By: Dr. Gloria Gilbere
EHN web-posted by permission of Dr. Gilbere

Kootenai Valley Times January 2001

A mother, Michele Hertz, persuaded the public schools in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, to stop using toxic pesticides on their grounds. A sculptor and mother of two, Michele became concerned about pesticides in schools after drift from a 1998 spraying of her neighbor's yard gave her suspected hormonal imbalance.

Michele contacted her school district's grounds supervisor, who informed her that herbicides were applied to school lawn and athletic fields. She then called the ground-maintenance company and requested Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), which described chemicals contained in products and their possible health risks. "I was shocked to read that some chemicals that they had applied were suspected of actually causing cancer," Michele says.

She gathered information on the effects of pesticides on children from her county health department and the New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NYCAP), and then hand-delivered her findings, along with the MSDS for the herbicides used on school grounds, to each member of the district school board. "School boards are usually made up of parents, and they'll listen as long as you don't treat them like adversaries," Michele says. At the next school board meeting, in March 1999, she read aloud a lettr signed by over 100 parents, requesting that the district refrain from further spraying, and providing safe, natural lawn-care tips from an expert in Integrated Pest Management. The board enacted a six-month moratorium on pesticide applications that night.

Michele says she'll continue to push for a permanent ban on spraying, but feels positive about the changes so far. A year later, no herbicides have been applied. "It takes a bit more labor to keep the weeds out and the fields seeded, bit it's going along okay," report George Foster, the district supervisor of buildings and grounds.

We as parents and citizens have a responsibility to educate and bring forth positive change for our generation and those that follow. Many people are so "stuck" in the way things have always been done, their logical ability to think "rusts away" (maybe it's the chemicals?). I don't know about you, but I don't want my brain or body to "rust-out", I'd rather "wear-out," Naturally.

The preceding information was partially taken from The Green Guide, a not for profit organization dedicated to a livable planet.

# # #

This article is for the purpose of education and to provide support to the millions afflicted with allergies and multiple chemical sensitivities. To share your stories of challenges, solutions and living with these disorders, please mail to: MCS Stories, P.O. Box 3220, Bonners Ferry, ID USA 83805 or email: secondhandreactions@drgloriagilbere.com

Gloria Gilbere, N.D.,D.A.Hom.,Ph.D. is an internationally respected expert in EcoErgonomics, environmental health consultant, natural health practitioner, research writer, advocate for toxic free living and the chemically injured. She is author of I was Poisoned by my body (Lucky Press, 2000). Dr. Gilbere is Director of the Naturopathic Health & Research Center, Bonners Ferry, ID.

Gloria Gilbere,N.D.,D.A.Hom.,Ph.D.
Director, Naturopathic Health & Research Center
P.O. Box 3220, 7098 Ash Street
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805-3220 USA
Ph: (208) 267-5417
Fax:(208) 267-0617
email: doctorg@drgloriagilbere.com
web page: www.drgloriagilbere.com

I was Poisoned by my bodywww.luckypress.com/poisoned

Return to - Index: Dr. Gloria Gilbere's Articles -
http://ehnca.org/www/drgilbere/ggartind.htm