AUGUSTA – Maine Board of Pesticides Control members say they are committed to reducing pesticide use in public buildings. But testimony during recent public sessions – the last of which was held Friday morning – have confirmed that the board still has a lot of work to do before integrated pest management is embraced by the business community.

At its most basic, IPM is about using pesticides only as a last resort. Rather than allowing regularly scheduled spraying of chemicals to prevent pests from appearing, an integrated pest management program first calls for applying nontoxic measures, such as stopping up mouse holes or removing the food crumbs that draw insects.

Only when a pest has been identified and nonchemical methods, like traps, have failed, would pesticides be used to target an infestation. The board’s proposal would require that no one be in the building when spraying occurs and that anyone who will be in the building within 24 hours after spraying would have to be notified.

Last year, the board required that Maine’s public schools develop IPM policies, and that they provide spraying notifications to all parents who indicate that their families want to be informed of pesticide use. Acadia Hospital uses integrated pest management, in part to reduce its patients’ risk of neurological harm from exposure. And a number of businesses, including those that regularly use pesticides, have testified before the board that they abide by the general principles of IPM.

However, during the initial public hearing held in July, business owners ranging from pesticide applicators to restaurant owners testified that the proposed rule was too strict. Many worried they would be barred from all pesticide use – a common misconception about IPM.

Others feared that without pre-emptive spraying for pests like cockroaches, they could run afoul of health and safety regulations. Integrated pest management requires that a pest is seen and identified before using pesticides, to ensure that the right type and amount of chemicals are used to target the problem. But groceries and food service businesses said they couldn’t afford to wait for roaches to emerge – the sight of a bug could drive away customers.

After seeing the scope of opposition in July, board members held a series of public sessions in the fall, where a range of additional concerns were raised by businesses and public service providers:

. Businesses that remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, cannot wait until their shops are unoccupied to use pesticides.

. An emergency exemption to timing and notification rules might be necessary in cases where pest populations could be a risk to human health and safety.

. Correctional facilities cannot easily relocate prisoners, and prisoners would be unlikely to give consent for spraying, if notified.

. Nursing homes have many residents who are bedridden and cannot be moved, and others who suffer from dementia and cannot give consent.

. Many Maine restaurants are located in historic buildings that were not designed for food service, and thus, struggle to control pest populations.

Friday morning, the general public had its chance to speak. Many who attended favored the rule, and asked the board to stand its ground.

While agricultural regulation is important, a focus on indoor pesticide use is long overdue, said Sharon Tisher of Orono, speaking for Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners at Friday’s meeting.

“In Maine, most of us spend most of our time indoors … in public buildings that you can regulate,” Tisher said.

Amanda Sears of the Environmental Health Strategy Center in Portland made a similar point, citing a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study in which volunteers were tested for 23 common pesticides. Most people had 13 of the 23 chemicals in their bloodstream, she said.

Sarah Rockwell, a social work student and apartment dweller from Portland, testified that tenants deserved to be notified of chemical use in their homes. Otherwise, pesticides could become a social justice issue, whereby less wealthy people, particularly children, are unfairly exposed in their apartments.

Several people asked that the board find a way to inform the general public that businesses and agencies have recently used pesticides. At previous hearings, businesses have proposed designing a logo that could be posted to inform customers that pesticides are regularly used.

“No one should ever be exposed, involuntarily, to pesticides,” Jody Spear of Brooksville said Friday.

Spear called for signs alerting customers that pesticides have been used. While notification of a business’ employees is laudable, it doesn’t help those with chemical sensitivities – like Spear – who might choose to patronize a business, or not, depending on whether pesticides had recently been applied, she said.

The board will now consider the full gamut of proposed changes, likely at its Feb. 18, 2005, meeting. But despite the size of the job, the board is committed to having a rule to stem indoor pesticide use in place soon, members said.

“We don’t want to scrap this rule,” board Chairwoman Dr. Carol Eckert of Coopers Mills told the crowd Friday.

The rule is available online at www.state.me.us/agriculture/pesticides. Written comments will be accepted through 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, 2005, and may be sent to Board of Pesticides Control, 28 State House Station, Augusta 04333-0028.