Local environmental activists are urging Rochester-area businesses and government offices to stop using chemical pesticides.
Judy Braiman, president of Empire State Consumer Project, says a recent survey of local businesses, governments and hospitals shows that most are using pesticides. "People aren't warned. There is no prior notice that they're going to be used. There's drifting. If (people are) going to the hospital, or if they're a patient in the hospital, they're chronically or acutely ill and should not be exposed to toxins."
Braiman says most cemeteries in the area were found to be pesticide-free, and Monroe Community Hospital has not used them in the past six years.
Braiman says she's concerned about public exposure to the chemicals which have been linked to cancer, birth defects, and kidney and liver damage.
Click the link below to find the complete survey.
Empire State Consumer Project 2013 Survey on Pesticides
