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Lincoln could ban rat poison that thins blood

The town would be allowed to stop use of anticoagulant rodenticides, including by licensed commercial applicators. Lincoln’s Board of Health could still approve them for public-health cleanup.

In Massachusetts, Lincoln could get a local ban on anticoagulant rodenticides, a pesticide class used in rat control. The proposal would let the town prohibit their application by ordinance within Lincoln, and it would take effect upon passage.

The reach is broad enough to cover licensed commercial applicators, not just homeowners or property managers. The measure says Lincoln may act despite chapter 132B of the general laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, giving the town room to make its own call even where other rules might otherwise stand in the way.

A narrow public-health exception

The one built-in exception belongs to the town’s Board of Health. It could still allow the products when they are needed to remediate a public health condition, leaving room for targeted cleanup but not routine use.

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