The Healthy Day Cares bill—AB 2865 (Torrico)—passed
out of the Assembly Wednesday, May 31st.
The bill would require private licensed day care facilities to
notify parents about pesticide applications and to post notices in areas
treated with pesticides. The bill also
would provide day care providers with information
and trainings on least-toxic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques to
help them create a safer environment in which to care for our most vulnerable population.
“Children ages zero to five are particularly
sensitive to the potentially harmful effects of pesticide exposure,” said Rachel
Gibson, Staff Attorney for Environment
California—the sponsor of
the bill. “The more parents know about
the pest control practices of their child’s day care, the more they can protect
their kids from unnecessary pesticide exposure.
Likewise, the more child care providers know about safer pest control
practices, the more likely they are to use them and the safer children under
their care will be.”
83% of children of working parents regularly spend time in
non-parental care, averaging 35 hours per week. In a recent U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency study on pesticide exposure, levels of pesticides found in dust were significantly
higher in day care settings than in residential homes.
Children’s exposure to pesticides during critical stages of development may
have permanent, irreversible effects. One recent California study found that children exposed to any pesticide in
their first year of life were more than twice as likely to suffer from
persistent asthma before the age of five.
Another study found that the risk of childhood leukemia increased more
than six times when garden pesticides were used at least once per month.
In 2000, Environment California worked to help pass the Healthy Schools Act of 2000, which
requires public schools to notify parents about pesticide applications
and to post notices in areas treated with pesticides, in addition to providing
schools with training on IPM. Under existing law, private child care
facilities are exempt.
The bill moves next to the Senate, where it will
be referred to a policy committee.
