Little
yellow flags mean poison is present
04/27/2004 |
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I
believe that someday soon we will remember the practice of
spraying poisons on our earth with the same disdain that we now
view slavery.
To
the editor:
In September 1995 my father, George Carl Becker, died suddenly
from complications of a disease called Aplastic Anemia. He was
48 years old. Sixteen years earlier, at 32, my father was a
picture of health. Tall, strong and broad-shouldered, a former
division one athlete with a wife and a young son. Later that
same year, my father began to experience the severe and varied
symptoms that would shape the rest of his life. Tests reveled
that his bone marrow had lost the ability to produce blood
cells. He was told that he had six months to live. The doctors
also told him that his disease was most likely caused by his
recent exposure to a pesticide called
Lindane.
I reflect on this story often, but I think about it more when I
see those little yellow pesticide application signs around our
town fields or lawns. Contrary to what some believe, these
chemicals are not harmless. They do not merely disappear when
the signs do. They are tremendously harmful to all life and have
been linked with, or shown to cause, many types of human and
animal cancers, many types of lymphoma, tumors, cell and tissue
damage, developmental and learning problems as well as countless
other things.
I realize that people like their lawns to look neat, and that
we've been using chemicals on our food and fields for years. I
realize also that Connecticut residents have one of the highest
rates of cancer in the nation and that children are often
particularly sensitive to these toxins. There is a better way
and some towns are boldly stepping toward it. Marblehead, Mass.,
for example has banned pesticide use on all public property and
now uses organic methods. Find out more at www.livinglawns.org.
I believe that someday soon we will remember the practice of
spraying poisons on our earth with the same disdain that we now
view slavery. It took a tragedy for me to learn about the
dangers in pesticide use. Let us take steps to make sure it does
not happen again.
George Erik Becker
657 Durham Road
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