Pesticides & Health

The following Precautionary Principle was recommended to the Pesticide Sub-Committee by the City of Hamilton's Public Health and Community Service Department, Health Protection Branch based in part on the following exposition from Report 04-002 to the Pesticide Sub-Committee:

"While scientific uncertainty surrounds the cause and effect relationship between particular pesticide products and various chronic health effects, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that serious health effects, such as childhood cancer, may be associated with some pesticides. In this regard, it is legitimate to use the precautionary principle to manage the potential risk to the public’s health."

Precautionary Principle Adopted by Hamilton City Council 2005:
"Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty will not be used as a reason for postponing cost effective measures to prevent environmental degradation." (See all the definition options presented to the Pesticide Sub-Committee here).

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment:
"There is growing evidence that the health of future generations may be severly harmed by pesticides, alone or in combination with other chemicals now permeating the global atmosphere."

Lawn and Garden Pesticides: Reducing Harm Video
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) has produced a video on lawn and garden pesticides. This unique 10-minute video sets out the scientific evidence linking commen household pesticides to a variety of serious illnesses, including cancer, reproductive problems and neurological diseases.

Some of the Organizations calling for Municipal Pesticide By-laws include:

Who Supports Municipal Pesticide By-laws?

  • Allergy and Environmental Health Association
  • Allergy Asthma Information Association
  • Association of Early Childhood Educators, Ontario
  • Board of Trustees, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario
  • Breast Cancer Prevention Coalition
  • Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
  • Canadian Cancer Society
  • Canadian Environmental Law Association
  • Canadian Federation of University Women
  • Canadian Institute of Child Health
  • Canadian Labour Congress
  • Canadian Liver Foundation
  • Canadian Nurses Association
  • Canadian Pediatric Society -- former President Dr. Robin Walker
  • Canadian Physiotherapy Association
  • Canadian Public Health Association
  • Canadian Society for Environmental Medicine
  • Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
  • Great Lakes United
  • Health Action Network Society
  • Humane Society of Canada
  • International Institute of Concern for Public Health
  • Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
  • The Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara
  • The Lung Association of Nova Scotia
  • Medical Officers of Health:
    Dr. Sheila Basrur, Chief Medical Officer of Health
    Dr. Alban Goddard-Hill, Former Acting Medical Officer of Health, Hastings & P.E. Counties
    Dr. Robert Cushman, Former M.O.H., Ottawa
    Dr. Robert Strang, M.O.H., Nova Scotia, Central Region
    Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Acting M.O.H., Toronto
  • Michael O'Sullivan, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Canada
  • New Brunswick Lung Association
  • Newfoundland & Labrador Medical Association
  • Nova Scotia Canadian Institute for the Blind
  • Nova Scotia College of Family Physicians
  • Nova Scotia Government Employees Union
  • Ontario College of Family Physicians
  • Ontario Nature
  • Ontario Public Health Association
  • Ottawa and District Labour Council
  • Pesticide Exposure Group of Sufferers
  • Pesticide Free Ontario
  • Physicians from CHEO
  • Prince Edward County Federation of Naturalists
  • Registered Nurses Association of Ontario
  • Dr. Rob Rutledge, oncologist at the QE II Medical Centre (Halifax area)
  • Sierra Club of Canada
  • Toronto Board of Health
  • Toronto Environmental Alliance
  • United Steel Workers of America
  • Dr. Vance L. Trudeau, Associate -- Professor of Biology, University of Ottawa
  • Women’s Healthy Environments Network
  • World Wildlife Fund

Health and Toxicological Effects


 

 

 

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