email sent to Waverley Councillors September 6th 2018
I write to you today to ask that the Waverley Council urgently reviews its PESTICIDE USE POLICY and NOTIFICATION PLAN .
Shocking information about the harms of toxic exposure to pesticides have increasingly come to light globally. The current policy directly harms resident's health and exposes the council to legal liability from both its residents and council workers handling the chemicals.
Health effects of pesticides and herbicides.
Pesticides can be acutely toxic. This means that they can cause harmful or lethal effects after one single episode of ingestion, inhalation or skin contact. The symptoms are evident shortly after exposure or can arise within 48 hours. They can present as:
respiratory tract irritation, sore throat and/or cough
allergic sensitisation
eye and skin irritation
nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea
headache, loss of consciousness
extreme weakness, seizures and/or death
Long term (or chronic) toxicity
Pesticides can cause harmful effects over an extended period, usually following repeated or continuous exposure at low levels.
Long term pesticide exposure has been linked to the development of Parkinson’s disease; asthma; depression and anxiety; cancer, including leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma; and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The European Union, France and parts of the USA have moved to ban pesticide use in public spaces.
Waverley Council's current Pesticide Policy is exposing our residents to serious health issues. In addition, the current Pesticide Policy places our council in an increasingly vulnerable position in regard to legal liability with a growing body of evidence demonstrating the dangers pesticides pose to community health.
It should be noted that France has banned all pesticide and herbicide use in public parks, gardens and forests, the EU has banned all bee harming pesticides. The world health organisation (WHO) declared that Glyphosate is a possible carcinogen.
American court case awarded more than $300 million to a gardener who developed lymphatic cancer from the use of "Roundup".
A recent court case awarded more than $300 million to an American gardener who contracted terminal lymphatic cancer at age 42 from the use of the glyphosate containg product 'roundup'. This product is used extensively in spot spraying by Waverley Council workers without having to notify residents! This method was used by the American gardener who was awarded damages for contracting cancer from the use of 'roundup'.
Following the court's decision 1000's of follow up cases have been filed in regards to the use of "roundup'. Defendants have included both the manufacturer of the herbicide and food processors of grains found to contain the active ingredient glyphosate. It is reasonable to assume that organisations that compel workers to use the product will be sued in the future. Currently Waverley Council compels its workers to use 'roundup' !
No prior notification of pesticide/herbicide usage in Waverley Council for the majority of use.
It has come to my attention that as per the council's 'Pesticide Use Notification Plan 2016' the council is not required to give residents prior notification about the spot use of toxic pesticides and herbicides in their community areas. 'Spot use' is when the toxic chemicals are applied with a back pack by hand. This method is the only technique used for all of our:
Playgrounds, Picnic and BBQ areas, Street Trees and Planter boxes, Road verges and streetscape planting, Civic spaces ,Footpaths, laneways, and public roads, Easements accessible to the public, including drains,Car parks and public toilets,Crown Lands controlled by Council, Grounds and interiors of Council owned buildings.
Instances of gross contravention of our existing pesticide notification policy by Waverley Council's external contractors.
On the 20th June 2017 herbicides that are shown to cause neurological damage were sprayed on a wet windy day beside Bronte Public School while children were playing 2 metres away.
Both of the herbicides used are know to cause liver damage and may cause neurological issues (apparently a little liver damage is ok by our regulator the APVMA the Australian Pesticides and veterinary medicines authority). One (Prodiamine in 'Barricade') was banned in 1986 and incredibly re-approved presumably due to corporate lobbying.
They were spayed at 1.40pm on a school day. The regulatory authority states that Prodiamine the active ingredient in the herbicide "Barricade" should not come into contact with humans when wet. It was raining on Tuesday 20th June and this herbicide would have stayed wet all day on a lawn that hundreds of children passed at 3pm. The windy weather on Tuesday would have caused spray drift into the school only meters away and the rain runoff into the storm water drain would have taken the poison straight into the ocean.
This blatant disregard for our children's safety is being replicated in 100's of locations throughout our parks, playing field and outdoor areas every day. We need to change Government policy in regard to toxic pesticide / herbicide usage and follow the French lead where they have banned all pesticide usage in public places.
My question is have suitable changes been made to the PESTICIDE USE POLICY and NOTIFICATION PLAN in light of the serious health and legal issues that have come to light globally? If there has been inaction why has this been the case and what liability position does this place the council in?
Looking forward to your urgent action on this very serious public health issue and impending Council legal liability position.
David Walsman
Bronte resident
Vice President of Bronte Public School's P&C association
0419265257
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