Fresh Cut Flowers: Fragrant, Beautiful-And Often Doused with Pesticides

National Wildlife, June-July, 2000 by Joby Warrick

Workers reentering the greenhouses are supposed to wear protective gear, but some have refused because the equipment is cumbersome, according to Wiles. He adds, "The public, meanwhile, is buying roses from these greenhouses within 24 hours of the last spray, during a time when workers normally wouldn't be allowed to handle the same roses without protective equipment."

Joby Warrick is a staff writer for The Washington Post.