Acknowledgements
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Acknowledgements We would like to thank those involved in creating Planning a Drift Catcher Project and Organizing a Drift Campaign, including: Jeff Conant from the Hesperian Foundation; Mateo Rutherford and Roy Rojas of BITTS for translation; Brenda J. Willoughby (Pesticide Action Network North America) for layout; and contributors Andrea Wilson and Tracey Brieger (Californians for Pesticide Reform) and Katherine Mills, Susan Kegley, Tanya Brown, Kelly Campbell and Christine Riordan (Pesticide Action Network North America). Major funding for this guide and development of the Drift Catcher was provided by the Cedar Tree Foundation. Additional support was provided by grants to Pesticide Action Network North America and/or Californians for Pesticide Reform by the Beldon Fund, The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation, Columbia Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, David B. Gold Foundation, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation, Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, David H. Klein, Jr. Foundation and John Merck Fund. The authors bear responsibility for any factual errors. Recommendations and views expressed are those of Pesticide Action Network North America, and do not necessarily represent the views of our funders and supporters. © 2012 by Pesticide Action Network North America. Permission is granted to reproduce portions of this report, provided the title and publishing organizations—Pesticide Action Network and Californians for Pesticide Reform—are acknowledged. Our sincerest thanks to the Hesperian Foundation for providing many of the images used in these materials. Copyright © 2003 by the Hesperian Foundation. The Hesperian Foundation encourages others to copy, reproduce, or adapt to meet local needs any or all of this pamphlet provided that what is reproduced is distributed free or at cost—not for profit. Please contact the Hesperian Foundation for permission before beginning any reproduction, adaptation, or translation to avoid duplication of efforts and make sure you are working with the most recent, updated version of these materials. For information on the images, contact Hesperian at: Environmental Health Book, Hesperian Foundation, 1919 Addison St. #304, Berkeley, CA 94704 USA, telephone (510) 845-1447; fax (510) 845-0539; email [email protected]; website www.hesperian.org 2 Table of Contents Pesticide Drift Basics What Are Pesticides? ...........................................................5 What Is Pesticide Drift? .......................................................6 Short Term Health Impacts of Pesticide Drift ........................7 Long Term Health Impacts of Pesticide Drift ........................8 Types of Pesticide Drift .........................................................9 All About the Drift Catcher The Drift Catcher Can Test the Air for Pesticides ...............10 How the Drift Catcher Works ..............................................11 Which Pesticides Can Be Caught?.....................................12 What is Needed to Do a Drift Catcher Project? ..................13 Designing a Drift Catcher Project The Partnership ..................................................................14 Process Overview...............................................................15 Researching Pesticides in Your Community .......................16 Planning a Drift Catcher Project .........................................17 When to Use the Drift Catcher............................................18 Additional Considerations ...................................................19 Resources References and Additional Sources of Information ............20 Research Worksheet ..........................................................21 Scientific Advisory Panel ....................................................22 Pesticide Action Network Contact Information and Bios.....23 CPR Contact Information and Bios ....................................24 3 Welcome to the World of Drift Catching! he Drift Catcher is an easy-to-use, accurate device that can help you and your neighbors learn about pesticides in the air in your community. TThe government and pesticide companies collect and use scientific data to support decisions they make about pesticide use, but communities often have a better perspective on what needs to be studied because they are closer to the problems. The Drift Catcher allows you to collect your own scientific informa- tion and use it to help protect yourself and your community from pesticides. The Drift Catcher provides an accurate snapshot of pesticides in the air at a certain time and place. You collect the air samples and then send them to a lab. The lab will analyze the samples and let you know if there are pesticides in the air and at what levels. You are in control of the project: you decide where and when you will test the air, and how you will use the information you collect. Scientific data can be an important tool in your campaigns to protect your community from pesticide drift, but the Drift Catcher will not make changes happen on its own. Working together as a group of committed community members is an excellent way to build support and put pressure on the people who can make the changes you want. You probably aren’t the only one in your area who is concerned about pesticide drift! Work with your neighbors, friends, co-workers, local leaders and others to figure out what change you would like to see in your community and how you can make it real. The companion guide to this packet “Organizing a Drift Campaign” is filled with tools to help you run a solid campaign for change in your area. We hope this packet of information is informative and gets your group thinking about how the Drift Catcher might be used effectively in your community. We’re here to help and we look forward to working with you! Sincerely, Pesticide Action Network Californians for Pesticide Reform PESTICIDE DRIFT BASICS What Are Pesticides? Pesticides are chemicals used to kill insects, rodents, and weeds. In this packet we use the word pesticides to describe all chemicals used to control pests. These are some types of pesticides: • Insecticides—used to kill insects • Herbicides—used to kill weeds • Fungicides—used to control plant diseases • Rodenticides—used to kill rats, mice and other rodents Where are pesticides used? Pesticides are used on farms, in homes, schools and other buildings to kill insects, rodents or other pests. They are also used on farms, lawns and golf courses to kill weeds, in insect repellents, on mosquito netting and in shampoo used to treat lice. Pesticides are used in rural, suburban and urban areas all over the world. 5 Pesticide Drift Basics What Is Pesticide Drift? Pesticide drift is the movement of pesticides through the air, away from the area where they were applied. Pesticide drift can be hazardous to your health and the environment High concentrations of pesticide drift in the air can cause immediate (or “acute”) poisonings, resulting in serious illness and, in rare cases, death. Exposure to pesticide drift may cause birth defects, cancer, asthma, de- velopmental disabilities and other long-term (or “chronic”) health effects (see pages 7 and 8 for more informa- tion on health impacts). Pesticide drift can also harm the local environment by contaminating waterways, air, and soil, killing fish, birds and other wildlife. Andrea Wilson Pesticide drift can be hard to detect Sometimes you can see and smell a cloud of pesticides drifting off a field, but sometimes you can’t see or smell it at all. Some pesticides are invisible and odorless, which means you can be exposed to them without even knowing it. Not all pesticide drift happens during or right after a pesticide application. Some pesticides con- tinue to evaporate from fields for several days to several weeks after an application is completed. Who is affected? People who live near farms, or in the city or suburbs can all be affected by pesticide drift. People can be af- fected anywhere pesticides are used. Pesticides sprayed onto a school sports field may drift into the classroom. When someone applies pesticides in their garden, the chemicals may drift into their neighbors’ yards. Pesti- cides can travel long distances and have been found as far as 50 miles away from where they were applied. Are there pesticides in YOUR air? Catch the drift! If you are concerned about pesticide drift in your community, the Drift Catcher can help you measure the concentration of pesticides in your air. If you find high levels of pesticides in your air, you can use your data to raise awareness of the problem and make change. 6 Pesticide Drift Basics Short-Term Health Impacts of Pesticide Exposure Pesticide exposure can result in a range of symptoms, from mild to severe, depending on the pesticide and level of exposure. Some immediate effects of being exposed to pesticides are: eye, nose or throat irritation, difficulty nausea, vomiting breathing skin irritation, rash dizziness, tremors, muscle weakness headaches blurred vision, eye irritation stomachaches, excessive diarrhea sweating, fever These symptoms can occur a few minutes to a few days after being exposed to pesticides. If you ever get sick and think it might be related to pesticides, be sure to tell your doctor. It is important to report poisonings to your doctor so you can be properly treated and the incident can be reported. In rural areas, farm workers, their families, and communities located next to agricultural fields are most at risk of acute poisoning. Acute