Pesticides in Contra Costa County

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PESTI CID ES ESTICID CIDES CONTR A COST A COUNT Y NTRA OSTA OUNTY Report

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PREPARED BY PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD MARCH 2001

THE ROLE OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND PESTICIDES One key mission of public health is to protect and promote community health and wellness by addressing social, economic, policy and environmental factors.

Protecting the public from environmental threats to health is a long-standing public health activity. Some of the earliest successes include enacting protective measures to assure safe supplies of food and water, and treating sewage and municipal wastes. More recently, public health has expanded its efforts into other areas such as preventing lead poisoning caused by exposure to household paints and protecting the public from toxic exposures in the workplace or the surrounding environment. As new environmental hazards have emerged, the field of public health has expanded research to determine potential harmful effects of chemicals on community health and the environment.

Public health has a critical and unique role in addressing environmental health issues. It offers expertise in collecting and analyzing health data, monitoring changes and trends in community health, developing effective public education campaigns, and has a long history of advocacy to protect the public’s health. These areas are essential to developing sound environmental health policy.

Pesticides EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This is the second in a series of reports prepared by the Public and Environmental Health Advisory Board (PEHAB) to inform elected officials and policy makers about key environmental health issues in Contra Costa County. This report on pesticides contains the following key points:

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In 1998, farms and other licensed pesticide applicators used 832,598 pounds of pesticides in Contra Costa County.

Of this total, 176,550 pounds of 80 different pesticides were either acutely toxic, potential or known carcinogens, neurotoxins, reproductive or developmental toxicants, or are known to have contaminated the groundwater in California.

In Contra Costa County, pesticides have been detected in groundwater; in aerial drift from applications on agricultural fields; and in the effluent from wastewater treatment plants going into San Francisco Bay. Pesticide contamination of the soil at an industrial site in the county has also resulted in a major clean-up effort.

Acute exposure to pesticides can cause a wide range of symptoms, including irritation of the nose, throat, skin and eyes, 21% allergic reactions, headaches, vomiting, chest pain and muscle pain. Possible chronic health effects from exposure to pesticides include cancer, nervous system damage, birth defects, reproductive system harm and damage to the body’s organs.

As an overriding approach to minimize the harm that pesticides may cause, PEHAB recommends that everyone controlling pests should adopt a strategy called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Integrated Pest Management is an ecosystembased strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage, through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices and use of resistant varieties.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT Pesticides, by design, are toxic. They are designed to kill the pests they are targeting, whether these are insects, plants, microscopic organisms or rats. Unfortunately, in addition to being toxic to the pests they are designed to kill, most pesticides are also harmful to some other animals, plants or people.

The degree of harm suffered by non-targeted organisms and people depends on the toxicity of a given pesticide to a particular organism or individual and the amount of the pesticide to which they are exposed. Numerous cases of harm to people and the environment have been documented due to pesticide use. Data from other parts of California and In 1998 more than 1/5 of pesticides used in Contra the United States have shown that Costa County were “Bad people and non-target organisms Actor Pesticides” have been harmed by the same pesticides being used in Contra Costa County.

Pesticides are used widely in California, and Contra Costa County is no exception. In 1998, farms and other licensed pesticide applicators used 214 million pounds of pesticides in California832,598 pounds of which were used in Contra Costa County. An unknown amount of additional pesticides were applied directly by homeowners and businesses in and around their homes and business premises. In 1998, 176,550 pounds of 80 different pesticides were used in Contra Costa County that were either acutely toxic, potential or known carcinogens, neurotoxins, reproductive or developmental toxicants, or are known to have contaminated the groundwater in California. These pesticides have been termed “Bad Actor” pesticides by Californians for Pesticide Reform, and will be referred to as such in this report.

Ten pesticides accounted for 60% of all Bad Actor pesticide use in the county (see table, page 5).

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TOP 10 BAD ACTOR PESTICIDES USED IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY IN 1998 Pesticide Pesticide Type Pounds Used

Major Uses for Pesticide

Health and Environmental Effects

Diuron Herbicide 21,457 lbs.

Right-of-Ways Landscape maintenance Asparagus

Carcinogen Acutely toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates

Chlorpyrifos Insecticide 16,764 lbs.

Structural pest control Landscape maintenance Agriculture

Suspected Endocrine Disrupter Neurotoxin Acutely toxic to birds, fish, aquatic invertebrates, and bees

Diazinon Insecticide 14,706 lbs.

Structural pest control Landscape maintenance Apples

Neurotoxin Acutely toxic to birds, fish, aquatic invertebrates, and bees

Chlorothalonil Fungicide 14,005 lbs.

Tomatoes Landscape maintenance

Carcinogen Acutely toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates

Methyl Parathion Insecticide 11,506 lbs.

Corn Apples

Suspected Endocrine Disrupter Neurotoxin Acutely toxic to humans and birds

Mancozeb Fungicide 9,850 lbs.

Tomatoes Landscape maintenance Apples

Carcinogen Suspected Endocrine Disrupter Acutely toxic to fish

Methyl Bromide Fungicide Fumigant 8,694 lbs.

Structural pest control Commodity fumigation

Developmental Toxin Acutely toxic to humans

Acrolien Herbicide 8,063 lbs.

Right-of-Ways

Acutely toxic to humans, birds, fish

Phosmet Insecticide 7,117 lbs.

Apples

Neurotoxin Acutely toxic to aquatic invertebrates and bees

EPTC Herbicide 6,992 lbs.

Alfalfa Corn Tomatoes

Developmental Toxin Neurotoxin

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The scientific understanding of the health impacts of pesticides and how they remain in and move through the environment is incomplete and continually evolving. Many examples exist of pesticides being registered for use in California only to be banned later because it was determined that they had unanticipated health effects or moved through the environment in unanticipated ways. Recently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency determined that Symptoms of the use of two of the most commonly used household pesticides, acute pesticide chlorpyrofos and diazinon, should exposure are be severely restricted due to a new very similar to understanding of their threat to those of other human health. common Identifying and attributing ailments such as illness or death in people and nonallergies, colds target organisms to specific pesticide exposures is difficult. Many sympand food toms of acute pesticide exposure are poisoning. very similar to those of other Long-term common ailments such as allergies, impacts such as colds and food poisoning. Long-term cancer take impacts such as cancer take years to years to develop, develop, and are almost impossible and are almost to link to a specific source in retrospect. Also, long-term and impossible to short-term exposures to pesticides link to a specific do not occur in isolation. People and source. non-target organisms are exposed to other pollutants, and their health is affected by other factors such as genetics and diet, thus making it even more difficult to link harm to pesticide exposure.

While there is a regulatory system in place to prevent unintentional harm to people and the environment, the ongoing use of pesticides means that the potential for this harm will always be present. Workers who apply pesticides or work in areas where pesticides are heavily applied are especially vulnerable to exposure. This harm can be caused when workers 6

are not provided adequate safety training, personal protective equipment and access to washing facilities, and when the users of pesticides do not follow application directions and safety precautions. Harm can also be caused by the unanticipated movement of pesticides through air or water that impacts nontargeted organisms and people, or the unpredicted health effects of pesticides on non-targeted organisms and people. In Contra Costa County, pesticides have been detected in groundwater; in aerial drift from applications on agricultural fields; and in the effluent from wastewater treatment plants going into San Francisco Bay. Pesticide contamination of the soil at an industrial site in the county has also resulted in a major clean-up effort.

Possible Health Impacts from Pesticide Exposure ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS Acute exposure to pesticides can cause a wide range of symptoms. Some pesticides can cause irritation of the nose, throat, skin and eyes. Others can exacerbate asthma or cause allergic reactions. Some can affect the brain and central nervous system causing headaches, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, chest pain and muscle pain. Enough exposure to certain pesticides can even cause death. In 1998, there were 998 cases of possible, probable or definite acute pesticide exposures reported to the State Department of Pesticide Regulations. Nine of these cases were in Contra Costa County. Twenty-nine pesticides used in Contra Costa County in 1998, including three of the ten most widely used Bad Actor pesticides, were rated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as being in the most acutely toxic class of pesticides.

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CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS Possible chronic health effects from exposure to pesticides include cancer, nervous system damage, birth defects, reproductive system harm, and damage to the body’s organs. Chronic health effects may take years to develop after exposure. Many of the pesticides registered for use in California have been linked to chronic health effects. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation reported that in 1998, 25.3 million pounds of carcinogenic pesticides, 29.5 million pounds of reproductive toxins and 13 million pounds of neurotoxins were used in California. In Contra Costa County, three of the top ten most widely used Bad Actor pesticides (diuron, chlorothalonil and mancozeb) used in 1998, totaling 48,000 pounds, were known or probable carcinogens. Seventeen other pesticides used in Contra Costa County in 1998 were also known or probable carcinogens.

Environmental Impacts Pesticides have been known to harm non-target plants, insects, animals, birds, fish and other aquatic organisms. Plants and animals have been exposed to pesticides in the same manner as people-from agricultural and road-side application drift, private use at homes, schools and businesses, and from professional applications for structural pest control and landscaping. In addition, storm water run-off containing pesticides from urban and agricultural areas have contaminated creeks and the San Francisco Bay. Many of the pesticides that have been documented to cause harm to non-targeted plants and animals are used in Contra Costa County. The six most widely used Bad Actor pesticides in Contra Costa County are all highly toxic to wildlife.

Chlorpyrifos and diazinon, which are highly toxic to birds, fish, aquatic invertebrates and bees, have been formally identified by the Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board as impairing Bay Area creeks.

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Uses of Pesticides in Contra Costa County PESTICIDE USE IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY AGRICULTURE Contra Costa agricultural products were valued at $86.7 million in 1998. The two major areas of agriculture in the County are the Richmond area, where nursery products dominate, and in east county, where fruits, vegetables and field crops dominate. Livestock and poultry are also important in the county.

Total Contra Costa County pesticide use reported in 1998 was 832,598 pounds. Only 65% of these pesticides were used in agriculture, compared to 94% statewide. Of the 176,550 pounds of Bad Actor pesticides used in Contra Costa, about 95,000 pounds, or 54%, were used in agriculture. Fifty-three different Bad Actor pesticides were used in Contra Costa agriculture. The major uses of Bad Actor pesticides in agriculture were for tomatoes for processing (25,032 lbs), followed by apples (19,197 lbs), and corn (16,641 lbs).

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PESTICIDE USE IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS AND PARKS Pesticides are used by schools, public agencies, businesses and in private homes by licensed pesticide applicators to control pests in, and around, buildings and in parks. Landscaping and structural pest control accounted for a large percentage of the total pesticide use in the county, accounting for 75,465 pounds, or 9%, and 56,860 pounds, or 7%, respectively. Structural pest control was the largest user of Bad Actor pesticides, accounting for 29,780 pounds, or 17%, of all Bad Actor pesticides used in 1998. Thirty-one different Bad Actor pesticides were used by this category. Landscape maintenance accounted for nearly as much (29,605 pounds) of Bad Actor pesticide use in 1998, or 17%. Fifty Bad Actor pesticides were used by this category.

PESTICIDE USE IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY RIGHT-OF-WAYS In Contra Costa County, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the County’s Public Works Department and other agencies spray road right-of-ways with pesticides to control unwanted plant growth. They do this to remove visual hazards, increase pavement life and reduce fire hazard.

Together, these agencies spray over 800 miles of road right-ofways. The County’s Public Works Department has developed a policy to minimize the use of the most toxic pesticides.

In 1998 all right-of-way agencies reported using 82,816 pounds of pesticides, or 10% of total pesticide use in the County that year. Of this, 22,427 pounds of 13 different pesticides are Bad Actor pesticides.

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PESTICIDE USE BY CONTRA COSTA COUNTY HOMEOWNERS The amount of pesticides used by homeowners in Contra Costa County cannot be accurately measured. Pesticide use by homeowners does not have to be reported to the State Department of Pesticide Regulation in the same manner required of farms and licensed pesticide applicators. No licenses or permits are required by homeowners to use pesticides they purchase at retail outlets. Statewide pesticide sales can be estimated, but not on a county-by-county basis. Still, it is known that local homeowners use significant amounts of two pesticides that have been determined to be harming aquatic insects in San Francisco Bay. These pesticides are diazinon and chlorpyrifos.

Routes of Exposure AERIAL DRIFT Many pesticides, when applied, can travel through the air and be inhaled by people. Most of these cases occur in agricultural settings, but some also occur in urban settings usually as a result of structural pest control. The State of California has developed a list of the 34 pesticides that have been designated as toxic air contaminants. In 1998, 50,000 pounds of 15 of these toxic air contaminant pesticides were applied in Contra Costa County. State law requires the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to monitor the air for these pesticides and develop regulations to mitigate the health impacts of those found to pose significant risk.

“Poisoning the Air: Airborne Pesticides in California,” a 1998 report by Californians for Pesticide Reform, found that: • Of 26 pesticides monitored by the state’s Toxic Air Contaminant program, 19 were found in ambient air at least once.

• 100 pesticides prioritized by the state have not been monitored.

• 4 million Californians live within 1/2-mile of heavy annual applications of 152 pesticides.

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Another report, “What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You Pesticides in California’s Air,” published in 1999 by the Environmental Working Group presented the results of air monitoring conducted by that organization. They took 94 air samples statewide and tested them for pesticides. Pesticides were detected in 60 of the samples taken in this study.

Very little air monitoring for pesticides has been conducted in Contra Costa County. In the Environmental Working Group study, two samples were taken for one pesticide at one location in Contra Costa County, and none was detected. The State conducted air monitoring in 1993 for the fumigant metamsodium around a tomato field in Contra Costa County. The study detected the pesticide in concentrations ranging from 23 81 parts per billion. This finding led to a change in the application procedure for this pesticide.

In response to citizen concern, the County Agriculture Department has restrictions in the Brentwood area for air applications around schools and on certain specific agricultural fields. Some pesticides are prohibited from being applied by air onto certain fields, and for other fields, only specific pesticides can be applied by air under the supervision of Department staff.

DRINKING WATER Like many Californians, approximately 10,000 Contra Costa residents rely on groundwater as a source of their drinking water. Unfortunately, many groundwater supplies in California have been contaminated with pesticides. These pesticides have been able to contaminate groundwater supplies because they do not break down quickly enough or bind to soil well enough to be prevented from migrating down into the groundwater beneath where they have been applied. Groundwater contamination has occurred even when pesticides have been applied according to directions.

The State Department of Pesticide Regulation samples thousands of wells each year for pesticides. This sampling has been done each year for the last 15 years pursuant to the State Pesticide Contamination Prevention Act. Since this program began, 16 pesticides and related compounds have been detected in groundwater as the result of legal agricultural use. A report 12

by The California Public Interest Research Group (CalPIRG) compiled drinking water monitoring data collected by several public agencies from 1990 - 1998. Statewide, the report found that 101 pesticides have been detected in the state’s drinking water supplies over this period; seven have been detected in more than 100 sources.

In Contra Costa County, the CalPIRG report found that 16 pesticides have been detected at 32 sites.

Small water systems in the County (2 - 199 connections) serve about 10,000 people. These systems are required to test for pesticides and are regulated by the County Environmental Health Department, which has detected no pesticides in these drinking water supplies.

In 1994 - 1995, the State’s monitoring program detected four pesticides in other Contra Costa County wells, although no pesticides have been detected in Contra Costa wells by the state program since that time. Three one-mile-square Pesticide Management Zones (PMZs) were established in the county as a result of the pesticide contamination detected by the state’s monitoring program. A PMZ is a land area where a pesticide has been detected in groundwater and where it has been determined that the contamination was due to legal agricultural use. One zone in Brentwood was established due to atrazine contamination. The other two zones are in north Concord. One was established for atrazine, prometon and simazine contamination and the other was established for bromacil and prometon contamination. Establishment of these zones meant that use of these pesticides in the zones is either prohibited or severely restricted.

Atrazine, simazine and bromacil continued to be used in Contra Costa County in 1998. Two other pesticides, diuron and norflurazon, which are known to contaminate groundwater through legal agricultural use, were also used in Contra Costa County in 1998. In fact, diuron was the fifth most widely used pesticide in the county in 1998, and the most widely used Bad Actor pesticide. Continued use of these pesticides increases the risk of groundwater contamination in Contra Costa County.

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SURFACE WATER Two pesticides commonly used commercially and by homeowners to kill insects- diazinon and chlorpyrifos-are a major concern for waterways in Contra Costa County because they are also very toxic to aquatic organisms. The Regional Water Quality Control Board has designated all the urban creeks in the Bay Area as impaired because of the presence of these two pesticides, which wash into the creeks in the form of stormwater run-off.

These two pesticides have also been found in the effluent from the Central Sanitary Wastewater treatment plant in Martinez and were linked to the acute toxicity of that effluent to test organisms. This treatment plant serves approximately 400,000 people in the central region of the County, with the effluent from the treatment plant discharging directly into Carquinez Strait. Studies indicated that 60 percent of the two pesticides coming into the sewer system were from residential areas. The US Environmental Protection Agency recently severely restricted the use of these two pesticides because of human health concerns.

In response to this problem, the Central Sanitary Sewer District and the County’s Clean Water Program have developed an educational program for homeowners that includes store displays, workshops, school programs and general educational materials about less-toxic gardening and pest control.

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WORKPLACE EXPOSURE Workers who apply pesticides or work in areas where pesticides are heavily applied are especially vulnerable to exposure. Workers can be exposed when handling, mixing or applying pesticides, or while working in areas where pesticides are being used or have recently been used. Workers can be exposed through direct skin contact, by breathing in pesticides from aerial drift, or by ingesting pesticide left on their hands if they did not wash before eating.

Approximately 200 - 250 farms and nurseries use pesticides in their operations in Contra Costa County, and an estimated 750 - 1,600 documented farm workers and an unknown number of undocumented farm workers work on these farms. Additionally, approximately 150 professional pesticide applicators are based in the county, and another 150 do work in the county.

The County Agricultural Commission enforces state, federal and local laws and regulations relating to pesticide use in Contra Costa County. The Department of Pesticide Regulation Pesticide Enforcement Branch oversees the pesticide use enforcement activities of the Commission. The Commission annually inspects the businesses based in the County to make sure they are following requirements for training workers, using the proper protective equipment, keeping strict records and applying pesticides properly.

Enforcement options available to commissioners include administrative civil penalties, criminal and civil actions, or the suspension or revocation of county registrations and permits.

Under the law, civil fines can range from $50 to $1,000 for each violation. From 1991 - 1997 the Contra Costa County Agricultural Commissioner issued an average of 13.5 fines per year and assessed an average of $2671 total fines per year (averaging $198/fine).

Despite the regulatory programs in place, workers do get 15

harmed by pesticides on a regular basis. There were 998 cases of possible, probable or definite acute pesticide exposures reported in 1998 statewide; 914 of these were occupational exposures. Statewide, from 1991 through 1996, approximately one-third of the reported cases were agriculture-related. In Contra Costa County in 1998, eight of the nine cases reported were in non-agricultural settings.

The actual number of incidents of harm is difficult to determine because of the ineffectiveness of California’s Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program (PISP), which requires doctors to report any possible pesticide illnesses to the County Health Officer. The Agricultural Commissioner is then supposed to investigate the case to determine if pesticides were involved in the illness. Unfortunately, very few doctors actually follow this system. The State Department of Pesticide Regulation has to review workers’ compensation claims filed with the State Department of Industrial Relations to find potential cases of pesticide poisoning. This means that pesticide-related illnesses are probably being under-reported from farm workers that don’t use the workers’ compensation system and from nonwork-related pesticide illnesses.

The poor level of health care for farm workers magnifies the potential impact of pesticide exposure for that segment of the population, and the need for better training and protections.

Recent studies have shown that many farm workers do not have health insurance, many have never been to a doctor or a dentist, and that rates of chronic disease for farm workers are very high.

Farm workers often don’t go to the doctor because they are afraid of incurring medical bills, do not realize they are entitled to workers’ compensation and fear retaliation from employers.

Many are also not provided sufficient pesticide hazard training.

Lack of regular health care and pesticide training could result in acute pesticide-related illnesses that require emergency medical care from the County health care system. Recent attempts in the State Legislature to address some of the deficiencies in the system have failed, including attempts to tighten the signage requirements around recently sprayed fields and to increase the amount of funding to conduct research on sustainable agriculture.

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Conclusions and Recommendations PEHAB believes that a precautionary approach to using pesticides is warranted. Instead of waiting until scientists can conclusively prove that pesticide use in Contra Costa County is causing significant harm, action should be taken now to prevent possible exposure to pesticides. The best way to prevent exposure is to not use pesticides in the first place, or to use the least toxic pesticides possible. PEHAB believes the best way to achieve this goal is through the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

Integrated Pest Management is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices and use of resistant varieties. Pesticides are used only after monitoring indicates they are needed according to established guidelines, and treatments are made with the goal of removing only the target organism. Pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks to human health, beneficial and non-target organisms, and the environment.

Using the Integrated Pest Management approach as an underlying principle, PEHAB has the following recommendations: 1. Require all County Departments that control pests to lead by example and adopt a formal IPM policy. This policy should require that the use of pesticides on Californians for Pesticide Reform’s Bad Actors list and the California Prop 65 list be phased out.

2. Require all relevant County Departments to report annually to the Board of Supervisors on their use of pesticides and the implementation of their IPM policy.

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3. Require all professional pesticide applicators with whom County Departments contract to follow the County’s IPM policy.

4. Request that the State Department of Health Services conduct more intensive monitoring of groundwater, especially in areas where there is heavy use of pesticides.

5. Request that the State Air Resources Board conduct intensive air monitoring as part of their SB 25 monitoring program, especially in a community where heavy pesticide use is occurring.

6. Request that the State Air Resources Board and the State Department of Pesticide Regulation fully fund and implement the AB 1807 program, which is designed to identify and strictly regulate pesticides that contaminate the air and pose a risk to human health.

7. Request that State Legislature support all efforts to promote and fund the implementation of IPM programs in schools.

The recently passed Healthy Schools Act of 2000, AB 2260, should be fully funded and implemented.

8. Encourage all school districts in Contra Costa County to adopt and implement formal IPM policies. These IPM policies should include requirements for parents, teachers and students to be notified when pesticides are used on school property. All pesticide applicators with whom school districts contract should be required to follow IPM policies.

9. Continue to fund and expand the homeowner education program about less toxic pest control, now partially funded by the County’s Clean Water Program and the Central Contra Costa County Sanitary District.

10. Fully fund the three household hazardous waste collection facilities in Contra Costa County to ensure homeowners always have a place to safely dispose of unwanted pesticides.

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11. Continue and expand outreach to private businesses to encourage the use of an IPM approach to pest management at their facilities.

12. Recognize private businesses that implement IPM programs.

13. Improve warning signage around recently sprayed fields.

14. Increase physicians’ awareness of the Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program.

15. Support increases in funding for enforcement programs and sustainable agricultural research.

16. Address the lack of health insurance for farm workers, and work to remove the barriers preventing them from obtaining proper health care.

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GLOSSARY AB 1807 – A state law passed in 1983 that requires the State Department of Pesticide Regulation to use pesticide monitoring data and toxicological data to determine whether certain pesticides pose a threat to public health and therefore should be identified as toxic air contaminants (TACs).

AB 2260 – A state law passed in 2000, also known as the Healthy Schools Act, which requires annual notification of planned pesticide use to all parents at the beginning of each school year and provides a registry for parents to sign up for notification in advance of all pesticide applications. The law also requires schools to post signs where pesticides are applied. The Department of Pesticide Regulation must provide school districts with a manual and training on alternative pest control, and school districts must maintain detailed records of pesticide use on school sites.

Aerial drift – Movement of pesticides away from their intended target onto neighboring areas through the air, occurring either during application or by evaporation.

“Bad Actor Pesticides” – Pesticides found by Californians for Pesticide Reform to be either acutely toxic, potential or known carcinogens, neurotoxins, reproductive or developmental toxicants, or known to have contaminated groundwater in California.

California Proposition 65 – Passed by the voters of California in 1986, this law, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, requires the Governor to publish a list of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Effluent – The wastewater discharged from an industrial facility or wastewater treatment plant into a body of water.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) – an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as 20

biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices and use of resistant varieties. Pesticides are used only after monitoring indicates they are needed according to established guidelines, and treatments are made with the goal of removing only the target organism. Pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks to human health, beneficial and non-target organisms and the environment.

Landscaping pest control – Refers to the management of pests in yards, gardens, parks, school grounds and building grounds, but excludes public right-of-ways.

Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program – A statewide program that requires physicians to report to county health officers any illnesses they know or suspect are related to pesticide exposure. County health officers must then report to county agricultural commissioners, the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Department of Industrial Relations. The county commissioners determine whether the cases identified are potentially related to pesticides.

SB 25 – A state law passed in 1999 that requires the State Air Resources Board to conduct special air monitoring in six communities across the State to gather data necessary to: 1) determine the adequacy of the current air pollution monitoring network; 2) identify areas where the exposure of children is not adequately measured; and 3) make recommendations to improve and expand the air pollution monitoring network to more adequately reflect children’s exposure to air pollution.

State Pesticide Contamination Prevention Act – A State Law passed in 1985 that requires the State Department of Pesticide Regulation to maintain a statewide database of wells sampled for active ingredients of pesticide products, to review findings of pesticide contamination, and undertake necessary mitigation.

Structural pest control – Refers to the management of pests in buildings.

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Resources California Department of Pesticide Regulation (1995). Summary of Assembly Bill 1807/3219 Pesticide Air Monitoring Results Conducted by the California Air Resources Board 1986 to 1995. Report EH 9510. Sacramento, CA. California Department of Pesticide Regulation (1999). 1998 Annual Pesticide Use Report: Contra Costa County. Sacramento, CA. California Department of Pesticide Regulation (1999). County Agricultural Commissioner Administrative Civil Penalty Report, July 1, 1996 through June 30, 1997. Sacramento, CA. California Department of Pesticide Regulation (1999). Sampling for Pesticide Residues in California Well Water, 1999 Update of the Well Inventory Database. Report EH00-04. Sacramento, CA. California Institute for Rural Studies (2000). Farmworker Health Needs Assessment. Davis, CA. California Public Interest Research Group Charitable Trust ( 1999).

Toxics on Tap, Pesticides in California Drinking Water Sources. San Francisco, CA. Californians for Pesticide Reform (1998). Poisoning the Air: Airborne Pesticides in California. San Francisco, CA. Californians for Pesticide Reform (1999). Fields of Poison, California Farmworkers and Pesticides. San Francisco, CA. Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (1998). Pollution Prevention Annual Report for 1997. Martinez, CA. Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture (2000). 1999 Crop Report. Concord, CA. Environmental Working Group (1999). What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You, Pesticides in California’s Air. San Francisco, CA. Pesticide Action Network (1999). Disrupting the Balance: Ecological Impacts of Pesticides in California. San Francisco, CA. 22

Groups Working on the Issue (a partial list) California Department of Pesticide Regulation (916) 445-4300 California Public Interest Research Group Charitable Trust (415) 292-1487 Californians for Pesticide Reform (415) 981-3939 Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (925) 228-9500 Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture (925) 646-5250 Environmental Working Group (415) 561-6698 Pesticide Action Network (415) 981-1771

PEHAB gratefully acknowledges Michael Kent, Hazardous Materials Ombudsman, for his outstanding contributions to this report.

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Copies of PEHAB’s first report Consumption of Contaminated Fish or additional copies of this report are available by calling 925-313-6836. Both reports will also be posted at: http://ccprevention.org/coalitions/pehab/

PEHAB is a 19-member community advisory board appointed by the Board of Supervisors to advise Contra Costa Health Services on community health needs and recommend strategies to meet those needs. PEHAB’s mission is to anticipate emerging public and environmental health issues, initiate prevention programs, focus public health intervention in committees with the greatest needs, and advocate for increased county action to improve community health.

For more information about environmental health issues in Contra Costa County, please contact one of the groups listed under “Groups working on the issue” or Michael Kent Hazardous Materials Ombudsman Contra Costa Health Services 20 Allen St. Martinez, CA 94553 (925) 370-5020 or 1-877-662-8376 (toll free)

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