Municipal leaders might look to McCahill Park in Fox Chapel as the "greenprint" for better health.

Used largely by children for soccer and softball, the field is now pesticide free.

That means toxins traditionally used to maintain the turf and control the weeds have been wiped clean.

"We'll go to organic fertilizer and see if we can keep the turf at a standard that's acceptable to the people who use it," said Dotty Beckwith, a member of the borough parks committee.

Project costs were not available.

"It comes down to children's health," Beckwith said.

Some pesticides can affect the nervous system, skin or eyes, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Others are considered carcinogens or can impact the endocrine system.

Children are at a greater risk than adults because their organs still are developing, and their immune systems may provide less protection. Also, their instinct to plop down and play on the lawn -- where pesticides are applied -- places them at a higher risk.

"There are more and more studies that talk about the potential to children reacting negatively to toxins," said Beckwith, a member of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, based in Oregon.

Reports released by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reveal that household and garden pesticide use can increase the risk of childhood leukemia as much as seven-fold.

Other studies show that the most commonly used herbicide, 2, 4-D, has been linked to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to Beyond Pesticides, a watchdog group against the misuse of pesticides.

Beckwith said that pesticides applied to lawns -- and ball fields -- can be tracked inside where they could remain in dust and carpets for a year.

Americans use more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides each year to combat pests on farms, homes, businesses, schools, parks, hospitals and ball fields.

"It is our responsibility to protect children so they can grow and develop without the chance of incurring neurobiological damage, compromised immune systems, reproductive damage or increased risks of cancer due to toxic exposures early in life," Beckwith said.

Members of the parks committee are hoping that the trial at McCahill Park succeeds -- and that the program expands to other borough parks.

Turning "green" has meant only a change in products. Park-goers likely won't notice otherwise, Beckwith hopes.

There have been no complaints so far, she said.

"It's going to cost a little more at first but in the long run, as you build the turf, it becomes very cost effective," she said. "If people see that it works, they might do it at home too, which would be a real good thing."

Golfers are no longer allowed to practice at the field along Squaw Run Road since it creates divots. Dog walkers are asked to stay off the grass too.