The February School IPM 2015 newsletter features articles on IPM in the Classroom, Performance Standards for IPM Coordinators and the new Inspector's Field Guide for Pest Identification.

http://www.ipminstitute.org/school_ipm_2015/Feb11_eNewsletter.htm

Letter to Linda Walsh, Newton Health Department

12 8 2010  Attn:  Linda Walsh, linda_walsh@newton.k12.ma.us  cc: Bob Rooney rrooney@newtonma.gov
Dear Linda,
   Bob Rooney sent me the draft of the letter you are planning to submit to the MBTA.
   I am very grateful that you have taken the time to send comments.
   I hope you will be willing to consider my suggestions for your comments.  Please call me if you would like to discuss them. 
    (Note: I have asked Bob to ask the Mayor for a formal acknowledgment of the original letter and a brief summary of the steps City of Newton officials have taken so far.)
   Your letter focuses on steps to fulfill the requirements regarding notification.  At our meeting last Thursday, I thought we agreed that newspaper notices are not acceptable.  In the past, the local newspaper notice was limited and ineffective. It is even more inadequate today when so many people rely on email and online communication.  
    Clearly the requirements for record keeping and communication to the public need review and updating.  The confusion between Ann Phelps and John McNally about when the spraying takes place is evidence that systems need updating.
    And then, even if the state agencies and the city of Newton did meet the requirements of the current regulations, the public would not be receiving adequate or proper notice of either the spraying or the opportunity to influence official policymaking. 
    Therefore I hope you will ask that the review and comment period for the YOP be extended to give the City of Newton adequate time to notify its citizens, especially the abutters, of opportunities to engage in a legitimate public review of the entire YOP.
    More important, there are no precautions that people can take to protect themselves and their families from exposures to herbicides. In fact, such false assurances misinforms the public about the true nature of pesticides.
    Since learning that City of Newton officials do not have records of the multiple herbicide applications on Rights-of-Ways in Newton, and until such records are public, I hope the Health Department will object to the use of herbicides by state agency contractors. 
    While Bob Rooney has asked the City of Newton Law Department to acquire the herbicide application records, please know that the complete ingredients in the chemical products are trade secrets. They not disclosed even to the EPA. So that public officials nor the public ever has the complete picture of what chemicals are being used and therefore there is no way to truly track or evaluate the true cost to health or the environment.
    As we discussed last Thursday, I look forward to working with you to share information with other Newton officials and citizens.
    Please forward me your final letter so that I can share it with others who are interested in the City’s response to the Letter to Mayor Warren.  Signatures (as of 11/20/2010).
    I have been posting information and resources online. Click here.
Best regards,
Ellie Goldberg 617 965-9637

Attn: Mayor Setti Warren Re: MBTA Herbicide spraying

To: Mayor Setti Warren, Newton CIty Hall

Da: November 12, 2010

From: Signatures (as of 11/20/2010)

1 attachment  Board of Alderman RESOLUTION 1995

_______________

Dear Mayor Warren,

We were inspired by your promise on Newton’s 350 day to make us the greenest city and your commitment to create a "culture of safety" at the recent NNHS Safety Meeting.

We are writing to ask you to take leadership to protect public health and environmental safety by objecting to the MBTA’s plan to spray hazardous herbicides along the tracks in Newton and Boston, Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Malden, Medford, Milton, Quincy Revere and Somerville.  

There will be a hearing on November 15 regarding the MBTA’s Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) and a Yearly Operational Plan (YOP).  Written comments are accepted until December 9.

Hearing announcement:
http://www.env.state.ma.us/mepa/mepadocs/2010/102510em/pn/5.pdf

2010 Massachusetts Bay Transporaton Authoirty Rapid Transit Lines Yearly Operational Plan 
http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/yop/MBTA-2010-YOP.pdf

MBTA Vegetation Management Plan 2011 - 2015 http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/vmp/MBTA-VMP-2011-2015.pdf

In 1994, several Newton residents organized the Committee for Alternatives to Pesticides (GreenCAP) after Dr. Rita Arditti's presentation about cancer as an environmental disease and state statistics named Newton as one of the towns with the highest rate of cancer.  Our goal was to educate the community and the city about alternatives to toxic chemicals for weed and insect control. 

http://greendecade.org/greencap.html

http://greendecade.org/greenCap_pesticides.html

http://greendecade.org/greenCap_primer.html

That year, our main action was to organize community and official objection to the MBTA's herbicide spraying on the tracks and we continued to do so as the MBTA resumed spraying every few years. 

Please read the brief history below and see the attached resolution by the Newton Board of Alderman.

Today, our objections are stronger than ever.  All pesticides are poison.  Pesticides can be inhaled, absorbed through the skin or swallowed, not only in treated areas but down wind and down stream. 

Moreover, toxic chemicals are unnecessary. Alternative non-chemical weed control methods such as planting low maintenance vegetation and mechanical cutting are known to be both effective and economical.

This time, the primary chemical product is Razor^® Pro Herbicide, (Active ingredient is 41% Glyphosate Isopropylamine Salt.)

According to Razor® Pro's marketing information, it is “Ideal for use in post-emergent weed control in industrial sites as well as forestry, turf, vegetation management, and ornamental areas. Razor Pro controls most annual and perennial weeds and is highly effective on woody brush and plants. This surfactant-loaded liquid formulation is rainfast within two hours of application and eliminates the need for additional surfactant.  Note: This herbicide cannot be sold in MA, VT, WA, CA.  

Manufacturer's Material Safety Data Sheet  http://www.afpmb.org/pubs/standardlists/msds/6840-01-108-9578_msds_razorpro.pdf

Most alarming, the MA Department of Agricultural Resources’ fact sheet defending the primary herbicide ingredient, glyphosate, is based on the same misleading and out-of-date references from the 1970s and 1980s that we first objected to over fifteen years ago when we were objecting to the use of the glyphosate-based product, RoundUp Pro.   

http://www.mass.gov/agr/pesticides/rightofway/docs/Glyphosate2005.pdf

Another proposed herbicide is Oust Extra.  Health hazards of Oust Extra, Fact Sheet, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides: http://www.pesticide.org/get-the-facts/pesticide-factsheets/factsheets/sulfometuron See additional information below.

We ask you to submit written comments urging the MBTA to revise its plan to spray and reach out to other state and local leaders to join you.  We also ask that the City of Newton departments that receive the state notifications, the Health Department, Conservation Commission and Board of Aldermen (identified 11/17)  share that information with Newton citizens, especially with the abutters of the MBTA tracks and other Rights of Way herbicide users (i.e., the Turnpike, Highways, Commuter Rail, etc. added 11/17) so they can participate in the hearings and take advantage of options for public comment.

We are eager to meet with you to answer questions and provide additional background.

• Brief History-MBTA plans Herbicide Application in Newton-DEJA VU
• Green Decade Letter to Mayor Warren, November 2010

Yours truly,

Ellie Goldberg, 79 Elmore Street, Newton Center, MA 617-965-9637

and others