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Introduction The material in Marc Lame’s book and on this Web site is primarily intended for those concerned about children and their risks from pesticides – parents, teachers, health care professionals, school officials (and other policy makers), regulators, children’s environmental health advocates and pest management professionals.
Pesticides in Schools and Health Risks to Children When we send our children to their school or child care center can we be assured that our school system is providing a safe learning environment in terms of pests and pesticides? Marc Lame is an entomologist experienced in implementing and observing pest management in child sensitive facilities. This experience has allowed Dr. Lame to determine that our children are being exposed to pesticides unnecessarily and that these poisons are not actually preventing pests. While the toxicity of pesticides can be debated, what should not be debated is unnecessary exposure to pesticides, ineffective pest control, and the wasting of educational dollars.
Integrated Pest Management in Schools Fortunately, some well managed school districts in our country are implementing verifiable, cost effective pest management that minimize pesticide use and maximize pest control. Since 1995 Marc Lame and a national team of implementers have demonstrated an average 71% reduction of pesticide use in schools and 78% reduction in pest complaints - without increasing the costs to these already financially burdened public education institutions. This approach is called Integrated Pest Management – IPM in schools.
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