We request that Los Alamos Parks and Recreation department stop spraying harmful herbicides RoundUp and EndRun Broad Leaf Weed Killer in Los Alamos parks.

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in RoundUp is classified as a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization. International Agency for Research on Cancer assigned Glyphosate to Group 2A. Group 2A is second highest of 5 categories for carcinogenic potential exceeded only by Group1, which includes agents such as tobacco, plutonium and asbestos.

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in RoundUp has been linked to:

• breast cancer and other cancers, increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• infertility, death of human embryonic cells, spontaneous abortions in farm animals
• genetic damage and birth defects
• eye, skin, and respiratory irritation
• hormone disruption
• neurological impacts
• water and atmosphere contamination
• impacts on immune function
• increased weed resistance
• decrease in population of bees and butterflies (also pollinators)

Glyphosate is routinely found in significant amounts in rain water (75% of samples tested had it), human urine and breast milk. The hydrologic transpiration (how water travels through soil) in our area is unusually fast, meaning we have a high level of porosity as well as high permeability and our city sits close to the headwaters of our own aquifers that we use for our city's drinking water. What that means is that any water (irrigation or precipitation) when it comes off the parks and fields as runoff will very quickly end up in our drinking aquifers.

2,4-D, an active ingredient in EndRun Broad Leaf Weed Killer has been linked to cancer, kidney and liver damage, reproductive toxicity and endocrine disruption. Its salt form is highly toxic when it gets in your eyes. Breathing it in causes coughing, dizziness and impaired muscle coordination. Ingesting the salt causes nausea, diarrhea and possible liver and kidney damage. Through these channels, 2,4-D also damages the nervous system. Effects include fatigue, inflamed nerves, arm and leg stiffness, lost coordination, inability to walk, coma and even death. Despite the Environmental Protection Agency's position that 2,4-D is not carcinogenic, a link between 2,4-D and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has been established in studies conducted in the United States and Canada as well as several European countries. 2,4-D has also been linked to canine malignant lymphoma in dogs whose owners use the chemical on their lawns. In 1996 a study of children of pesticide appliers in Minnesota found them to have a higher rate of birth abnormalities when compared with the general population. This trend to birth defects was found in birds as well. Many 2,4-D products also contain dioxins, which are very carcinogenic. Dioxins also reduce fertility, alter hormones, and cause miscarriage and birth defects.

Round-up: (Glyphosate) Banned or Limited in Brazil, France Sri Lanka, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, Colombia, Costa Rica

EndRun Broad Leaf Weed Killer: **Not for Sale to: NEW YORK; CA; LA; MA; NJ

Link to Los Alamos Daily post with spraying dates and herbicides: http://www.ladailypost.com/content/annual-trimec-spraying-may-16-through-may-27