HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-21-20 Public Comment - L. Smoguy - URGENT_ Covid-19 can be exacerbated by toxic mosquito pesticide sprayingFrom:Chris Mehl
To:Agenda
Subject:FW: URGENT: Covid-19 can be exacerbated by toxic mosquito pesticide spraying
Date:Tuesday, July 21, 2020 6:02:26 AM
Chris Mehl
Mayor, City of Bozemancmehl@bozeman.net406.581.4992________________________________________From: mslilyana@everyactionadvocacy.com [mslilyana@everyactionadvocacy.com]Sent: Monday, July 20, 2020 8:10 PMTo: Chris MehlSubject: URGENT: Covid-19 can be exacerbated by toxic mosquito pesticide spraying
Dear Mayor Chris Mehl,
Mosquito spray programs, which target flying mosquitoes with highly toxic organophosphate or synthetic pyrethroidinsecticides, are ineffective and endanger our health. These pesticides, which are generally applied as ultra-low-volume (ULV) formulations, will float in the air longer than usual because of their small droplet size, but willeventually land on lawns, gardens, and anything that is outside. That droplet size also allows them to be carrieddeeper into the lungs. These pesticides can cause a wide range of health effects in humans, including exacerbatingrespiratory illness like Covid-19, and harm our environment.
Symptoms of organophosphate poisoning in humans include numbness, tingling sensations, headache, dizziness,tremors, nausea, abdominal cramps, sweating, incoordination, blurred vision, difficulty breathing, slow heartbeat,loss of consciousness, incontinence, convulsions, and death. Some organophosphates have been linked to birthdefects, cancer, and brain effects. Symptoms of synthetic pyrethroid poisoning include dermatitis and asthma-likereactions, eye and skin irritation, and flu-like symptoms. Synthetic pyrethroids are endocrine disruptors and havebeen linked to breast and prostate cancer. People with asthma and pollen allergies should be especially cautious.Exposure has resulted in deaths from respiratory failure.
Naled, an organophosphate commonly used for mosquito control, affects a variety of non-target animals, includingfish, insects, aquatic invertebrates, and honey bees. Naled is moderately acutely toxic to mammals, moderately tovery highly toxic to freshwater fish and birds, highly toxic to honey bees, and very highly toxic to freshwater aquaticinvertebrates, and estuarine fish and invertebrates. Elevated mortality rates among honey bees have beendocumented after nighttime aerial ULV applications of naled. Synthetic pyrethroids are highly toxic to fish andhoney bees, even in low doses. Beneficial insects, including mosquito predators like dragonflies, will be killed bysynthetic pyrethroids and organophosphates.
In addition to the dangers, spraying to kill adult mosquitoes (adulticiding) is the least effective mosquito controlmethod. Close to 99.9% of sprayed chemicals goes off into the environment where they can have detrimental effectson public health and ecosystems, leaving 0.10% to actually hit the target pest. In addition, efforts to control thetransmission of mosquito-borne diseases are encountering a big, though predictable, problem—mosquitoes aredeveloping resistance to insecticides.
There are better ways to manage mosquito problems. Outbreaks of disease-carrying mosquitoes often result fromhabitat disturbance, such as deforestation, impairing wetlands, and spraying insecticides. Restoring the health ofecosystems helps keep mosquitoes under control. Native minnows, for example, can provide effective control ofmosquito larvae breeding in standing water. Where water cannot be emptied from containers, the bacterial larvicideBacillus thurigiensis israelensis is a least-toxic option. A better mosquito management plan protects public healthand the environment. Please tell our local and state health departments to abandon spraying and adopt a mosquito
management plan that does not depend on toxic chemicals: bp-dc.org/mosquito-mgmt
Thanks you for your consideration of my concerns.
Sincerely,Lilyana Srnoguy2124 N Rouse Ave Trlr 10 Bozeman, MT 59715-2247mslilyana@gmail.com