Page 46 - Summer eng 2017

Why do golf courses use pesticides?
FAQ DOCUMENT FOR GOLF
 Golf courses use very minimal pest control products but they are an absolutely necessary last resort to prevent the spread of disease
 Pesticides are expensive and golf courses minimize their use to save money
 Golf course superintendents, their assistants and staff are environmental stewards of the land and are well educated in turfgrass management, conservation and best management practices
 Turfgrass professionals who apply pesticides have been through a stringent Ministry of Environment licensing process to do so
 Pesticides on golf courses are applied using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles
 IPM requires the judicious use of pesticides only when and where necessary to eliminate infestations of
Visit www.ngcoa.ca to download NAGA’s FAQ Document For Golf.
just in this country. Health Canada has access to similar research performed in the United States, UnitedKingdom,EuropeanUnion, and the rest of the world.
I have said for decades, that I have no argument with the anti- pesticide movement. Rather, if they have new information which implicates a pesticide that we are using on golf courses as a source of negative health effects, then run (don’t walk) to Ottawa, and get that information into the hands of Health Canada.
If Health Canada research has missed something, then no one is more eager than I am, to make sure that the label is amended, or the product is banned. But for now, the best science that we have on the subject of the health risk of any specific pesticide’s use is displayed on the label, in black and white, for us to read, and I will continue to trust the science.
HEtAurfLgrTasHs diCseaAsesN, wAeedDs oAr inAsecSt pests
o Infestations are determined by site specific historical data and established thresholds to minimize
GATEKEEPER
The scientists at Health Canada, pesticide use who are responsible for pesticide
I can empathize with Mr. Nisker
registration in this country, do not
agree. Health Canada, through
 Golf courses are some of the few remaining urban nature reserves in existence onhisojoThuerreniseovyer.175M,000yhecftaretshoefgreewnspaascemaanagedbyapproximately2,346golfcourses,
dairy farmer, from a small village
including30,000hectaresofunmanagedwildlifehabitatundergolfcourse stewardship.
 The professional turf managers that take care of golf course properties take the environmental impact of their
near London, Ontario, and he (like
Agency (PMRA), is the gatekeeper
that decides which pesticides will  Pesticides for sale in Canada are regulated by Health Canada and(iof orn twheimlalrknetohta)vebenudesterdminiend tCo baenada.Itis
operations very seriously
a statistically significant number of
Are pesticides dangerous to human health?
his farmer peers), was stricken with
Parkinson’s Disease. My family
alsoPesltoiciodeks aeredonflyoarpparovcedaauftesrarilgoerofufsetecstin.g and a lengthy approval process managed by Health Canada
safe
a nearly parallel system to the way
that drugs are approved.
 Canada has one of the most respected and rigorous science based safetyHproetoaclotlshfor pestCiciadenapapdrovaal in thleooks at
My father was part of many
population studies which looked
at Reevguelar tyesthinginassguresftrhoatmproduhctsaayre sadfeubasetd,ontaopplicator exposure. Products must be determined to be
world
efficacy, aggregate and cumulative health effects (both acute and
safe for individuals who work with these products on a regular basis who are at greatest risk for exposure.
benzene rings, to mold, to cleaning
chronic), and potential negative
chemicals, to a high milk diet – and
influences on the environment. Health CaMnarcahd2,2a017 spends literally millions of dollars per year looking at new and existing pesticides that are used in agriculture and on golf courses. The result of this research is distilled onto the pesticide label, which by law, is the gospel by which any pesticide must be applied.
It is, therefore, the opinion of the toxicologists at Health Canada, that any pesticide (including 2,4- D) which is applied in accordance with its label, is not a threat to human health (or the environment, for that matter). One of the great myths of pesticide use, is that “we really don’t know much about these chemicals,” when in fact, there is an entire agency of PhD scientists who spend their careers studying the subject, and that’s
 The general public and golfers would have minimal exposure to these products
of course, the use of pesticides. In
National Allied Golf Associations
the end, researchers were unable to establish any clear link between my father’s ailment, and any specific influence and that is where the documentary and I part company on the journey for answers.
Dad and the Dandelions
abandons all other possibilities, except the fact that his father spent much of his adult life on and around golf courses, and treats the link between pesticide use and cancer as a foregone conclusion.
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Golf Business Canada
the Pest Management Regulatory