FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Contact:
Kim Erndt-Pitcher | Director of Ecological Health | Prairie Rivers Network
kerndt-pitcher@prairierivers.org | 217-344-2371
Lisa Bralts | Communications Director | Prairie Rivers Network
lbralts@prairierivers.org | 217-417-5456
New Research Reveals Pesticide Applications Move Well Beyond Targets
Illinois schools, parks, and playgrounds exposed to drifting pesticides every month of growing season
Champaign, Ill.–While pesticides drifting across Illinois continue to seriously threaten the health of trees and gardens, the impact of repeat, involuntary exposures on people is coming into clearer focus, according to updated research from Illinois environmental non-profit Prairie Rivers Network.
“Pesticide Drift in Public Spaces”, published in late April 2026, builds on the groundbreaking work done by PRN with 2024’s “Hidden in Plain Sight”.
This new, expanded research zeroes in on the presence and frequency of pesticide drift in outdoor public spaces like schools and parks, including those not immediately adjacent to farmland. Schools, parks, and playgrounds in both rural and urban areas throughout Illinois were among the locations monitored monthly as part of the study.
Pesticides were detected in leaf tissue and on monitoring bands—a new testing method for 2025—during each sampling period at all locations. “Because we were using both bands and leaf tissue for sampling, we were better able to understand which pesticides were moving through the air during any given month,” said Kim Erndt-Pitcher, Prairie Rivers Network’s Director of Ecological Health and project lead. “The number of drift detections at each site was shocking. There were an average of 20 independent pesticide exposure events occurring at each site during the growing season, including a playground nearly three-quarters of a mile from the closest potential source of large-scale pesticide applications.”
People who live in more populated areas of the state may believe they are not being exposed to drifting pesticides, Erndt-Pitcher said, but the expanded study illustrates that pesticide exposure is far more common than is widely acknowledged. The data show that chemical trespass on trees, plants, and the places we frequent is indiscriminate—and widespread.
“This is the first study of its kind conducted in the United States,” said Dr. Greg Spyreas, a botanist and scientific reviewer of the study. “PRN has already documented yearly recurring damage to trees, including fruit trees, street trees, and surrounding natural areas, but this latest research builds on that evidence by demonstrating how widespread airborne exposure to pesticides has become.
“The findings are clear: public spaces across Illinois are being exposed to several pesticides through the air without people’s knowledge or consent, and this raises serious concerns about current pesticide practices, public health protections, and the air we breathe.”
Despite attempts in recent years to pass state legislation requiring a 24-72 hour notification period prior to pesticide applications within certain distances of school, parks, and daycares, Illinois communities are still without protection from what Prairie Rivers Network calls “chemical trespass”. Legislation crafted to help people in the path of these drifting chemicals reduce direct exposure stalled in 2026, after tremendous pressure from the agrochemical industry and agricultural interest groups.
“A child’s right to clean air should not require hypervigilance, significant agricultural research, and chemical guesswork,” noted Abbie Frank, founder and executive director of Bluestem Hall Nature School in Urbana, IL, which experiences multiple direct drift exposures each year. “Why are drifting pesticides able to harm our trees and pollute our children’s air without any accountability? Future generations will look back at the practices of this time with profound disappointment.”
Climate change has also influenced when drift occurs, with applications beginning earlier thanks to shorter winters. While the 2026 growing season is well underway and the majority of the early spring pesticide applications are now complete, there will be more applications, and likely drift events, throughout the growing season, as indicated by the new monthly data.
“The data is clear and this new research puts a finer point on the urgent need for further protections,” said Erndt-Pitcher. “Notifying school and park officials—which really is the bare minimum when it comes to protections— will help them plan accordingly and provide the opportunity to minimize direct exposure to people.”
At Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), we protect water, heal land, and inspire change. Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other. PRN is the Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. To learn more please visit www.prairierivers.org.
