August 2006
Health Notes: Tips for a Healthy Yard
Playing outside is a fun and healthy choice. Making a safe yard or play area or taking outings to a park or playground are great ways to spend active time with children.
However, many chemicals used in the yard or in playgrounds have been identified as neurotoxins that are harmful to the brain or nervous system or endocrine disrupters that interfere with the hormone system. A child’s brain and hormonal system are still developing through adolescence and are at risk from the effects of these chemicals.
There is much that is unknown about the role of environmental contaminants in many serious health conditions. Research is ongoing to explore these links. There is enough evidence to recommend avoiding children’s exposure to toxins whenever possible. The following suggestions can help you keep toxins out of your yard or minimize your children’s exposure to them.
Avoid using bug and weed killers, including “weed
and feed” fertilizers.
Studies show higher levels of pesticides in the blood and urine of children
whose families use weed or bug killers. There are non-toxic solutions
to most weed and pest problems, even yellow jackets. Call the Thurston
County Common Sense Gardening Program at 360-754-4111 for specifics.
If renting, request 24-hour notice before any weed or bug killers are used.
· Remove toys from the area. Indoors, cover dishes and food.
· Keep your family away while pesticides are applied and as long as possible afterwards.
· Ask for a copy of the pesticide label to learn the specific ingredients and safety precautions required.
Cover bare dirt.
Past activities may have left toxins such as lead, arsenic or pesticides
in the dirt in our cities. Keeping the dirt covered helps protect children.
· Place a thick layer (six to nine inches) of woodchips or pea-gravel under play-sets.
· In play areas, plant bare soil with grass or cover it with clean sand, pea-gravel or wood chips.
· Add compost to garden areas
Use caution with play-sets and picnic tables.
If you have or use a wooden play structure or picnic table built before
2004, it may be pressure-treated with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)
to protect the wood. Just touching the arsenic–treated wood is not
a significant health hazard; ingesting it is the concern. Since children
frequently put their hands in their mouths, they may ingest arsenic after
touching CCA wood.
· Always have your children wash their hands with soap and water before eating and after playing.
· Use a tablecloth on picnic tables treated with CCA.
Wipe your feet and wash your hands.
When you come inside, make two healthy habits part of your routine. First,
remove shoes when coming inside to keep dirt and any germs, lead, arsenic
or pesticides from coming into your house. Then head to the sink to wash
your hands with soap and warm water.
Watch out for poisonous plants.
Teach children to always check with an adult before eating berries or
plants. The following is a partial list of common poisonous plants. Avoid
planting them in your yard if you have small children or instruct them
to keep away from the plants.
· Foxglove (digitalis)
· Nightshade
· English ivy
· Rhododendron
· Azalea
· Cotoneaster berry
· English holly
· Elderberry
· Morning glory
· Larkspur
· Laurel
Keep the Washington Poison Center phone number, 1-800-222-1222, handy.
For more information or to receive this publication in another format, contact Thurston County Public Health and Social Services, Environmental Health Division at 360-754-4111 (TDD line 360-754-2933) or visit our website at www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/ehkids.
Jane Mountjoy-Venning is an education and outreach specialist with the Thurston County Public Health and Social Services’ Environmental Health Division.
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