Getting the Bugs Out

Ants, rats, and cockroaches aren’t welcome in any hospital, but the toxic chemicals often used to control them can create health risks for staff and patients and damage the environment. But hospital managers can now get effective pest control and peace of mind by contracting with a Green Shield Certified pest control professional – an environmentally friendly alternative to spray-intensive pest control services.

Getting a Green Shield Certified service can be as easy as asking your existing pest control company to get certified. Hospital facilities can also become certified, similar to a green building certification.

Reducing pesticide use is a healthy goal. A national government survey of chemicals in blood and urine found that more than 90% of people in the U.S. have a mixture of up to 43 pesticides in their bodies! Many of these chemicals have been linked to health problems such as cancer, birth defects, and neurological problems. In its recently released nationwide survey of pesticides in streams, the U.S. Geological Survey reports that pesticides were detected in 97% of its urban monitoring stations.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is gaining popularity as a proven, cost-effective, prevention-based strategy that reduces both pest problems and pesticide impacts on health and the environment. By correcting conditions that lead to pest problems and using least-toxic pesticides only when necessary, IPM is typically more effective than spray-intensive pest control methods.

As more providers claim to offer environmentally friendly pest control, however, the opportunities for IPM-related greenwashing are also increasing. Green Shield Certified, an independent, national certification program, now makes it easy to obtain an effective IPM service that meets stringent standards for health and effectiveness.

Green Shield Certified is operated by the Integrated Pest Management Institute of North America, a nonprofit recognized by US EPA for its longstanding expertise in promoting environmentally friendly pest control. Green Shield Certified performance standards are based on IPM and are available for review at the website. Certification is available for qualified pest control companies as well as for buildings and other facilities where Green Shield Certified standards are met.

As more pest control companies are trained and certified in structural IPM strategies, more consumers – commercial as well as residential – will be able to choose safer pest control alternatives. Who says we must choose between pests and pesticides?

Kristina Pappas
Hewlett Environmental Fellow, Natural Resources Defense Council
kpappas@nrdc.org

More on IPM...

H2E’s Greener Operations Now! winter 2007 issue tells of the successes of a community hospital’s switch to IPM.

H2E’s 10-Step Guide to IPM will help you get started in implementing an effective IPM program.

EPA’s Pesticides pages provide a wealth of information, fact sheets, and resources on pesticides.

Visit Health Care Without Harm’s Pesticides Issue for more information and resources on pesticides and IPM.

National Pesticides Information Center is a cooperative effort of Oregon State University and the US EPA providing information resources to people who want to make informed decisions about pesticides.

Beyond Pesticides provides the public with useful information on pesticides and alternatives to their use. With this information, people can and do protect themselves and the environment from the potential adverse public health and environmental effects associated with the use and misuse of pesticides.

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New H2E Partners

Welcome to new H2E Partners!

See the full list of H2E Partners (both facility and organizational) here.

• Blue Ridge Regional Hospital, Spruce Pine, NC
• Buffalo Hospital, Buffalo, MN
• Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Muskogee Community Hospital, Bartlesville, OK
• Speare Memorial Hospital, Plymouth, NH
• St. Vincents Medical Center, Bridgeport, CT
• Touro Infirmary, New Orleans, LA
• University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, Salt Lake City, UT

• C.N.Robinson Lighting, Baltimore, MD
• Chaff & Co., Signal Mountain, TN
• Darman Manufacturing Co., Inc., Utica, NY
• Dolphin Software, Lake Oswego, OR
• FPC Distribution, Elkridge, MD
• Harder Helsley, Madison, WI
• Michael McAllister Architect, Telluride, CO
• Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Lansing, MI
• ServiceMaster Clean, Memphis, TN
• Sikes Paper Company, Atlanta, GA
• WeRecycle!, Meriden, CT

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