City Pressed to Ban Pesticides
By 250 News
Monday, August 10, 2009 07:56 PM
Prince George, B.C.- The City of Prince George is being called upon to ban the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes. The call asks that such a ban cover not only public lands but private property as well.
In a presentation to Council, Kristin Turnball from UNBC told Council that between 1997 and 2006, the number of new cases of lung cancer in Prince George was 29% higher than the provincial rate.
Megan Klitch of the Canadian Cancer Society say municipal bylaws can motivate provincial governments to pass similar laws. She says the research connecting pesticides with cancers is not conclusive, but the evidence is leaning that way " A lot of people are comparing this to tobacco use, for years we believed tobacco was the leading cause of lung cancer, but it took many years before we could say that with certainty".
Exposure to environmental and occupational carcinogens is one of four factors that increase the risk of cancer. The other three are:
· Tobacco use,
· Poor nutrition, physical inactivity and unhealthy body weight and
· Excessive UV exposure
The presenters praised the City for its bylaws which established tobacco free areas, and for its burning bylaws. The City already has an integrated Pest Managment program which has reduced the use of herbicides and pesticides. That program is registered with the Province and updates on the use of pesticides are provided in the fall after the growing season is over.
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Posted by: seamutt on August 11 2009 7:34 PM
This City was told for decades that those numbers were statistically insignificant with a population base of less than 100,000.
The incidence of lung cancer in this region has been higher than the provincial average for a very long time. I believe that one of the reasons cited is that we have a higher percentage of smokers.
The higher incidence of lung cancer and lung related diseases has been linked in the past to the air quality.
Please get in line if you have another reason why this area has a higher incidence of such diseases. The air quality group was here before the pesticide group. Who is going to be reponsible to differentiate the causes with 99.9% certainty?
Good luck.