Senate News Update
From Senator Jane Earll
April 6, 2009

Pesticide Sensitivity - What You Can Do 

Much attention has been focused in recent years on the impact of pesticides, particularly on children and those who are hypersensitive to the chemicals.  As a result of this attention and research into the environmental health risks of pesticides, Pennsylvania has taken steps to help protect those who may be affected by exposure to certain chemicals.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) maintains a registry of individuals hypersensitive to pesticides. It is a listing of locations for people who have been verified by a physician to be excessively or abnormally sensitive to pesticides. These hypersensitive individuals may request to have listings of their home, place of employment, school (if a student), and vacation home placed in the Registry.

The Registry is distributed to all commercial and public pesticide businesses 4 times per year. These businesses are required to notify any person in the most recent registry if they will be making an outdoor above ground pesticide application within 500 feet of any listed location. Notification must be made 12 to 72 hours in advance of any type of application that is made within 500 feet of a listed location.

The business must provide those listed on the registry with their: business name, address, telephone number, the pesticide brand name and common name (if available), EPA Registration number of the pesticide, the location of the application and the proposed date and time of the application. The proposed application time may not exceed a 24-hour period.

A listing in the Registry does not prevent the pesticide application from being made – but it does provide advance notification to those who could be affected.

To have your name listed in the Hypersensitivity Registry, you can obtain an application online at http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/plantindustry/ or from your local pesticide businesses. Make arrangements with someone to be your alternate contact point. This person must be willing to receive calls when applicators cannot contact you directly and forward the information on to you.

Complete the application using your legal address as your primary residence, daytime, nighttime and alternate telephone numbers. You must complete all required blocks or the application will be returned.

See your physician to have Part II of the form completed and signed. You may also wish to discuss what measures you need to take to protect your health in the event an application is made near you. Return your application to: PA Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, 2301 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg, PA 17110-9408.

Before your name appears in the Registry, the information as it will be published will be mailed to you for your review for completeness and accuracy and does require your final approval. Because the Registry is a public document, the information you provide is considered public information. By submitting the application for publication you are granting the Department the right to publish your information in printed or electronic media.

For more information and an application, you can visit www.agriculture.state.pa.us, click on "Consumers" and look for "Pesticide Information." Or, you can contact the Regional Department of Agriculture Office in Meadville at 814-332-6890.

As always, if you have questions on this or any state government matter, please do not hesitate to call my office at 814-453-2515.