NOFA/Mass Opposes State's Aerial Spraying of Pesticide
The state of Massachusetts has announced plans, starting August 4, to spray pesticide from the air over a significant area of the state in an effort to kill mosquitoes carrying the virus responsible for Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). EEE is a disease that infects birds living in freshwater swamps and can be carried by mosquito bite to horses and humans. It can be fatal, especially to the young. As of early August 2010, there have been 15 mammal-biting mosquitoes detected yielding positive results for the virus, although only one horse has been found with it, and no humans. Initial state plans call for nighttime spraying of pesticide over nearly 30 towns, centered on Middleborough, MA, covering an area of almost 300,000 acres. The state says it has mapped no-spray zones around public water supplies, coastal areas, organic farms, fish hatcheries and habitats of endangered species. The pesticide to be sprayed will be Anvil, a synthetic pyrethroid. The normal concentration is 10% of the active ingredient sumithrin, 10% piperonyl butoxide, and 80% inert ingredients. Although pyrethroids are listed among the least toxic insecticides, they are still potent nerve poisons. Inhaling them can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain and difficulty breathing. Skin contact can cause a rash, itching, or blisters. Piperonyl butoxide, although not yet fully researched, can cause skin and eye irritations. Rats fed high doses of pyrethroids showed liver damage, and there is evidence it can harm the thyroid. Sumithrin has been shown to disrupt the endocrine system by mimicking the effects of estrogen. In men this can lower the sperm count, in women it can cause the growth of abnormal breast cells. It has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a possible human carcinogen. Sumithrin is also very poisonous to bees and fish. It's half-life in soil in from one day to sixteen weeks, depending on the type of soil, Human Impact NOFA/Mass doubts that the potential ill effects of this poison and suspected carcinogen on hundreds of thousands of people in the path of the spray can be justified by the seriousness of the health risk so far posed by EEE. The state has called upon people to close up their houses and shut down their air-conditioners and fans to avoid exposure. They advise rinsing any homegrown fruits and vegetables, keeping pets indoors, and washing any exposed clothes or skin. Do we really need to impose these conditions on our citizens to protect them from being poisoned by their own government? Environmental Impact It is unacceptable that the state has chosen a compound highly toxic to bees, which can last almost 4 months, to introduce in our environment when Massachusetts is already suffering a serious decline in bee population from Colony Collapse Disorder caused, many feel, by exposure to another toxic pesticide, Imadacloprid. Organic Farm Impact Although the state has taken the precaution of surveying certified organic farms and locating them by GPS coordinates on the aerial spraying maps, we are not confident that such farms can be adequately protected by such exclusion zones. The farms' small size, the strength of prevailing winds, the speed of the planes, and the imprecision inherent in this type of nighttime flyover suggest that such protection is not a practical measure. We call upon the state to reconsider this gamble with our public health.
This page was last modified on March 20, 2011 at 5:54:38 PM.
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