Far too little is known about the health risks facing kids in the U.S. from the use of pesticides at schools, according to a General Accounting Office report conducted at the request of Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.). About 2,300 cases of pesticide-related exposure in schools were reported to poison-control centers from 1993 to 1996, and 329 of those required medical treatment, the report found. But because of inadequate record-keeping and follow-up, there are no credible statistics on the overall amount of pesticides used in the nation’s 110,000 public schools and their health effects on children. Lieberman and Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash) and Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) are pushing for legislation that would require schools to notify parents before pesticides are used and require schools to adopt pest-management plans that rely less on toxic chemicals. Lieberman also called on the EPA to better protect students from pesticide exposure.
