Lawns are not by nature monoculture (just one species of grass). The golf course look of monoculture lawns are obtained and maintained by spraying of chemicals.   Of the 40 most common lawn chemicals, or herbicides, used by lawn care companies and by homeowners,many are linked to cancer,  liver, kidney and nervous system damage as well as other  health hazards.   Lawn chemicals, when used as directed,  break down completely but filter into lakes, rivers and aquifers, affecting drinking water supplies.   Naturally, children and dogs who play on treated lawns will  come in contact with the chemical and can track it indoors where prolonged exposure to humans may occur. 

    One of the most commonly used lawn chemicals is 2,4-D or 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, an organochlorine compound , which functions as a systemic herbicide and is used to control many broadleaf weeds such as dandelions.   2,4-D was a major component (about 50%) of the product Agent Orange used extensively throughout Vietnam and is a Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) in the United States.  While the LD50 of 2,4-D suggests that it is only moderately toxic, the product carries the DANGER signal word on the label indicating that it is highly toxic.

    Our research will involve qualitative analysis by immunoassay of 2,4-D in water samples taken from five different sites located in the Stony Brook/Millstone Watershed of Princeton, New Jersey.
 

Experimental Protocol	Pesticide Education
Data	Further Research
Quiz	National Standards