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Monday,
September 16, 2002 (Notification Form Available)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robina Suwol (818) 785-5515
LAUSD
Parents Gain Right to Know of Toxic Exposure
Parents Must Request Written Notice of Pesticide Application
LOS ANGELES —Every parent has gained a right to know of pesticide
application to which their children may be exposed if they are enrolled in
the Los Angeles Unified School District. At the beginning of the school
year, parents are given a list of pesticide products that have been
approved for use at LAUSD sites. Parents who wish advance notification of
each pesticide application at their child’s school will receive
notification by completing the “Right to Know” form and sending it to
the school Principal. Notification exceptions may occur under emergency
circumstances that warrant an immediate response.
This right is part of a new policy adopted by LAUSD introduced by
California Safe Schools. Called Integrated Pest Management (IPM) the
policy pledges to implement least-toxic measures to control all pest
management issues at LAUSD’s hundreds of schools. The policy has become
a model for school districts and communities’ nationwide.
"As a parent, I am so grateful to California Safe Schools and LAUSD
for their hard work in finding the least toxic and yet effective methods
for controlling pests and weeds in our schools; for including parents and
staff in the decision making process; and for the right to know about
potentially harmful applications of pesticides/herbicides near our
kids!” says Jenny Barsumian Brady, a Parent Representative for CSS.
Past failure to notify parents spurred the formation of LASSC and
its campaign to get the school district to adopt the new policy. CSS
Executive Director Robina Suwol’s children walked through a toxic cloud
at Sherman Oaks Elementary School one morning in 1998. The exposure
resulted because an LAUSD gardener, in a white hazardous materials suit,
arrived late to spray the herbicide Princep, which can cause serious
health effects in human exposures, particularly in children, whose
developing body systems may be more vulnerable than those of adults.
California Safe Schools is a project of Community Partners. CSS is
committed to ensuring that all students, teachers, staff and community
members who live near these school sites are in a safe, toxic-free
environment.
For more information, contact:
Robina Suwol, Executive Director, California Safe Schools 818-785-5515
robinasuwol@calisafe.org
Web site: http://www.calisafe.org
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