Lawsuit draws attention to hazardous chemicals on campus
When Susan Trask was 40, she went back to school and earned a degree in ornamental horticulture at Long Beach City College. Trask has since worked as a groundskeeper at the college district, and this year she was elected president of AFT Local 6108, the Long Beach Council of Classified Employees.
Groundskeeper talks about applying chemicals in light of landmark ruling against Monsanto
The Environmental Protection Agency has said the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup and other weed killers is safe for humans when used according to directions. The World Health Organization, however, classifies glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen” and California lists it as a chemical known to cause cancer.
Activists succeed in first pesticide drift protection for schools
Students and staff still exposed to toxic agricultural chemicals
In Watsonville, where teachers have fought for years to restrict pesticide spraying near schools, a recent regulation issued by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation was greeted as a victory, but with serious reservations.
CFT accepts award for pesticide reform work
Today, as CFT members joined with coalition partners in Sacramento to rally for protection from agricultural pesticides for students, the Californians for Pesticide Reform bestowed an award on the CFT for its local and statewide efforts to make schools near fields safer.
Pesticide use reporting and training coming in 2016
At the end of the legislative session, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1405, by Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord), requiring safe use and accurate tracking of pesticides on school campuses. Industry lobbyists previously blocked two similar pieces of legislation.
Legislation would bring reporting of pesticide use
Staff to receive training, schools to develop pest management plans
Legislators are debating measures to ensure that pesticides at California schools don’t become a bigger concern than the pests they are meant to exterminate.
Under Senate Bill 1405, schools that use pesticides must designate someone to maintain a complete record of all pesticide use at the site, and submit it to the Department of Pesticide Regulation at the end of each calendar year. Current law requires only professional exterminators to report their use.
Pajaro Valley community succeeds in banning carcinogenic methyl iodide
Teachers at Ohlone Elementary School were greatly relieved when Arysta LifeScience, a Japanese chemical company, announced on March 20 that it would no longer sell methyl iodide in the United States for use as a pesticide.