After Chemlawn approached us a couple of years ago, I did some research on residential lawn chemicals. What I found is alarming:
According to the federal government, 95% of the compounds used in lawn care are known or suspected carcinogens. Pesticides and herbicides attack the central nervous system and other organs; the symptoms of toxicity mimic flu and allergies, and are often misdiagnosed. Pesticides and herbicides get tracked indoors and persist for years. The danger is not in eating or drinking them but in absorbing them through your skin. That means any surface they settle on in your home can be a hazard to you and your family—especially to your children.
Children, fetuses, and old people are most vulnerable to damage from exposure to pesticides. And the links between pesticide use and serious diseases—asthma, cancers, immune system disorders, and others—is well documented. Here are just a few examples:
· Studies by the National Cancer Institute found that children are six times more likely to develop leukemia when pesticides are used around their homes. Children have a 50% higher incidence of leukemia if their mothers are exposed to pesticides in the home up to three months before, or during, pregnancy.
· The Journal of Epidemiology reports that more children with brain tumors had been exposed to pesticides than children without tumors. Children under age 2 have 10 times the adult risk of developing cancer after exposure to pesticides and other chemicals; ages 3-15 have triple the risk.
· Children have been found to have a greater risk of developing asthma by age five after pesticide exposure within the first year of life.
· Several studies have concluded that pesticide exposure reduces human fertility and male sperm counts, and may be linked to miscarriages.
Wisconsin requires applicators to post little white warning signs on treated lawns, but toddlers and pets can’t read them. Besides, you don’t need to roll around on a freshly treated lawn to be at risk. The toxins get tracked indoors from sidewalks, driveways, and lawns, and remain toxic for months or longer. And in areas where lawn treatment is common, studies have found that pesticides form a toxic smog that persists for weeks or months.
The poisons you put on your lawn have not been “tested and proven safe,” as some lawn care companies claim, and as many homeowners believe. A recent Congressional study concluded that of the 33 most popular lawn pesticides, only
one has been fully tested for human health hazards. The study also concluded that 90% of the pesticides on the market today have
never been subjected to even minimal safety tests, or to any tests for carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, or environmental dangers.
The lawn care companies don’t want you to know any of this. They say a green lawn provides oxygen, but pesticides actually deplete oxygen. They tell you their products are “organic;” legally, they can describe as “organic” any compound that contains hydrogen and carbon. They tell you their products are safe for the environment. But if you read the product labels—if you are allowed to read them—you’ll find many stating clearly that their contents are toxic to birds, fish, and aquatic organisms. The EPA estimates that 7 million songbirds die each year from pesticide exposure.
Many common ingredients are listed as “inert,” but “inert” doesn’t mean “inactive” and some inert ingredients are more toxic than the “active” ingredients. Companies call their products “biodegradable,” but some of their products degrade into compounds that are even more toxic.
Pesticides are becoming one of the worst environmental pollutants in the U.S., poisoning streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, and wells. Many Americans are developing a strange and very disabling condition called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) that is sickening large numbers of otherwise healthy people.
Is having a pristine, weed-free lawn really worth poisoning yourself, your family, and your neighbors?
And your lawn? Ironically, the chemicals your lawn treatment company uses can actually do your turf more harm than good. They deplete or destroy many of the natural compounds and organisms that help keep your lawn healthy. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture reports that lawn care uses three times as much pesticide
per acre as agricultural land. And each application creates a dependence on the next application. Your lawn becomes a chemical junkie, unable to survive without artificial life support that is toxic to you, your family, your pets, your neighbors, and your environment.
All of this information and more has been documented by the EPA, the National Institutes of Health, the USDA, and many rigorous and independent scientific studies. You can find more information and a long bibliography of sources, online at
Poison In The Grass - Lawn Pesticides and Health, or search on “lawn care toxins.”
Get informed. You
can have a healthy, attractive lawn without pesticides.
Let’s stop poisoning the neighborhood.