To: Springfield Township Supervisors

End the Application of 2,4-D and Other Noxious Substances at Peppermint Park

2,4-D, is being applied on the fields at Peppermint Park where many of the children and pets of our community like to play. This is a danger to the children and the pets who use the park, while also endangering wildlife and the watershed.

We, the signers of this petition, ask that the Springfield Township Supervisors (of Bucks County, Pennsylvania), put into effect a ban on the further use of 2,4-D in the fields at Peppermint Park.

In addition, we ask the Springfield Township Supervisors to ban the application of any other substances that might be harmful or dangerous to children, pets, or wildlife.

Why is this important?

Some Facts About 2,4-D:

2,4-D was first used in the United States in the 1940s. Agent Orange, an herbicide used during the Vietnam War, contained both 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T.

Pets may be exposed to 2,4-D if they touch grass or other plants still wet from spraying and then groom their feet or fur, if they drink the pesticide, or possibly if they eat grass that has been treated with 2,4-D. Dogs may be more sensitive to 2,4-D than other animals.

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared 2,4-D a possible human carcinogen, based on evidence that it damages human cells and, in a number of studies, caused cancer in laboratory animals.

More conclusive is the proof that 2,4-D falls into a class of compounds called endocrine-disrupting chemicals, compounds that mimic or inhibit the body's hormones. Dozens of epidemiological, animal, and laboratory studies have shown a link between 2,4-D and thyroid disorders.

There are reports that 2,4-D can decrease fertility and raise the risk of birth defects. But even though fetuses, infants, and children are at highest risk of these, no studies have looked directly at the effects of 2,4-D on those groups.

Also problematic: 2,4-D sticks around in the environment. Depending on the formulation, it can drift through the air from the fields where it is sprayed or be tracked inside homes by pets or children.

By the EPA's own measure, 2,4-D has already been detected in groundwater and surface water, as well as in drinking water. It can also poison small mammals, including dogs who can ingest it after eating grass treated with 2,4-D.

Sources of the Above Facts:
(https://www.nrdc.org/stories/24-d-most-dangerous-pesticide-youve-never-heard)
(http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/24Dgen.html)