No Human Experimentation On Kids & Teachers!

Students and Teachers are NOT Guinea Pigs

WHY AB 405

By: Robina Suwol, California Safe Schools


California law allows pesticide products that do not have full registration and outstanding data requirements to be applied on school sites. This glaring oversight in the law may expose school children, teachers and other members of the public to unknown health risks.

Pesticides contain toxic substances, many of which have a detrimental effect on human health and the environment and, in particular, have a developmental effect on children. Children are more susceptible to hazardous impacts from
pesticides than are adults. Currently threshold levels of pesticide exposure and heath studies are based solely on an adult male of approximately 160 pounds.

Historically, pesticide products that have conditional registration or experimental use permits are sold and used for years without completing outstanding data requirements. This significant flaw can allow for chemicals with incomplete testing to be used on school sites, increasing undue exposure potential to pupils.

What AB 405 Does

AB 405 would prohibit the use of experimental or new pesticides without full registration on school sites. Essentially, this bill would prevent school children and teachers from being exposed to experimental and/or insufficiently tested pesticide products.

Additionally, AB 405 prohibits the use of pesticide products on school sites for which registration has been canceled, suspended, or marked for phase out of use. AB 405 will protect California public K-12 school children, teachers, school workers and community members from products whose full effects are unknown.

CALL TO ACTION:

Please send your letters of support to the bill author - Assemblymember Cindy Montañez at P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249, or fax to (916) 319-2139.

For further information please contact Michael Mendez at (916) 319-2039 or Robina Suwol with California Safe Schools (Sponsor) at (818) 785-5515.

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Honorable Cindy Montanez
Rm. 3013, State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: AB 405 (Montanez) - - SUPPORT

Dear Assemblymember Montanez:

Thank you for authoring AB 405. We look forward to working with your office and California Safe Schools on this important legislation.

We commend you for recognizing the unique vulnerability of children and teachers who may be unnecessarily exposed to untested pesticide products in our public schools.

AB 405 makes several important changes to the California Education Code that will restrict the use of experimental and new pesticides that have not been fully tested in order to protect hundreds of thousands of school children, as well as school workers.

Currently, California law allows pesticide products that do not have full registration and outstanding data requirements to be applied on schoolsites. Historically, pesticide products that have conditional registration or experimental use permits are sold and used for years without completing outstanding data requirements. This significant flaw can allow for chemicals with incomplete testing to be used on schoolsites, increasing undue exposure potential to students and teachers.

AB 405 would prohibit the use of experimental or new pesticide products without full registration on school sites. Essentially, this bill would prevent school children and teachers from being exposed to experimental and/or insufficiently tested pesticide products. Additionally, AB 405 prohibits the use of pesticide products on schoolsites for which registration has been canceled, suspended, or marked for phase out of use. AB 405 will protect California public K-12 school children, teachers, school workers and community members from products whose full effects are unknown.

School children and teachers are often neglected from undue pesticide exposure, so your leadership on this issue is especially important. We look forward to working with you and your staff to help protect Californias school children, school workers, and the environment from hazardous
pesticides.

Sincerely,
(List name, organization, title and contact info)

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