Media Advisory
For Immediate
Release
April 28, 2004
Ottawa Physicians
Support Pesticide Restrictions
www.healthyottawa.ca
The Coalition for a Healthy
Ottawa (CHO) applauds the Ontario College of Family
Physicians study on pesticides and health, and our
Medical Officer of Health's call for a bylaw
restricting pesticides. Spokeswoman Meg Sears calls
for action. "We can't afford another year
exposing innocent children and families to the risks
of these chemical pesticides. Toxic chemicals used on
our lawns and gardens can lead to cancer and many
disabilities. There are safer alternatives, and the
City should act now!"
This serious health issue
demands immediate action by all levels of government:
- A municipal bylaw
restricting pesticides for landscaping;
- Provincial restrictions on
sales of toxic chemicals; and
- Federal deletion of
"troublesome" pests such as
dandelions from the Pest Control Products
Act.
The OCFP considered over 12,000
journal articles, choosing the best. For years
pesticide proponents have criticised studies in
isolation, but as notes make a symphony and letters
make a book, the OCFP report tells of chemical harm
to us all, compromising our children and their
future.
Top Ottawa physicians see these
health effects in their patients.
CHO co-chair Dr. Alex
MacKenzie, paediatrician and Director of the CHEO
Research Institute says, "The OCFP report
reconfirms our position that citizens must be
protected from landscaping chemicals. We are facing
increasing numbers not only of some childhood cancers
but other conditions such as type one diabetes,
autism, and childhood asthma. These are real and
consistent and are happening so quickly that they are
clearly caused by the environment. Pesticides are
associated with an increased incidence of childhood
neuroblastoma. How many deaths are acceptable before
we act?"
Dr. Paul Claman, Professor of
Reproductive Medicine, University of Ottawa states,
"Scientific evidence links landscaping
pesticides, to impaired male fertility and an
increased risk of miscarriage."
Dr. Richard van der Jagt,
Ottawa Hospital haematologist and Chair of the
Canadian Leukemia Studies Group, states, "Some
pesticides cause birth defects or cancer after
chronic exposure. Many of the most common cancers in
children and in adults have been demonstrated to be
correlated with pesticide exposure. Pesticides also
affect hormone systems and may be altering the basis
of life. Some pesticides inhibit cholinesterase,
affecting the nervous and immune systems."
CHO spokesperson, Dr. Meg
Sears, explains a bylaw would restrict landscaping
pesticides, with exceptions for protection of public
health and agriculture. "After two years of
Ottawa's public education campaign, pesticide use
increased. Young families living in subdivisions
built around golf courses deserve protection. Over 60
Canadian municipalities have adopted bylaws
restricting pesticide use, including Toronto,
Montreal, Vancouver and Halifax. An international
study found that just as with seatbelts, without
legislation safer landscaping doesn't happen."
Meanwhile, Ottawa City staff
report that pesticides ran off a golf course and
lawns and gardens, polluting the Rideau River and
tributaries in the summer of 2003.
For more information, please
contact:
Meg Sears M.Eng., Ph.D
Coalition for a Healthy Ottawa (613) 832-2806
Jennifer Armstrong M.D. Ottawa Environmental Health Clinic (613)
721-9800
Richard van der Jagt M.D.
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (613) 737-8804
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Community Web.
