Central Coast residents have filed more than 600 complaints of
illnesses they claim stem from aerial spraying of pheromones to
combat the light brown apple moth this past fall.
In a report released Thursday, residents of Monterey and Santa
Cruz counties say they've experienced everything from respiratory
illnesses and breathing complications to irregular heart rhythms and
menstrual cycles.
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A coalition of citizens'
groups presented the report Friday to members of the Santa Cruz City
Council and on Monday plan to take it before the state Legislature.
Mike Lynberg of Pacific Grove put together the report with
assistance from environmental and citizen groups, including Helping
Our Peninsula's Environment, Concerned Citizens Against Spraying,
Pesticide Watch and Coalition for Sustainable Action.
The document details the angst and uncertainty residents
experienced when a pheromone meant to stop the light brown apple
moth from mating was sprayed above their homes. The moth is known to
damage crops and other vegetation.
"This is an experiment on people against their will," Lynberg
said. "We have strong evidence that the short-term effects (of
exposure) are dire."
Spraying for the moth by the California Department of Food and
Agriculture will continue this spring and may go until 2010,
according to HOPE. CDFA, which has held that the pheromones do not
cause health problems, is to release its own report on spraying to
legislators next week.
Lynberg said he and his wife experienced "brain fog" and
respiratory problems following the spraying and felt compelled to
collect information from other people after hearing of similar
symptoms from friends and neighbors.
CDFA has received a total of 330 illness reports since the
pest-eradication program began in September, spokesman Steve Lyle
said Friday.
Of those, 155 were complaints of illness in writing and over the
phone from Monterey County residents, Lyle said.
David Dilworth, executive director of HOPE, said a separate state
department such as Public Health must impartially evaluate the
illnesses reported after the spraying. Dilworth said that's because
CDFA's mission is to protect agriculture, not public health.
"I don't trust (CDFA) to do anything," he said. "They have shown
they are incompetent and hostile to public-health concerns."
Lyle said CDFA has neither the jurisdiction nor expertise to
conduct an epidemiological study of the complaints, and no public
health agency at this point has said they will review the illness
claims.
A state review in October, however, concluded that LBAM pheromone
products are unlikely to cause any illnesses.
The review, conducted by the California Department of Pesticide
Regulation and Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment,
concluded that although pheromone exposure could lead to respiratory
irritation if a sufficient amount were breathed, the size of the
pheromone is too large to be deeply inhaled in the lung, where it
could cause problems.
Despite that finding, he said, CDFA is conducting an
environmental review to determine the pheromone's effects.
thecalifornian.com
