OSPIRG TARGETS PESTICIDE USE
O V I K G 1 1 o^qsug« for S oft lirinJUng M um uimi to p r u ltc t Oregon t groitnJ»\U rr
Thirty >c*rx «gv tfit (xiNtcjaon <rf
R cchcl Canon » kilrnr Spring I cxvmx I
thf n * k » ' i lamcion an the poxuhic
prodbrn* *itB pcrnodr t m Canon »
Jrxn po ana o t a tpruigurye » h m no
hi nil » ixtkj hr rrrufmng to nrct or cirg
unxhed ¡hr hr art* and nurxli o t man«
Ament ana Mom m i{*<um J«.Canon'i
f i x * z iq s m l Kimciu» (x9icy makrn
* x j .H u rra k> r r o a m jir thr rrrcl to
tonunur uung to many p r w o d r t
Since that time, nuznerocu ex
ampto ha»e cairrged of p u N x hrafth
and environment«! problem» dur to
conunued use of p r« x x jr»
Synchros prttcxle» u«e Kat in
oreated U fold unee 1945. fiit crop
kwaet Jur to pcxa ha»r rax hrrn nr
.luted Sat«viwtdr more :han T T rail
lam |x<cirxli of p rtix x ir i an ward ¡rt
yea» A poll by the Amerxan I anti
Bureau. the natxm 1 large« farm group,
found that three fourth» of thr (X ifix
hrliesr» lu m e n M more agn. uitural
c h e m ta h than they should tSoNrm i
asuxtated with rtc e r* pesticide tue
include
(•rn u n d w a trr ront a mi nation
Drinking wairr m o u r tn . especially
(round» ate» well«, an »ulneriNe id
prttnide .omaminatton front teactung
»ante A recent Environmental Proarc
tarn Agency fFP A ) «ursey of conunii
nity .Innking wairr »rlla fnuixl pr«i
odes in 10 pervert of »ell» texted na
lion wide
In 1**S5 the < b eg in Department
of Environmental Quality ( D E Q i trg ro
a ttudy in targeted area» » h e re
groundwater contamination front agn
culturalcfim iKaitwouldhriikely Of.Q
rttearth xierxified several problem az
eas
• in northern Malheur County de
lections of nitrates from fertilizers arxl
the pesticide datlhal wen found.
• in Manon Couney detection» of
pesticide» Rromcxil. tbnoseh and EDB
»ere identified
Additional texting in 1 '*< ) found
pesticides in Umatilla. Bend and Hills,
boro
Spills and atvidenU Serious at
cidents during transport or storage of
tone them aals tan ixcur at any time
In July 1991,«railroad car on Hsway to
Washington overturned into the Sacra
memo River in northern California,
spilling 19J00 gallon» of the pesticide
metam sodium The spill killed all fish
in a 45 mile stretth of the riser arxl
scientists predict that the nver » ill take
up to 10 years to fully recover
In March 1992. a fire at the Shen
danGrainCompany tn Sheridan. Oregon
■ ■
i
.
eluding fungicides, hcrbtcidrs and tn-
seiUtides A total of th homes in tie
immediate area »ere evacuated The
fire transported agricultural chemicals
through smoke into the air and through
runoff into the nearby Yamhill River
W o rk e r
and
consum er
rsposures Workers and others are es
posed to pesticides during use or tn
residues on food A recent study found
that wotkers on farms that regularly use
pesticide» had a greater number o f
medical symptoms than workers on
organic farm» An KPA study estimates
that each year farmworkers suffer up to
100,000 acute illnesses and injuncs from
exposure ui pesuetdes
Consumers are also e »posed to
pesticides through food residues Petti
tides are left on produce and consumed
when the produce neaten According lo
a I990P1RG report.09pesuetdes linked
to cancer are legally allowed on food,
and 12 o f those pesticides are rax de
le tta b le by the Food and Drug
Administration'» routine monitoring
method»
E n viro nm ental d eg ra d a tio n
Drift of pesticides away from intended
targets, and persistence aixl btoaccu
mutation o f pesticide* tn the environ
mere, can alfcct wildlife and contami
rule other natural resources It is cstt
mated that 99 pen era of pesticides never
reach the targeted pesu. hut irate *1
move into ecosystems contam mating
land, water and air
In the summer of 1991. massive
fish hili» in louiuana were being in
settigated lor links to ruiailt into stieams
of the pest axle a/mphos methyl, used
to anas k the sugar vane borer Llaeoflhe
chemical was susprraled. after more
than 750.000 fish had died in southern
I out si ana
Since 1971 the pestuide D IM has
heen harmed for most uses in the L' S
because D D T . and its breakdown
product. D D E , causa] eggshell than
rung tn birds near the top of the focxl
chain, inc luding declines tn bald eagle
Con*
fn>r»]
1^
ii
I he extreme right * m g group that
»alls five If the Oregon l ittxenv Alliance tv
P C B tlC IR F O R M A T IO «
Improving asailaNe information
afxx»t pc « o d e s is the first step to
reduting prwicidr use By moruaTtng
the ms ironment for pesta «de . .« a m i
nanon and e«aNisfung a prxta ide use
hard at w ork, i n tng to force its idea of
t xtsitng laws w ill fve invalidated in c lu d in g O regon's
Now the tH A wants to take rights
Hate i tim es law
tio n on the basts ot sexual o rien ta tion P ortland s
to require d ix rtn tin a tio n against them
l tstl Rights law w ill he trsersed
II M e asu re d p a s s e s , it vs til
he I he lit si tu n e in I S h is to ry
th a t a c o n s tiiu tiu u h a s b e e n a m e n d e d
to ta k e assay the tig h ts of its c itiz e n s
Is th a t th e k in d ol m e s s a g e see w a n t
t sing veaft tactics d istortions and
hex thess« whipped up enough support
for this shameful idea to get it on the
N ’vemher hall.q as Ballot Measure 9
W ith help from Pat Robertsons r e li­
( fteg tm to send-*
gious broadcasting netw ork national lar
•
rig ht organisations and an infusion »'I
Ol
lot impc'stng their narrow m inded news
bi
In short, the
A w ill d e trrm in e for you what to tell yo ur kids
teachers librarians and a ll public servants w h o w o rk
w ith kids w ou ld fie "reassigned or fired
•i n.> n - ontt.ic ts with non diM nm inadon > hu>
es on sexual o rie n ta tio n w o u ld be inva lid ated , federal
( of (age 6n»ve Stnunrl
AttgttO Z. f99f
contracts for M lfs services w o u ld f x jeopardized
borne I'rrg o m a n s w ill lose their jobs and o thers mas
lose their lives bee auv«- of the (.X A s radical agenda
|o i\ mi i noi s.wns
•
o i lei SPONS1BII
O ri goni \ \ s i igii i i \ g
POR
tfiat w ould d ra in i ’ regon s lax dollars at a tune we
jirohlem v facing all ol us
I c u tile tue al M tn ts tt ics ot t fi * gì in
“l i the EX' ASk measure is
approved, wc can be sure they w ill take
lh e ir mind control movement to every
public library in Oregon. ”
Oregon M I c IO • Oreg n i hraty Oc, -,
tu tv • O r e g i m Mt dit *1 o .n
M SMt * •
\
users of tot a chemicals that contami
mo» ratti l’.u t v . >| Oregon
lewtxh f ederatton ol Portland
NAAI I •
nate grourxlwater should contribute to
cleanup and protec ta n of ground» t u t
l-Oit Oregonian (PtiullrUm )
May 2«. PW2
d
\svoc ta ird (.fregoli Industries
W hy worry aiiolt
a eringe group ?
Oregon Public I m ployers I m o li
PREVENT1MC P O t l i m O N
1 eshtan i o m m u n tii Project
The most effective and inesprn
five way » address pest aide pollution
is to take a preventive approach Many
techni,juei are available and are being
employed to reduce the use of pesti
cides, from promoting lower chemical
inputs m u agriculture to bans on the use
of certain synthetic chemicals
Oregon sfxxikl etpand efforts to
prormste alternatives to pesticides aixl
to restrtcl use of the m i « Jangerous
pesticides PcstKide users should pay
for such a i-»Tigran) in the came w ay that
•
. an iiuk k on tr< c-.it<m -i
should be u n itin g our resources to battle the real
O regon .
general fund, wtuch is made upof money
from all taapayen. is used to cover the
i
( o n stitu lton . it w ould pro voke co stly legal challenges
HAI I -1 ri \z
z\
’
sjieech and other tights guaranteed undet the I S
n . il ( .olds« hmtdl
O re g o n \ \ om eri v P oliticai i atti us
M ai lie sou th in k we don t have m uch to frat
from a group w ith sueh a natrow agenda I h e i X A
is small, but make no mistake, it means business
People o l I aulì kgatrtst lligcHrv
Righi to l'nc.1, y PA( » O ri gon NOW
I he jieojile behind it are organized and passionate
i.d Ri vjic'tivibilUv
l'h s c u u n v lo r s<’
Ac a te
tig h t organizations around the country
•
rhe t X A has already had successes in c lu d in g
National \ssn o l Senta! W orkers
(Oregon ( ha|Xrr i
industnal tinics users currently pay for
Otegon's Totics I'se Heduction pro
gram
Some agricultural techniques
which reduce the adverse environmen
lal impacts o f current prsefices are
In trg ra lrd Pest Management
11 ’ M . PM | | I
approach to («eventing and controlling
weeds, disease, and insect prvts 1PM *
goal is r*« to enalic ate msec is arx! weeds.
but to keep thrra below the level at
» h a h damaging economic costs occur
t'nder this integrated approach, farm
•l'.i
i
lac tic s and p o litic s o f d iv is io n have tatsed
a lot of m onei from m ijiresstonahle people and lar
l tban I cagne of Portland
jijssage ol an anti gas measure tn S jin n g fie ld
•
I hey
m otivated I W IkXf ( Iregontaiis to sign the in itia tive
that p u l Measure 9 on the hullot
MI ol O tv g iin s m ajor nrwspuiserk
I (tev. and their c lours on th r teac nonary tig ht,
bave rd tlo ria h d rd agallivi Meaxure '>
see Otegon as a test case II their agenda and tactics
N oi mie lu x supported it
w o rk here thes II r x jio tt u to othet states other
tssue.s
I ocias th eir target is the gay and lesbian c o m m u ­
nity But then goal is io lo n e th ru n a rro w . dtyiM vr
c o n c e jito f
t n use chemicals selectively and only
when necessary, rather than aa the first
arxl primary line of attack In Oregon
state agencies are required lo use 1PM
techniques to control peels
O rg anic A griculture. Organic
farming attrmpu to use no purchased
fa m ily values on all Oregonians
W b rib e r that fie a m atter of sexual o rien ta tion , a
w om an s tig h t to < fimise ot personal p riv a iy We all
fuse io ask kk ho is next on the ( X A s target list?
I his nun h is c le a r (he I X A ts 11y mg io set itself
up as the guatdtan of w hat we Oregonians may read,
see, do and believe
synthetic chemical inputs By taking
adv artagr of naturally occurring hen
eficul relalioathipi het ween pest arxl
preduuv. arxl «aiuirung atxl enfurx mg
natural lyurm s rather than reducing
atxl sunpii fying hsologtcal M c n c tiora.
the harmful effects of pesticide use are
eliminated
In I9tt9 the Oregon legislature
sup^axicd organic farming by appnrv
tng a law limiting thr use of the )af«l
'organic'' to a specific set of materials
and practices used in grow mg This law
protects consumers and creates a de­
fined market fix organa farmers
I hey may very w ell succeed, unless rac It o l us
join s the light against them I very O regonian has a
stake tn the n u ll nine of this elec lio n
[ “(T h H measure) prey» on ihe base fears
o f c iliz r n t of this slate and is a fu n ­
dam ental attack on the free exchange of
medical and scientific inform ation."
___
hoard, pesticide use should he reduced
In Sweden, the government established
a goal o f reducing the total use of agri­
cultural pesucales by half m five years
Total pesticides sales have dropped
Oregon kfeiftotl A»»n.
X jwemke» 19, I «At I
Who says I m not under the special
/
“The OCA initiative
promotes a climate of bigotry,
hatred and intimidation.”
h u m m ic a l M iniU rirc of Oregon I
VfMemkrr ¿J, IW I I
itewwrnMF
in tu ì
e«
protection of God> Adolf Hitler
I don t know w h y the religious never
ascribe common sense to God
Somerset Maugham
Nothing is more unpleasant than a
virtuous person w ith a mean mind
Walter Bagehot ( 1826 1877)
Klrt£lM
The only abnormality is the incapac
ity to love Anais Nin
T
would
speech on the subject w ill be banned Hom osexual
“As a community, a* a Male, aa a
iMlkm. and especially as a planet, wc
have to learn io live with diversity."
I nder the Oregon Ground water
Protection .Aa. money from the state's
tn M n tir ttiii
F or m o rt tt/o m iilio * o r
O S F /fK j'i ('urqaaiga fo r Soft [)nrJt
tng W au r. contact Fam P tck at 2JI-
4 I&I in PiT ttonJ
( K — 12)
jfx u tt homosexuality I sen in our u n ty rrs itie s , free
on even one
Pesticide use can lead to teraxis
o n i ronroenul or fuibftc health tm pac tt
Pesticide u<rs need to be responsible
for the full costs of that use. uaiudtng
cleanup* of ipiO i or non pwnt scairce
problem»
SOLUTIONS T 0
PESTICIDE PROHLEMS
level
is abnormal unnatural and petsrrse
other states they ve made Oregon a target
FASTER CU AM UPS
O S P Iftli u a Jba/rwufe lobby
wixtang to p r n tr tl c o ttju rie't a n j thr
very
to change then c u rrtcu la to teach that hom osexuality
c ash co ntribu tion s Irom their friends in
A number of stales require prsti
.ide users ID rejxxi thr typr am.xrn»
and kxatam of pesticide» used W ash
mgion. California arxl T r sas are among
the states requiring regular reporting by
pesuetde m e n
levels of DDE and other them aals that
tontnbute to eggshell thinning
has penalties for intimida­
awas Irom cine group of CTregcintans and
make tt all legal
rural < h rm xal users thcxiU be equally
accostncaNe for the chemicals they ptk
irtki the enxtnwwtietM
dramatically, arxl further reductions are
bring implemented ♦
w h ic h
’ hev want to amend o ut co nstitu tion to
Pesticide use repnrttng it esten
tial Butinrc«rt in Oregon are required
to re|aw» their iralusinaJ .h rm i.a l use.
us that thr re it (ahlic access si inform a
non afxxit fssw much of » h a h chcmi
cats go mao thr environment Agncul
Pesticide I w Reduction. In cer
lain ctrtumstances, the most dangerous
pesticides ihould be harmed Across the
II M'I’I NS
M easure 9 passes .
ue disc riin m u tio n on the basts ol sexual orientation
And tt v not a prettv place
tarn for groundwater impacts, since
pewxsdrs can contaminate current or
future d rin k in g w ater resource»
Groundwater is sery esprnsise and
difficult to clean up A gcxxl iBontttwmg
program enaNet engineer» to oiwerse
contamination and help* determine
where to put limited c leanup rexouic es
Oregon » GrourxJ water Protec taxi Act
requires statewide grourxhvuer mom
toeing, but no amhaem tta-nitonng pro
gram ba» been funded
costs of gnxiixlwiter protection from
pesticide psHutam With demands on
general funis increasing more tar get ted
funding cfaxild be identified for tfx
groundwater protretam programs The
W h \l
O ur slate co n s titu tio n w ill be amended to legal
what Oregon should he on the rest of uv
reporting system, we < an get a clearer
pKkurrofcurrentprsticideuse and »ass
to reduce that uar
M -xuaxing it particularly unpor
andperegnnr talent (Xfsulauora I .xlay
the , urrent rrpnxluclam rate is still low
Fggshrils continue to show tie sued
O S U R G '» Sa/e Drtnking Water
Campai gn promotes hetter Information,
faste r c leanup». and fviliuoon prrveruun
as thè moM effectlve way» to protect
Ore gerì» matn dnnktng water «yurte
— ground water
NO
i l l h l 5 H IM S llO t*
( j O 3 ) 4.1H U tili
p.o. m i\ S it
t juuutn Unit K. Itn F ilin