Selectmen weigh in on pesticides for New Canaan fields
Grace Duffield
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New Canaan s Alex Robey (10) controls the ball as Brien McMahon s Athila Dasilva (4) defends during a boys soccer game against Brien McMahon High School at Conner Field in New Canaan during a previous fall season. Addressing fears that students could be injured on non pesticide treated fields, the New Canaan Parks Superintendent John Howe will seek more money for fields in the future.Amy Mortensen / Hearst Connecticut Media
What’s more dangerous: the effects of pesticides, or the risk of concussions on hard playing surfaces?
A study into the use of chemicals on local playing fields ended up overlapping an ongoing look into long-term effects from head injuries when it reached the Board of Selectmen Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Saying it’s healthier for athletes, parks officials last week voted in favor of a recommendation to keep using pesticides on New Canaan athletic fields where it’s legal to do so.
Referring to a consultant’s report that compared the surface hardness of a grass field treated with pesticides (Conner Field off of Farm Road) versus one that’s pesticide-free (Saxe Middle School’s), members of the Parks & Recreation Commission voted 7-1 during their regular meeting Dec. 9 to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that New Canaan continue a midsummer application of chemicals on fields at Conner, Mead Park and Waveny.