Richmond To Pass Pesticide Ban

Richmond, California is set to pass an ordinance banning the use of some pesticides by city workers and introduce strategies to reduce the use of chemical agents.

The new law would ban city agencies from using known carcinogens as listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and products containing organophosphates or carbamate. There's no word yet if such bans are to be aimed at private landscape contractors in the near future.

''There are a lot of good reasons to do this, and there's no evidence that it's going to bust any budgets,'' said Richmond City Councilman Tom Butt. ''This is smart policy.''

San Francisco and Berkeley, as well as Marin and Contra Costa counties, have already passed similar rules, according to Californians for Pesticide Reform, an anti-pesticide watchdog group.