How a Single Mom with Two Asthmatic Sons Led the Los Angeles School District to Ban Pesticides on School Playing Fields and Regulate Pesticides on School Grounds and Buildings
Boys Accidentally Sprayed with Pesticide at School
In March of 1998, a group of school children, about to begin their day at Sherman Oaks Elementary School, encountered a gardener in a hazardous materials suit employed by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) which administers Sherman Oaks Elementary among its 800 schools. The gardener, unaware students were present, sprayed the herbicide Princep, creating a cloud of pesticide mist students were forced to walk through in order to reach their classrooms.
Robina with sons Nicholas and Brandon
Six-Year-Old Experiences Severe Asthma Attack
Several parents who had dropped off their children at the school were alarmed to witness this event. One of them was the author, Robina Suwol, whose sons, aged six and ten, walked directly through the cloud. That night, her youngest son, Nicholas, whose asthma had been under control, experienced a severe asthma attack. Suwol’s research on a pest management website sponsored by Cornell University revealed that a single exposure to Princep could cause tremors, convulsions, paralysis, and other symptoms.
Parents Investigate and Research Pesticide Policies
Parents of the exposed children decided to investigate. They learned that LAUSD, the nation’s second-largest school district, relied on an industrial approach to pest control. They learned that training for pesticide appliers at schools was uneven and that mixtures surpassing recommended safety levels were not unknown at LAUSD. They learned that many chemical pesticides commonly used in schools have a high risk factor for growing children, with risks of cancer and learning disabilities. Because LAUSD cares for more than 800,000 students, the issue of pesticide safety at school became evident as long overdue for parent and community attention.
Parents Organize Pesticide Management Committee
The parents, led by single mother Robina Suwol, found support in existing parent and toxics-safety groups. California Safe Schools officially began when these parents realized that no organization existed to protect student’s health while keeping their school environments toxic-free. A coalition of existing organizations, including the PTA, United Teachers Los Angeles, groups, and individuals joined in common cause with the parents of Sherman Oaks Elementary School.
Committee Adopts an “Integrated Pest Management” Policy (IPM)
Fortified by coalition members well versed in the hazards of pesticides and knowledgeable about alternatives to them, the parents met with LAUSD staff and school board members. Los Angeles Unified School Board member Julie Korenstein insisted a working group of parents, medical experts, environmentalists, community members, and scientists work together with Los Angeles Unified staff to create a policy that would ensure health and safety for students, teachers, and staff. One year to the day after Suwol’s son Nicholas became ill, LAUSD adopted the most stringent pesticide policy in the nation for schools. The policy is known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
When the IPM policy was officially adopted for its more than 800 schools (which comprise 28 cities and 704 square miles), it was considered a great accomplishment by both California Safe Schools and by LAUSD. Today the policy has become the model for the nation with many school districts and communities throughout the United States creating similar programs.
Adopted from “Embracing the Precautionary Principle: LAUSD’s Integrated Pest Management Policy” by Robina Suwol, Executive Director, California Safe Schools (www.calisafe.org)