STATUS UPDATE: An Act to Promote Sustainable Agriculture and the Use of Integrated Pest Management (Senator Pam Resor, SB 537) was reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture on May 21, 2007, the first step in the legislative process. 

Background: 

Pesticides are one of the few toxic chemicals to which we intentionally expose ourselves. Pesticides are created and used to kill something. Unfortunately, their harmful health effects do not always end with the pests or weeds they eliminate. In fact a growing body of evidence links pesticide exposure and serious health effects. Many of the pesticides currently on the market are known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to development or reproduction. Health effects of a variety of pesticides range from irritation of skin and eyes to nervous system damage to cancer.

Children are especially vulnerable.  Numerous studies have linked pesticides with rising rates of cancer in children. An expert panel at Mt. Sinai recently concluded that genetic predisposition accounts for no more than 20% of all childhood cancers and that the environmental attributable fraction could be between 5-90%, illustrating that a potentially large percentage of childhood cancers is preventable.[1]  A recent study found that children with leukemia were 4 to 7 times as likely to have been exposed to pesticides in the yard or garden compared to children without the disease. Another study found that children with leukemia were 11 times as likely to have mothers who were exposed to pesticides during pregnancy compared to healthy children. Pesticides use is compromising our health and the health of future generations. That’s why Environment Massachusetts is working to reduce the use of the most dangerous pesticides and to increase the use of safer alternatives like integrated pest management.

We are working to pass:

An Act to Reduce the Most Dangerous Pesticides (Representative Jay Kaufman, HB 781), which would protect the public from the harmful effects of pesticides by limiting the use of pesticides known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to development or reproduction. 

This bill would:

• Require the Department of Public Health to compile a list of pesticides known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to development or reproduction.

• Prohibit pesticides on the DPH’s list for use by the state, municipal government, schools, daycare centers, hospitals, health care facilities, public housing buildings or grounds and by licensed pesticide applicators. Agricultural uses are exempt.

• Require retailers of pesticides to post the health effects of pesticides they sell where pesticides are sold.

• Require the Department of Agricultural Resources to create a database of pesticide use, including retail sales to develop better information on residential use.

• Create minimum penalty amounts for violations of the Act.

An Act to Promote Sustainable Agriculture and the Use of Integrated Pest Management (Senator Pam Resor, SB 537)

Currently, all pesticides and fertilizers purchased in Massachusetts are exempt from the state sales tax. When this exemption was enacted decades ago, we were not aware of the serious impacts on human health and the environment of pesticide and fertilizer use The current exemption provides an incentive to use chemicals harmful to public health and means an estimated $1.1 million in lost revenue annually.

This bill would:

• Remove the sales tax exemption from pesticides and fertilizers and dedicate the revenue raised, an estimated $1.1 million annually, to an Integrated Pest Management Fund to be used for IPM education, training and research.

• Put a portion of the revenue from pesticide licenses and certificates toward the IPM fund. Passage of this legislation could result in more than $2 million in additional funding for IPM programs.

STATUS UPDATE: An Act to Promote Sustainable Agriculture and the Use of Integrated Pest Management (Senator Pam Resor, SB 537) was reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture on May 21, 2007, the first step in the legislative process.