THE SAFETY OF HERBICIDES
This information is part of a packet of information that was put together to counter an attempt by some people to prevent the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation from using herbicides in their roadside vegetation management programs. It applies just as well to the use of herbicides in landscapes.
You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.
Before pesticides were developed to the point that they could be used extensively, man’s struggle with the environment was extremely time-consuming and often unproductive. The need for help was perceived to be so great that the person who developed DDT, Paul Muller of Ciba-Geigy, received the Nobel Prize in medicine for its discovery.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PDOT) has safely used herbicides as a part of its vegetation management program for many years. There are several reasons herbicides are used. Controlling vegetation with herbicides is safer, faster, and less costly than with physical methods such as cutting or mowing. Herbicides can do things that physical methods cannot. Selected herbicides can move into the roots of perennial weeds to kill the entire plant and limit re-growth following treatment. They can provide season-long control of vegetation in certain areas with only one application per year.
Despite the benefits provided by herbicides as part of a vegetation management program, their use is being challenged by some citizens groups, and in response, some parts of the political system. The purpose of this section is to allay the fears of those opposed to the use of herbicides by the PDOT.
Despite the fact that some people feel that all pesticides are highly toxic and dangerous to humans and their environment, there is no evidence supporting this belief, and much evidence refuting it. Like many other chemical products, herbicides can be harmful, but they are applied sparingly to specific targets in controlled manners, by experienced workers and in compliance with government-approved specifications. Key articles referenced below provide convincing evidence that the herbicides used by PDOT are safe for use along roadsides and pose no threat to the highway user or adjacent property owners.
How poisonous are herbicides?
The “2004Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System;” compiled by William Watson PharmD, TobyLitovitz MD, George Rogers Jr MD, Wendy Klein-Schwartz PharmD, Nicole Reid Med, Jessica Youniss MBA, Anne Flanagan MS, Kathleen Wruk MHS; includes 2,438,644 human exposure cases reported by 62 participating poison centers during 2004. Of all reported cases 92.7% occurred at a residence, with only 2% occurring in a workplace.
Of 1183 human fatalities reported, 919 were intentional (suicide, misuse, abuse, etc). Three were attributed to herbicides, but all three involved suicides. An additional 5 were attributed to insecticides or other pesticides, and again all involved suicides.