Tell Rockshire to Stop Using Cancer-Causing Lawn Chemicals on Our Common Grounds!
- by: Shelley Caplan
- recipient: Rockshire's HOA - LWildman@IKOcommunitymanagement.com, Rockville, MD
Yellow lawn signs appear all over the Rockshire townhouse development every few weeks, labeled PESTICIDE APPLICATION – KEEP OFF. A silhouetted image of kids and pets is encircled with a slash mark through it. And yet, it is impossible for our canine family members to avoid the toxic common grounds when walking outside, and for our children to avoid common grounds when romping through the grass in flip flops or Crocs as they play or make their way to the playgrounds, the pool, the camp bus, etc.
The chemicals are dangerous for children’s bodies and immune systems, which are still developing, and scientifically proven to cause cancer in dogs.
Sign this petition to tell Rockshire HOA to stop using pesticides that our harmful to our children and pets.
Rockshire is a wonderful community. The young families and established professionals who live here are steps away from playgrounds, streams, acres of park land, top-ranked public schools, bike paths, tennis and basketball courts, plot rentals for gardening, a large community pool and baby pool, nearby grocery stores and restaurants, places of worship, and proximity to route 270 for shops and entertainment at various locations. It’s also a community where lawn chemicals proven to be carcinogens are sprayed regularly on the common grounds where we and our pets and children walk daily.
Upon request, Rockshire's lawncare vendor, Greenlink, Inc., provided a list of ingredients in the lawn spray used on our property -- Primera Triplet SF. Among the list of chemicals are: Dimethylamine Salt of R2 (2 Methyl-4-Chlorophenoxy)Propionic Acid, Dimethylamine Salt of Dicamba, and 2, 4 Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid. These three chemicals are specifically cited in several published research articles as carcinogens in dogs.
A study (Abstract of Environmental Health 112(1):171-6, Jan. 2012) shows a clear link between lawn chemicals and cancer in dogs: “In the study, researchers identified 263 dogs with biopsy-confirmed canine malignant lymphoma (CML)… Scientists found that dogs with malignant lymphoma were 70 percent more likely to live in a home where professionally applied lawn pesticides had been used. Dogs with serious malignancy were also 170 percent more likely to come from homes where owners used chemical insecticides.”
Another study found that exposure to herbicide-treated lawns was associated with significantly higher bladder cancer risk in dogs. (Sci Total Environ. 2013; 456-457: Knapp DW, Peer WA, Conteh A, Diggs AR, Cooper BR, Glickman NW, et al. Detection of Herbicides in the Urine of Pet Dogs Following Home Lawn Application.) “Chemicals were detected in the urine of dogs in 14 of 25 households before lawn treatment, in 19 of 25 households after lawn treatment, and in 4 of 8 untreated households. Chemicals were commonly detected in grass residues from treated lawns and from untreated lawns, suggesting chemical drift from nearby treated areas…The length of time to restrict a dog’s access to treated lawns following treatment remains to be defined.”
In fact, dogs are picking up the carcinogenic chemicals on their paws and fur and then tracking the chemicals inside the house, leaving them on the floors or furniture. Dogs lick their paws and ingest even more of the deadly chemicals. Families come into contact with the chemicals when they pet or hold their dogs. All of us are inhaling the chemicals whenever we go outside, as wind causes the chemicals to travel through the air.
According to a Washington Post article, “Montgomery County became the country’s first major locality … to ban the use of cosmetic pesticides on private lawns, concluding that the time-honored right of suburbanites to maintain pristine green, weed-free yards was superseded by a body of scientific evidence linking the widely-used products to cancer.” (MoCo Becomes First Major Locality to Ban Cosmetic Pesticides from Lawns, Oct. 6, 2015).
If these chemicals are banned in our county, why then is the Rockshire Homeowner’s Association permitted to have lawn care vendors spray these deadly chemicals on the lawns that comprise the common areas of our own private community? Given all of the research on the dangers of lawn chemicals, surely there are organic, non-toxic alternatives on the market.
Please sign this petition to demand that our HOA, IKO Community Management, immediately halt the use of cancer-causing chemicals on our common grounds in Rockshire and instead use only non-toxic, organic alternatives from this point forward.
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