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In May, Governor Cellucci signed into law "An Act to Protect Children
and Families From Harmful Pesticides". The Act, which is being implemented
by the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture, affects all private
and public schools, day care centers and school age child care programs.
The major components of the Act to be aware of are:
• As of November 1, 2000
| (1)
Pesticides shall not be applied indoors while children are on the
property, except for anti-microbial pesticides such as bleach; rodenticides
placed in tamper resistant baits; insecticidal baits; ready-to-use
dusts, gels, or powder formulations; and certain lower risk pesticides.
Until November 1, 2001 other pesticides can be applied indoors when
children are NOT present on the property. |
| (2)
Pesticides shall not be applied on the outdoor property of a school,
day care center or school age child care program while children are
located in, on, or adjacent to the area of the pesticide application. |
| (3)
All parents, staff and children will have to be provided with standard
written notification of any pesticide application that is made outdoors
on the property. The notification will also have to be posted in a
common area. The information to be contained in the standard written
notification will be obtained from the licensed pesticide applicator
who performs the work. |
| [NOTE:
While the act does not require this notification be made for indoor
applications of pesticides, the Department of Food and Agriculture
recommends that the notification requirements are followed for all
indoor pesticide applications except in the case of anti-microbial
pesticides such as bleach; rodenticides placed in tamper resistant
baits; insecticidal baits; ready-to-use dusts, gels, or powder formulations;
and certain lower risk pesticides.] |
•
As of November 1, 2001
| (1)
An Integrated Pest Management Plan must be developed by all schools,
daycare centers and school age child care programs. Integrated Pest
Management, or IPM, is an approach to pest control that relies on
a combination of common sense practices, not just pesticides, for
preventing and controlling pests. |
| The
Department of Food and Agriculture and the University of Massachusetts
will conduct a comprehensive outreach and education program for schools
in Winter, 2001. More information will be made available over the
coming months and we will keep you updated of developments through
our newsletter. For more information go to the Massachusetts Pesticide
Bureau web site: www.massdfa.org/pesticide.htm |
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