Your yard may be contaminated with pesticides used by farmers decades ago that have since been banned. Unless your house is old, pre-1950, this is a theoretical possibility. The banned pesticide residues can persist in topsoil many years. Your and your family can become exposed when gardening, digging or playing in this soil. You and your pets may track it into the home.

Over the years, farmland has been converted to housing tracks. Most of the time, the soil hasn't been tested so its possible that persistent pesticides from farming could end up in people's yards. 

HOW TOXIC ARE OLD PESTICIDES?

The old farming pesticides were generally more toxic than modern pesticides. Dieldrin, DDT and chlordane are 'organochlorine' pesticides that can produce cancer and reproductive/endocrine problematic effects. Arsenic was also used as a pesticide. It is a carcinogen. There is some risk even at relatively low levels of these persistent pesticides in soil.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1) Learn about the land use history at your house before it was built. Find out if there was a farm there in the past, and if so, how long ago. Your town hall should have these records.

2) Test the soil id your house is on land that used to be a farm. At a minimum - test for Dieldrin, DDT, Arsenic and Chlordane.

3) If you have a private well on the property, test for persistent pesticides such as ethlylene dibromide (EDB), chlordane and dieldrin. The organochlorine pesticides are unlikely to reach the groundwater while EDB leaches rapidly and has been a common ground contaminant.

4) When you get the results of your soil test, consult with the state and town health officials to find out what they mean. They will give you guidance on whether you need to manage the soil to prevent exposure.

For more information on preventing exposure to Farm Pesticides click here.