In the summer of 2005, our lives were irreversibly changed when our neighbors misused an Organo Phosphate Pesticide, Dimethoate 4EC. We live in a development where the unsold adjoining lots were being leased to a farmer without our knowledge. Our dogs and kids were playing outside when our neighbor sprayed the land with toxic pesticides only 5 feet away from where my children and dog were playing on our lawn—and near our well. Our dog, Tanner, died only a few days later. Our veterinarian told us this toxic substance killed our dog, and our doctors said that it has caused profound health problems for our entire family.

Before this happened, I thought I was aware. I didn’t use harsh chemicals, I followed all of the rules, I actively did things to protect our environment. I was a textbook careful Mother, or so I thought.

Knowledge is power! Our story is your story. What happened to us is not unique except that, through Tanner’s death, we were made aware of what is going on. We were made aware that pesticides and toxic chemicals are in everything we do. We eat them, drink them, breathe them, they are everywhere in our daily lives. The problem isn’t in what we knowingly expose ourselves to. There is a difference between making poor choices in our lives that only we can be held accountable for and those choices being made for us. The problem lies within what we don’t know we are being exposed to. It is time for us to come together and demand that our health, our safety, our environment comes first.

Kristen Hayes-Yearick
Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania