According to DNAInfo, the city’s Parks Department is spritzing parks and other greenspaces with a pesticide that is known to cause cancer:
The Parks Department sprays the pesticide, called Roundup, to kill weeds that harbor rats on “little-used” areas near playgrounds, officials said. The city posts warning signs for 24 hours before and after spraying.
But not to worry says Parks, it’s safe enough and it’s not like they’re spraying it directly on kids:
In order to keep rats out of the playgrounds and meadow areas, we must use Roundup,” Parks Department spokesman Phil Abramson said. “It is not used inside playgrounds but is often used on little-used slopes outside playgrounds precisely because overgrown weeds near playgrounds harbor rats.
A study released in April warns of a link between the chemical used in Roundup and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which sounds a lot worse than mosquito bites.
(Photo: @David Goehring)
