Not so green - golf course pesticides

Golf course pesticides mean that the air at golf courses is not as fresh as commonly perceived.

Those who work on the greens are most exposed.

But even regular golfers face higher risks of developing lung, brain and other forms of cancer!

Golfers hold your breath!

The “fresh air” at the golf course may not be as fresh as you think. Due to golf course pesticides, it may give you lung cancer instead, according to a study sponsored by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).

The study revealed that golf course superintendents are more likely to die of lung cancer than the general population. They also have higher than average rates of mortality from brain cancer, non-Hodkin’s lymphoma, cancer of the large intestine and prostate cancer.

The study, by associate professor B C Kross of the University of Iowa’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, looked at the cause of death of 618 former GCSAA members who died between 1970 and 1992.

The result, released at the association’s annual conference in early 1994, revealed that 29 percent of the deaths were related to cancer. The high cancer rate is due to toxic chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers used to keep the fairways lush and green.

Brain cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in particular, are rare diseases linked to pesticides and other chemicals.

Poisoning by golf course pesticides

Golf course superintendents are not the only victims, of course.

Utusan Konsumer, the newsletter of the Consumer’s Association of Penang, in 1993 reported the case of George Prior, an avid golfer previously in good health. Prior contracted an illness immediately after a round of golf and died 20 days later. A post-mortem revealed that he had died from exposure to the fungicide, chlorothalonil, used on the golf course.

In 1991, the Japan Medical and Dental Practitioner for the Improvement of Medical Care reported that nearly 40 percent of the agricultural poisoning cases they handled involved people working at or living near golf courses. They included employees of golf courses, amateur golfers or people living adjacent to the links.