Children s advocacy and environmental groups, physicians, pest control companies, parents, students and teachers joined the Senators in calling for passage of the legislation. The authors and supporters, including groups representing physicians, parents, teachers, environmentalists and children, say increased protected is warranted because lax federal law and heightened sensitivity of children to pesticides used in their learning environment. The report found that the EPA has failed to adopt standards necessary to protect children. Children, due to their small size, greater intake of air and food relative to body weight, developing organ systems and other unique characteristics, are at higher risk than adults to pesticides. Numerous studies document that children exposed to pesticides suffer elevated rates of childhood leukemia, soft tissue sarcoma and brain cancer.
Studies link pesticides to childhood asthma and respiratory problems.
Scientists increasingly associate learning disabilities or attention deficit disorders with low level toxic exposure because of their affect on the central nervous system. IPM relies on a combination of methods that address sanitation, structural repair, mechanical measures, biological controls and other non-chemical methods inside buildings and additional approaches for turf and ornamental plant management that build healthy soil and natural resistance to pests. Excludes from use in schools pesticides that are determined by the Environmental Protection Agency to cause cancer, mutations, birth defects, reproductive dysfunction, neurological and immune system effects, endocrine system disruption, and those pesticides rated as acutely and moderately toxic. Allows a school, after utilizing IPM and least toxic pesticides, to determine that a pest cannot be controlled using acceptable materials and to use conventional pesticides, provided that the school staff and parents of children in the school are notified 72 hours prior to use of the pesticide. In addition to the notices, signs must be posted in advance of a pesticide application and remain in place after the pesticide application.