- I'm reminded of the 1950's...TV newscasts showing clouds
of DDT sprayed on a clueless public, compromising their health and contaminating
the environment for decades to come, as Rachel Carson writes "Silent
Spring." But the time is now, other toxic pesticides have joined
the ranks in our wayward war against mosquitoes, and the Rachels of today
are drowned out by a media rushing to sound the alarm, rather than report
the news.
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- And the news is - pesticides pose a much greater health
hazard than the West Nile virus.
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- DEET, Anvil, and other toxic pesticides are aggressively
promoted to protect the public from a mosquito bite that appears to be,
statistically, less dangerous than a dog bite or bee sting. And the
CDC seems to agree. On its website it says, "Human illness from West
Nile virus is rare, even in areas where the virus has been reported. The
chance that any one person is going to become ill from a mosquito bite
is low."
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- Since 1999 only a handful of deaths per year have been
associated with West Nile, even though the virus has been found in 33 states.
-
- The fact that this "health crisis" has been
exaggerated, and that chemical spraying is usually the least effective
yet most toxic way to control mosquitoes, has deterred some state officials,
but not others. The New York State Health Department backed away from recommending
wholesale spraying after finding that more people got sick from the pesticides
than from the virus. However, Louisiana has just asked for $17 million
in federal aid, and Mississippi is following suit. There's no word yet
on how the money is to be allocated, but rest assured the pesticide companies
stand to benefit.
-
- Meanwhile, some citizen groups are taking matters into
their own hands. The No Spray Coalition is suing New York City to stop
pesticide spraying in their neighborhoods.
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- There's a good deal of information on government and
other websites about the toxic effects of pesticides, but a comprehensive
picture of the specific pesticides and issues involved in the West Nile
campaign is well laid out in a report called "Overkill: Why Pesticide
Spraying for West Nile Virus May Cause More Harm Than Good" by the
Maine Environmental Policy Institute (MEPI) and the Toxics Action Center.
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- In short, they report that these pesticides offer a toxic
legacy: short- and long-term respiratory problems, immune and nervous
system disruption, cancer, and reproductive and learning disorders. That
covers just about everything you'd never want to get.
-
- The "Overkill" report also emphasizes the association
between outdoor pesticide sprays and neurological damage, stating, "A
report of pesticides and childhood brain cancers published in Environmental
Health Perspectives (a publication of the National Institutes of Health)
revealed a strong relationship between brain cancers and pyrethroids used
to kill fleas and ticks." Anvil, a pyrethroid, is a popular pesticide
used by state agencies to control mosquitoes.
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- The use of DEET in mosquito repellents is extremely troubling.
DEET has been associated with seizures and several cases of toxic encephalopathy
(encephalitis) in children, including three deaths, according to the Extension
Toxicology Network at Cornell University.
-
- The battle against West Nile is supposed to prevent a
virus that can cause encephalitis. It appears the cure can cause the disease.
That would be ironic, if it weren't so tragic.
-
- Dr. Mohamed Abou-Donia, a research scientist at Duke
University Medical Center, whose studies have established a link between
DEET and neurological damage in animals, warns parents in a recent Environmental
News Service article, "Never use insect repellents on infants, and
be wary of using them on children in general. Never combine insecticides
with each other or use them with other medications. Even so simple a drug
as an antihistamine could interact with DEET to cause toxic side effects.
Don't spray your yard for bugs and then take medications. Until we have
more data on potential interactions in humans, safe is better than sorry."
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- Meanwhile, state and federal agencies, including the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC), are encouraging the public to use mosquito repellents containing
DEET. Although the CDC warns parents to avoid applying repellent on children
less than 2 years old, the EPA and other state agencies are not giving
that caution. The EPA instead advises, "Do not allow children to handle
the products, and do not apply to children's hands. When using on children,
apply to your own hands and then put it on the child."
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- Have these people ever met a child? Children touch everything
and everybody, including themselves. And then they put their pudgy little
fingers directly into their mouths.
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- While the battle plan's objective is to target the mosquitoes
that carry West Nile, the strikes won't be 'precision' and the collateral
damage could be vast. Pesticides and larvicides can impact fish, insects,
animals, and humans. And although the public has been told to lather up
with DEET, spray pesticides, and eliminate standing water, little has been
said about using select plants, birds, bugs, fish, and amphibians - gifts
of nature that help control mosquitoes.
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- It seems we're traveling in a deadly circle. Spraying
for West Nile, while we're gassing ourselves. Falling for a health scare,
when the real scare is the alleged cure. And the real cure can be found
in the natural world we're attacking.
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- Welcome to the 1950's. Rachel must be rolling in her
grave.
-
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- Lynn Landes is a freelance journalist specializing in
environmental issues. She is a weekly commentator on the BBC's Radio Five
Live and reports environmental news for DUTV in Philadelphia, PA (EcoTalk.org).
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