Oregon has released the names of 11 rural schools where a federal Department of Agriculture study found traces of pesticides in drinking water.
The study found traces of 12 pesticides in drinking water at Dixie and Fairplay elementary schools in Corvallis. Very low levels of seven pesticides were also found in the water at Applegate Elementary in Eugene. Pioneer and Cairo elementary schools in Ontario each had several pesticides in their drinking water.
According to the Oregon Health Authority, none of the schools tested had chemicals anywhere near the levels of concern for human health.
Teresa Huntsinger works on clean water issues for the Oregon Environmental Council. She says she is concerned about the schools that had multiple pesticides in their water – even though the levels were very low.
Huntsinger: “When drinking water levels are set, they’re assuming there’s one pollutant at a time and there’s very little science to understand what can happen when you have multiple chemicals together. There may be synergistic effects in the way these chemicals interact with each other.”
Huntsinger says she’d like to see voluntary pesticide reduction programs around the schools with multiple pesticides in their water.