[Dailydrool] Lawn Chemicals

[Tom Hickcox]

There are several actions we as consumers can take.  I've heard any 
number of listers assert that they don't know what is being put on their lawns.

The simple thing to do is to ask the company to supply you with the 
Material Safety Data Sheets/MSDS for all the materials being applied 
to your lawn.

If they act stupid, call their office.  OSHA regulations require the 
companies to maintain files of them for materials their employees are 
exposed to.  They are also required to do a certain amount of 
training of their employees on the hazards of these materials.  I 
wouldn't be surprised if the company hasn't already given you a 
folder with some of the information.

If they refuse to, tell them you will do business with a company that 
supplies this info.  They really don't have much wiggle room.

If they supply you with MSDSs, I would suggest going over them with a 
health professional like your vet or maybe you have a friend that is 
a nurse, industrial hygienist, safety engineer, or the like.  It 
takes a certain amount of professional skill to read them and get 
much useful information.  I used to write MSDSs for my company, and I 
used what we call weasel words in order to convey that there was a 
hazard without scaring the readers.  You could say they are written 
in a sort of code.

I lived in a house where I used lawn services and had no trouble 
whatsoever with my basset ladies as a result of the chemicals.

Tommy H in Baton Rouge