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Webster Groves residents protest pesticide spraying, demand city follow-up
Summary
Residents told the Sustainability Commission they have experienced pesticide drift from neighbors and from recent city herbicide work on small traffic "islands," and asked the commission and parks staff for clearer communication and remedial action.
John Hickey, chair of the Webster Groves Sustainability Commission, opened the meeting and allotted time for a substantial public comment period in which several residents described pesticide drift, frequent gas-powered equipment use and recent herbicide treatment on public “islands” that they said has damaged community plantings.
Why it matters: residents said pesticide drift is harming backyard native plantings and could affect children and pets; neighbors asked the city to clarify who approved herbicide use on neighborhood traffic islands and to clean and restore treated sites.
Multiple residents gave first-hand accounts of pesticide exposure and loss of plantings. Janet Noble, a resident who said she visited nearby Clayton as comparison, said, “The fumes from the gas powered chainsaws are overwhelming.” She also told the commission that pesticides “are causing neurogenerative diseases” and said, “something needs to be done about this.”
Other residents…
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