For Immediate Release For More Information:
January 10, 2001, 11:00 a.m. Audrey Thier: EA 518-462-5526 x236
cell: 413-441-9392
Laura Haight: NYPIRG 518-436-0876 x258
pager: 518-484-9401
(New York City) – Environmental Advocates and the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) today released a report on pesticide use patterns in New York City, which reveals the city tops the state for the most pesticides reported: 1.6 million gallons and 7.8 million pounds of pesticides in 1998 alone.
The regional report is a companion to The Toxic Treadmill: Pesticide Use and Sales in New York State 1997-1998, a statewide study released by Environmental Advocates and NYPIRG this past October. Analysis of the pesticide reporting data collected by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) found that, across the state, 4.5 million gallons and 29.4 million pounds of pesticides were reported used by commercial applicators or sold to farmers in 1998.
Even among this extraordinarily high amount of use, New York City stands out. Kings County (Brooklyn) was the top county in the state for the amount of pesticides reported by gallons, and Queens County was top for pesticides reported by pounds, followed closely by Kings County. Overall, New York City accounted for 36% of the total gallons and 27% of the total pounds reported for the state, while comprising less than 1% of the state’s geographic area. The bulk of reported use was insecticides, as opposed to herbicides, fungicides, or rodenticides.
"Today’s findings clearly point out the inordinate risk of pesticide use in New York City," said Audrey Thier, Environmental Advocates' pesticide project director and author of the report. "And with so many safe and effective alternatives to hazardous pesticides, much of this risk is entirely gratuitous."
In addition to high overall amounts, the pesticides reported in New York City in 1998 pose significant risks:
· Sixty-five percent of the total gallons and 23% of the total pounds of pesticides reported are suspected of disrupting normal hormonal balance, affecting everything from daily physical functioning to the fundamentals of reproduction and fertility.
· Sixty-five percent of the pesticides reported by pounds and 12% of those reported by gallons are classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as probable, likely, or possible human carcinogens.
· 47% of the gallons and 21% of the pounds belonged to the highly neurotoxic chemical families of organophosphate and carbamate insecticides.
· The top pesticide reported in the city by gallons and the 6th highest by pounds was the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos (the active ingredient in Dursban®). The second most heavily used pesticide in the city by pounds and the 9th by gallons was the related organophosphate insecticide diazinon. In recent months, both chlorpyrifos and diazinon have been banned by EPA for virtually all non-agricultural uses because of their high hazard, particularly to developing fetuses, infants, and children.
“New Yorkers are exposed to more toxic pesticides than anywhere else in the state,” said Laura Haight, NYPIRG’s senior environmental associate. “These findings demand the attention of New York’s policy-makers and the public health community.”
Environmental Advocates and NYPIRG are calling on New York City’s policymakers to address the pesticide risks highlighted by the data. Among the actions needed are the following:
· New York City should examine it own use of pesticides on municipal property – such as public schools, parks, and housing – as a first step in determining where safer alternatives can be used and reducing the City’s own pesticide use.
· The City Council should establish a Pest Management Board with broad representation, to monitor and advise the city on safer pest control practices. Similar boards have been highly successful in Buffalo, Albany, and Westchester County.
· New York City should encourage pilot programs to control pest problems in high-risk indoor settings, such as apartment buildings and schools, without resorting to synthetic pesticides..
· New York City should adopt the state's Pesticide Neighbor Notification Law, enacted in August 2000, which would require advance notice of pesticide applications on lawns in order to give neighbors the opportunity to take measures to protect their families and property from pesticide exposure.
The full report, The Toxic Treadmill, is posted on the World Wide Web at www.envadvocates.org. Regional companion reports are also available for Western New York, the Rochester area, and Westchester County, and will shortly be available for Long Island.
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