A spokesman from Highland Hospital claims that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has deemed lawn herbicides safe for use (Aug. 22 story). Actually, the EPA warns that chemical herbicides are toxic, potentially pose environmental and public health hazards, and has established no safe usage level. This is why many of us keep lawns free of all chemical herbicides, including 2,4-D - an ingredient of Agent Orange, which has wreaked havoc in the lives of many Vietnam veterans.
The state Attorney General's Office has advised that herbicides and other pesticides, sprays and granules alike, "pose health risks even when used and applied in full compliance with manufacturers' recommendations and legal requirements." This is why New York prohibits lawn chemical usage on public school athletic fields, playgrounds and day care centers.
Because lawn chemicals can cause cancer, Parkinson's disease and other health risks to humans, poison wildlife and companion animals, and pollute our air and water, we should all learn to care for our lawns without these chemicals.