[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 23 (Monday, March 6, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1170-S1171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                           PESTICIDE EXPOSURE

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise in support of the 
amendment offered by Senator Boxer to S. 1134 that would help to 
protect children from exposure to pesticides used in schools. In the 
wake of tragic incidents in schools across the nation, many people now 
think of school safety in terms of enhanced protection from violent 
crime. My colleague's amendment addresses a less visible aspect of 
school safety: the need to reduce environmental health hazards from 
pesticides.
  Because of their smaller size, greater intake of food and air 
relative to body weight, recreational environment, and developing 
systems, children are at higher risk from pesticide exposure than 
adults. Numerous studies show

[[Page S1171]]

that pesticides can pose health risks to children, such as impaired 
cognitive skills, fatigue, burns, elevated rates of childhood leukemia, 
soft tissue sarcoma, and brain cancer. Pesticides can be absorbed from 
exposure through skin contact, inhalation, or ingestion. One recent 
study showed that after a single broadcast use of chlorpyrifos, a 
pesticide commonly used in schools, the chemical remained on children's 
toys and hard surfaces for two weeks, resulting in exposure 21-119 
times above the current recommended safe dose.
  Last year, I requested that the General Accounting Office review the 
federal requirements that govern the use of pesticides in schools and 
the existence of data on the use and incidences of illnesses related to 
exposure. In January when I released the GAO report, ``Use, Effects, 
and Alternatives to Pesticides in Schools,'' I noted that its results 
underscore the lack of both comprehensive information about the amount 
of pesticides used in our nation's schools, and data on whether 
pesticide exposure is adversely affecting our children's health.
  In January, I called on Administrator Browner to task her agency to 
take immediate steps to protect children from exposure to pesticides in 
schools, including providing guidance to applicators and school 
districts on the relative exposures of different application methods, 
taking action to appropriately label pesticides that are being used in 
school environments, and consider conducting a full-scale statistical 
survey on the use of pesticides in schools to determine whether risks 
are posed to children by pesticides through cumulative exposure.
  Ultimately, these measures all would lead to better information about 
the risks of pesticide exposure to children. However, we also need to 
act now to help parents protect their children in the interim. In 1999, 
Connecticut passed a bill requiring schools to create registries of 
parents who wish to be informed prior to school use of pesticides. 
Several other states have taken similar action. However, parents in 
many states still do not have access to information about when and what 
pesticides are being used in their children's schools. Senator Boxer's 
amendment would remedy this problem by ensuring that all parents 
receive advance notification before toxic pesticides are applied on 
school or day care center grounds.
  In addition to supporting Senator Boxer's notification amendment, I 
am a cosponsor of Senator Torricelli's School Environment Protection 
Act of 1999, or SEPA, which is currently before the Agriculture 
Committee. In addition to recognizing the need for parental 
notification before pesticides are used in schools, SEPA would create a 
national requirement that when pesticides are used in schools, only the 
safest methods are followed in order to protect children. I recently 
visited a school system in Cheshire, Connecticut, that has very 
successfully implemented these methods, known as Integrated Pest 
Management, or IPM. The Cheshire school system works closely with local 
contractors, who carry out monthly visual inspections of the schools, 
use least toxic pesticides when required, and apply them after hours 
and after contacting the school nurse. SEPA would require that, like 
the Cheshire schools, schools nationwide ensure that pesticides are 
applied safely and only when alternatives have failed.
  I am pleased to be able to support Senator Boxer today in her effort 
to help parents protect their children by reducing their exposure to 
potentially harmful pesticides. And I hope that there will be further 
opportunities to discuss the important issue of decreasing children's 
exposure to pesticides in schools.

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