Ann Lindsey questioned why the WRHA would use pesticides on the grounds of a centre with terminally ill patients. (CBC)

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is reviewing its use of chemicals on grass and grounds of hospitals after an environmental activist asked why a neighbourhood health centre was spraying toxic pesticides.

Anne Lindsey, spokeswoman for the Campaign for Pesticide Reduction, was working in a community garden behind the WRHA's Riverview Health Centre when she found out that staff sprayed chemicals on the hospital grounds.

She called the health authority to ask why it would spray chemicals that have been linked to cancer on grass at a facility that houses terminally ill cancer patients.

The health agency says it will review the situation and probably ban the use of cosmetic pesticides.

"We are reviewing what the practices are …and drafting a policy that we hope will be in place for next year," said WRHA spokesperson Heidi Graham. The new policy "will make it clear we would like more eco-friendly alternatives in terms of fertilizers and pesticides on our sites," she said.

Kristina Hunter, an environmental health researcher at the University of Winnipeg, said it is exquisitely ironic that chemicals that have been linked to cancer should be sprayed on the lawns of Riverview, a palliative care and geriatric health centre in Winnipeg's Fort Rouge area.

"I just don't think it's a great idea to have patients in a hospital with chemicals being sprayed on their grounds," said Hunter. "Those patients are probably sensitive to those chemicals — and it's just sending the wrong message."

Lindsey said she was equally concerned about the health of people in the neighbourhood. "It's not just [at Riverview] that lawn care chemicals are used, it's all over our city."

The City of Winnipeg requires landscaping companies that spray chemicals to post appropriate signs. Manitoba has no blanket ban on urban-use pesticides.

A 2004 omnibus study by the Ontario College of Family Physicians showed a link between some pesticides and illnesses such as cancer, reproductive problems and neurological diseases, among others. The study also said that children are particularly vulnerable to pesticides.

The Saskatoon Regional Health Authority recently banned use of cosmetic herbicides, fearing chemical exposure to patients and visitors.

Manitoba Conservation said it has begun consulting with stakeholders to get input for a possible provincewide ban on cosmetic pesticides commonly used on residential lawns — but is unable to put one into effect for 2009.