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  pet health and lawn chemicals

  Well, this isn't the witty, urbane post I'd hoped would be my first comment on Gristmill, but so be it.  I'm a filmmaker producing a documentary on just this topic, and I can't help but put my 2 cents in, especially now that lawn-spraying season is here!

  Umbra is right on, and I'd like to underscore the point that these things probably aren't as innocuous as we'd like to imagine.  There is a growing body of scientific evidence that some commonly used lawn care chemicals persist in our lawns long after application; the chemicals also get tracked into our homes and get into our pets' bodies, putting them at increased risk for cancer and other woes.  A 2004 study from veterinary scientists at Purdue University (published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association) showed that Scottish terriers living in homes where 2,4-D was used on the lawn have a 4 to 7 TIMES increased risk of bladder cancer; other studies funded by folks like the National Institutes of Health and the EPA suggest links between lawn chemicals and canine lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases.  And the evidence just keeps on coming.

  In addition to the excellent websites Umbra and other commenters have listed already, you might want to have a look at http://refusetousechemlawn.org   If Doreen's husband is feeling open to change lawncarewise, I suggest he visit the website run by the terrific folks at the Living Lawn Project in Marblehead, MA (http://www.livinglawn.org)--they have the word on how easy it is to have a beautiful, healthy lawn that's also safe for kids and pets.  (And they're not that far away from York, ME.)

  For more about pet health and lawn chemicals, you're all invited to my website:  http://catsdogslawns.org

  Next time, a funny post.  I promise.  

  nightbowOn Umbra on herbicides and lawns posted 3 years, 6 months ago 6 Responses