Feds Asked to Cut Toxic Pesticide Use in Public Housing

ALBANY, New York, October 8, 2003 (ENS) - Eleven attorney generals today filed a petition calling on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to comply with federal law by using safer pest management practices in thousands of public housing developments across the nation. The petition asks the federal agency to require housing authorities to use an integrated approach to managing pests that does not rely on toxic pesticides.

The practice relies on regular inspections, traps, as well as preventative actions such as installing screens, repairing structural damage and improved sanitation and calls for chemicals to be used as a last resort and in limited quantities to minimize toxicity and damage to human health.

HUD does not currently require housing authorities to use this management process for pest management at agency funded developments.

States, environmentalists, housing and public health organizations say HUD needs to change its pest control at public housing developments. (Photo courtesy Massachusetts state government)

"The federal law regulating pest management practices in public housing developments across the country is a good, strong and unambiguous law," said Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch. "It is disgraceful that HUD - for no apparent reason - has chosen not to follow the law."

The attorneys general say the law exists specifically to protect the health of low income American families and that HUD's noncompliance is posing a major public health risk.

The agency did not comment on the legal action.

Some 1.3 million families live in public housing funded by HUD and managed by 3,300 public housing authorities.

These families, including millions of children, are "exposed to chemical pesticides because a federal agency has chosen not to comply with the law," said New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

Children are in particular vulnerable to the harmful effects of pesticides. Exposure to pesticides in the womb and during the first years after birth is linked to increased risks of cancer and injury to developing brain and nervous systems.

The petition comes a year after the New York Attorney General's office surveyed the pest management policies and practices at housing authorities in Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Syracuse and Yonkers.

The survey found that housing authorities relied almost entirely on chemical pesticides to treat pest problems and that none used the integrated techniques.

Since the report was released, these housing authorities have agreed to develop and implement Integrated Pest Management programs to effectively control pests while reducing the potential for toxic exposures of children and other residents.

The petition filers want chemicals to be a last resort in fighting pests, such as mice, cockroaches and termites. (Photo courtesy Mississippi State University )

Housing authorities must comply with HUD regulations to be eligible for federal funding and the agency provides technical and professional assistance to housing authorities to help them comply with these regulations.

A coalition of environmental, housing, and public health organizations today filed a similar petition seeking to force HUD to use the ingrated pest control approach.

"This is about environmental justice," said Adrianna Quintero, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is spearheading the coalition's petition.

"HUD's refusal to comply with the law jeopardizes the health of some of the most vulnerable Americans," Quintero said. "People who live in public housing share the same rights as everyone else not to be exposed to toxic chemicals."