Pesticide Use by New York City Agencies in 2018
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Pesticide Use by New York City Agencies in 2018 Prepared by the Division of Environmental Health, Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene May, 2018 Pesticide Use by NYC Agencies in 2018 Pesticide Use by New York City Agencies in 2018 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 2 I. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................... 4 II. SOURCES OF PESTICIDE USE DATA ............................................................................... 4 III. METHODS AND LIMITATIONS ...................................................................................... 5 IV. PESTICIDE USE FINDINGS ............................................................................................. 6 A. TYPES OF PESTICIDES USED BY AGENCIES ........................................................................................ 6 B. SUMMARY OF CITYWIDE PESTICIDE USE ........................................................................................ 10 C. CHANGES IN PESTICIDE USE ............................................................................................................ 13 D. SUMMARY OF AGENCIES’ PESTICIDE USE ....................................................................................... 18 Administration for Children’s Services ................................................................................ 17 Aging, Department for the .................................................................................................... 18 Brooklyn Public Libraries..................................................................................................... 18 Board of Elections................................................................................................................. 20 Chief Medical Examiner ....................................................................................................... 20 City University of New York ................................................................................................. 21 Citywide Administrative Services, Department of ................................................................ 24 Corrections, Department of .................................................................................................. 25 Education, Department of ..................................................................................................... 27 Environmental Protection, Department of ............................................................................ 30 Finance, Department of ........................................................................................................ 32 Fire Department.................................................................................................................... 33 Health and Hospitals Corporation ....................................................................................... 34 Health and Mental Hygiene, Department of ......................................................................... 36 Homeless Services, Department of ....................................................................................... 38 Housing Authority ................................................................................................................. 39 Housing Preservation and Development .............................................................................. 43 Human Resources Administration ........................................................................................ 44 New York Public Libraries.................................................................................................... 45 Parks and Recreation ............................................................................................................ 45 Police Department ................................................................................................................ 48 Queens Public Libraries ....................................................................................................... 48 Sanitation, Department of ..................................................................................................... 50 Taxi and Limousine Commission .......................................................................................... 50 Transportation, Department of ............................................................................................. 51 APPENDIX 1: Complete Listing of Pesticide Products Used by New York City Agencies by Pesticide Type in 2018 .................................................................................................................. 53 APPENDIX 2: Complete Listing of Pesticide Products Used by the Department of Parks and Recreation in 2018 ........................................................................................................................ 71 APPENDIX 3: Complete Listing of “Best Management Practices” Insecticide Used Citywide in 2018............................................................................................................................................... 83 Pesticide Use by NYC Agencies in 2018 Pesticide Use by New York City Agencies in 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Local Law 54 of 2007 requires the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to summarize pesticide use by City agencies annually. New York City agencies account for a small fraction of pesticides used in the city. New York State receives pesticide use data from all commercial applicators. New York City agencies’ use in 2013 (the last year for which New York State data has been proccessed) accounted for an estimated 3% of the total volume of liquid pesticides, and 19% of the total pounds of solid pesticides applied within the five boroughs of New York City. In 2018, 36 municipal agencies reported their pesticide use to DOHMH. This report summarizes pesticides applied by or on behalf of agencies on city-owned or -leased property. Key findings include: • Pesticides were applied 284,248 times by New York City agencies in 2018. Agencies used 7,228 gallons of liquid and 156,540 pounds of solid pesticide products (Table 1). • As in previous years, roaches were the most commonly targeted pests in 2018, with rats, mice, bed bugs and mosquitos making up the top 5 targets (by total number of applications in descending order) (Table 3). • Most liquid pesticide products (51% by volume) used by City Agencies were fungicides, while most solid products (41% by weight) were insecticides (Table 1). Excluding DOHMH mosquito larviciding that was conducted to prevent spread of West Nile Virus and other mosquito-borne diseases, most solid pesticides products (63% by weight) were rodenticides. • Insecticides o Insecticides were the most frequently applied type of pesticide, accounting for 67% of all applications (Table 1). o The volume of all liquid insecticides decreased 10% in 2018, compared with 2017 (Figure 2). This decline was due to a reduction in the number and volume of pyrethroids applications targeting roaches and bedbugs mostly from declines in use at NYCHA (Figure 6). o Liquid pyrethroid products targeting cockroaches decreased 11% from 2017 to 2018, reversing increases since 2015. Treatments targeting bedbugs also decreased slightly (Figure 6). o The use of solid mosquito larvicide by weight increased by 5% compared with 2017 after a steep increase in 2016 in response to Zika virus. Based on extensive mosquito surveillance in 2016 and 2017, the Health Department does not expect local Zika transmission. Pesticide Use by NYC in 2018 2 o “Best Management Practices” (BMP) insecticide products (Appendix 3) include gel and bait insecticides with little potential for human exposure. They accounted for 36% of insecticide applications in 2018. BMP applications to treat cockroaches declined slightly in 2018 after more than doubling in 2017 (Figure 4). • Herbicides o Liquid herbicide product use continued to decline in 2018 (Figure 2). Volume declined 22%, mostly due to reduced use of glyphosate products (Figure 3). o The use of solid herbicide products in 2018 was similar to 2017, due to continued use of outdoor granular turf formulations, mainly on golf courses and large institutional lawns. o The Parks Department no longer applies pre-emergent herbicides near roadways and along walkways and perimeters of city parks. • Rodenticides o Use of solid rodenticide products increased 23% by weight 6% in the number of applications citywide compared with 2017. The DOHMH continue high levels of use for neighborhood rat ‘indexing’ and control (Figure 1). Pesticide Use by NYC in 2018 3 Pesticide Use by New York City Agencies in 2018 I. BACKGROUND When Local Law 37 was enacted on May 9, 2005, New York City became the largest municipality in the nation to regulate the use of pesticides on City-owned and -leased property. Local Law 37 established new requirements for pesticide use on property owned or leased by the City, including the prohibition of certain products, posting of warning notices prior to pesticide use, and the requirement that agencies report their pesticide use annually. With the enactment of Local Law 37, prohibitions from use were phased in for certain pesticides used by agencies or their contractors on City-owned and -leased properties. By November 2005, EPA Toxicity Category