PAN ALERT: Tell Congress: “Protect our Parks from Pesticides!”

A February 2008 study funded by the U.S. National Parks Service documented extensive chemical contamination in 20 western parks. Researchers found that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like the pesticide endosulfan are threatening park ecosystems and wildlife health. Alarming levels of POPs were found in some of America's most SEEMINGLY pristine areas, including Rocky Mountain, Glacier and 18 other western U.S. parks  -- from Texas to the far northern reaches of the Arctic.

Act today: Tell Congress to protect national parks from POPs.

POPs are among the most dangerous compounds ever produced. POPs persist in the environment, build up in body fat of animals (including humans), and travel the globe on air and water currents. Some of the human health effects now linked to POPs exposure include cancer, learning disorders, impaired immune function, reproductive problems and diabetes. Many POP pesticides, such as DDT and chlordane, have been banned for years in the U.S.

Endosulfan is one dangerous POP pesticide still being used in the U.S. and currently under review by EPA. Thousands of PAN activists have demanded that EPA withdraw all remaining uses of endosulfan to protect children, communities and farmworkers from exposure. Now leaders in Congress should press for a ban of endosulfan and other POPs still in use that are contaminating national parks and threatening wildlife.

Sign on now: Tell leaders in Congress to take action.

Add your name to the petition below to be delivered to the leaders of the committees in Congress charged with protecting our national parks.