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Teen with Leukemia Cancer Begs For Pesticide Ban

By MANDI HARGRAVE Staff Reporter

For almost two years a young girl and her friends have been asking the Town to ban pesticide use in Orangeville.

That was before she knew she had cancer.

It wasn't until last November that 14-year-old Sarah Mediouni was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia at the Hospital for Sick Children.

Prior to being diagnosed she met with the mayor in June 2004 and then again with council in January 2005. During both meetings the group of friends asked to have cosmetic pesticides banned in town.

A press release issued by Sarah states the group told council about an Ontario College of Family Physicians report from 2004, as well as one from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and medical evidence on pesticides causing childhood leukemia, asthma and other diseases.

At a meeting in January, Council was presented with two petitions signed by over 300 children from Princess Elizabeth Public School and more than 400 signatures from adults.

Addressing council Monday night, Sarah noted that after that meeting council suggested a partial ban for July and August. "I am here again to ask you for a total ban and nothing less," she said.

Some of the concerns council had, she said, included providing more education to residents, being sued and not knowing how many residents actually support a ban.

The teen has done her research on pesticides and provided council with four points.

The first noted that Quebec has passed a new law and taken almost all pesticides and herbicides off store shelves and people can no longer buy products such as 2,4-D.

The City of Toronto has banned commercial use of pesticides and won a lawsuit against Crop Life, so that no other town can be sued successfully if they pass a bylaw that bans pesticides, she said.

Also, as this paper has already reported, a recent Oraclepoll Research poll showed most people in Orangeville would support a ban.

An education program was put together by families in town and free seminars on the topic take place Sundays at the main library.

Sarah helped deliver the flyers that went out to make residents aware of the seminars.

The next seminar takes place on April 30 from 1 to 5 p.m., as well on May 14 and May 21. Sarah said she has lost a schoolmate to soft tissue sarcoma this year.

"I read that a cause of soft tissue sarcoma is lawn and garden pesticides, such as 2,4D," Sarah told council.

"How many more kids have to get cancer like Scott Rafferty and myself before you take all of this information seriously and ban pesticides in Orangeville? "I ask you to start now on a

bylaw that totally bans the use of pesticides in Orangeville, as I said last year. Please make it effective this year. All my suffering with cancer and chemotherapy will have done a little good for other children too, if my illness helps you to pass a ban."

Neither the mayor or councillors responded to Sarah's presentation as the proposed pesticide bylaw was not on the agenda and likely won't be until May 1.

However, the mayor did briefly speak with Sarah during a recess that switched the council meeting into a session as the Finance and Administration Committee.

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