Is Glyphosate the new DDT? I am leading the effort to substantially curtail and eventually eliminate the use of this poisonous substance in Massachusetts. I filed H792, an Act relative to the prohibition of the transfer or use of glyphosate in the Commonwealth. If passed, legislation will establish a penalty for the transfer or use of glyphosate in Massachusetts. While domestic courts in the United States have rendered billions of dollars in court judgments against its manufacturer to compensate people sickened or killed and foreign governments have curtailed its use, this hazardous pesticide remains in widespread use throughout the Commonwealth and many of the processed foods on our grocery store shelves contain it. When I had my own blood level tested the amount of glyphosate present was three (3) times the level permitted to be present in drinking water in Europe.

I filed H791, An Act relative to improving pesticide protections for Massachusetts school children, in order to discontinue our children’s exposure to hazardous pesticides currently used in many school districts and to replace the Commonwealth’s list of pesticides approved for school grounds use with a list developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It received a favorable vote from the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) and awaits further action by the House.

I filed H789, An Act relative to hydraulic fracturing. This was also voted favorably by the ENRA committee and currently awaits action by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Hydraulic fracturing is used to obtain oil and often results in contamination of potable groundwater and the creation of earthquakes.