’s a classic example of winning a skirmish and losing the war. Crop dusting planes swoosh over agricultural fields spraying pesticides designed to kill. Tractors rumble over the fields pulling boom sprayers dispensing chemical cocktails. Homeowners either hire applicators or apply chemicals themselves to their lawns, believing a monoculture of turf grass is attractive and desirable.
It’s debatable whether a perfect turf lawn devoid of life is beautiful, but what’s not debatable is that it’s morally inexcusable to expose others, especially children, fetuses and people with impaired immunity to your chemical usage.
The more chemicals are used, the more resistance builds in weeds and insects. Resistance leads to more chemicals. Research links these chemicals to illness and disease.
Industry counters that the risk is small and contained. For years, we were assured Roundup is safe and totally dissipates in 24 hours. Now the World Health Organization is calling glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, a probable human carcinogen.
Some communities have stopped the insanity. Both Takoma Park, Md., and Ogunquit, Maine, have banned cosmetic lawn chemicals on both public and private land. More communities, like Evanston, Illinois, are experimenting with partial bans.
Evidence linking human exposure to chemical drift will always be imperfect because there is rarely immediate cause and effect. Exposure may cause learning disabilities or cancer decades later. Some people, influenced by industry, contend a ban on chemical use is not justified until we have that concrete link between exposure and impairment. Other people contend the probability is convincing enough that the “precautionary principle” should apply and a ban should be enacted until more definitive science is available.
Besides lobbying members of city council, county board, Illinois Legislature and U.S. Congress, individuals can tell merchants, hospitals and schools they object to lawn chemicals. People can also cease using them at home. The 30 most common lawn chemicals all have links to serious human health problems, including cancer, respiratory problems, neurological problems and endocrine disruption.
A faculty member at Bradley University recently told me about a brief encounter with one of the maintenance people on campus who was applying chemicals. It wasn’t just Roundup but a super strength Roundup not available at retail stores, the maintenance worker said. The faculty member turned and quickly walked in the other direction.
Bradley could take a leadership role in educating students and the community about the dangers of lawn chemicals. Recognize the precautionary principle is based on science. Acknowledge it is morally and ethically wrong to continue using products that are prone to drift and are linked to childhood illnesses. Transition from cosmetic lawn chemicals on the Bradley campus to organic practices. Provide a role model for students and the community. Clare Howard