OUR KIDS ARE BEING POISONED AND WE CAN STOP IT!

    /24-7PressRelease.com/ - Framingham, MA, April 28, 2005 - Richard N. Ash, M.D., internal medicine specialist and a leader in the field of environmental medicine, today railed out against the continued use of chemical fertilizers in all sports fields used by America's youth.

"The unprecedented, exposure to heavily-fertilized fields and lawns puts children at higher risk for numerous potentially-serious health problems including skin and eye irritations, digestive problems, asthma attacks, rashes and other allergic reactions, as well as the unknown," says Dr. Ash.

In the report, Holding the Bag: How Toxic Waste in Fertilizer Fails Farmers and Gardeners, it reveals the results of independent testing conducted by the Washington Toxics Coalition and Dr. Bill Liebhardt of the University of California at Davis. The study focused on zinc fertilizers because many are made from hazardous waste and the water solubility of zinc content is a clear measure of effectiveness. Zinc is considered a key micronutrient necessary for plant growth.

The report's key findings are as follows:

• Most fertilizers are still contaminated with heavy metals. Of the 26 fertilizers we tested, 20 contained toxic heavy metals above levels considered natural background in Washington soils.

• The most contaminated zinc fertilizer is also likely to be the least effective. Frit 503G, a zinc fertilizer widely used in both farms and gardens had by far the highest levels of toxic heavy metals and had the lowest level of zinc solubility.


• Many fertilizers contain zinc with low solubility. The water solubility of the zinc in most agricultural and consumer fertilizers is insufficient for the zinc to be available to plants.

"While the use of natural fertilizers is the best first step in growing a safe and environmentally healthy lawn or field for our children, we must be aware of how pesticides and other harmful and non-organic growing agents effect our children," says Dr. Ash.

According to the Parent Teacher's Association, "While pesticides are designed to control or eliminate unwanted visitors such as insects, rodents, weeds, and bacteria, they can also be toxic for people. Exposure to pesticides can cause irritation to the nose, eyes, and throat, and, in severe cases, damage the central nervous system and the kidneys. The ingredients in some types of pesticides used in schools are suspected by the EPA to be carcinogens."

The PTA also sites, "Between 1993 and 1996, the General Accounting Office documented more than 2,300 reported pesticide poisonings in schools—primarily indoors. 'Most pesticides were developed for the outdoors, but you put them inside and they sometimes stick around much longer,' explained Daniel Swartz, executive director of the Children's Environmental Health Network. Pesticides can travel indoors via floating dust particles and soil on shoes."

To reduce pesticide exposure to children, at least 30 states have moved to curb pesticide use at schools. Many of these schools follow a set of guidelines known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which calls for monitoring pest problems, addressing the cause, using non-chemical suppression techniques, and, if other methods fail, using the least-toxic type of pesticide.

"Everyone loves a lush, verdant sports field, but at what price? The fact that a safer alternatives exists," says Ash, adding "When you consider the effective and economical organic alternatives on the market, where is the wisdom or the necessity of using synthetic chemical fertilizers, setting up a man-made ecosystem requiring repeated intensive fertilizations and other chemical treatments?," he adds.

An organic fertilizer regimen creates a sturdy, sustainable turf system deriving nourishment in a natural way, from organic matter in concert with microbial and earthworm activity. Dr. Ash concludes, "I call upon sports' directors and all those who care what our children are exposed to speak out and make change happen."

Richard N. Ash, M.D.

Specialty: Internal Medicine

Education: Medical College of Pennsylvania


Practice: The Ash Center for Comprehensive Medicine
New York, NY

Specialties include:

• Joint and Arthritic problems - Reconstructive Therapy: The elimination of pain without surgery.
• Allergy treatment - without injections.
• Chelation and Vitamin drips - a way to unclog arteries without surgery.
• Cardiac Care - Checking for arterial blockage without dyes or radiation exposure.
• Gastrointestinal - Pain and stress management.

Values:

• Dr. Ash has conducted extensive research in alternative therapies. And his philosophy is based on treating the body as a whole.

• Dr. Ash developed a program that achieves dramatic, lasting improvement for patients who have found no relief from conventional methods.

• Many of the problems people suffer from are their reaction to toxicity in their environment.

• Traditional medicine has failed because it concentrates on treating a patient's symptoms rather than treating the cause of the problem.

• Dr. Ash educates the public on survival in today's polluted environment through his radio talk show, In the Doctor's Office, which broadcasts 5-7 p.m. each Sunday on WOR radio 710 AM in New York.


"People are sick and tired of being sick and tired," Richard Ash, M.D.

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