Pesticides safe as possible, says advocate
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 | 12:26 PM AT
CBC News

A legislative committee looking into the use of cosmetic pesticides on P.E.I. heard its first arguments in support of lawn chemicals Tuesday.

Last week's public hearing only heard from people supporting a provincial ban.

This week, Donna Houghton, a toxicologist with Crop Life Canada — an organization that represents pesticide manufacturers — told the committee that while pesticides carry risks, they are in line with other risks people take daily.

"There isn't zero risk when you're driving a car, there isn't when you're eating even food that's produced without the use of pesticides. Smoking, drinking alcohol, being out in the sun, all of those things have risks," said Houghton.

"I don't think using pesticides is any different than that, but we try to make sure that the risk is at an absolute minimum by ensuring that the products that are registered can be used safely."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2007/12/12/pesticide...