A pediatric specialist whose knowledge of toxic chemicals earned her interviews on Larry King Live, Oprah and Donahue is in town until today training doctors and nurses how to detect possible health effects of a state-sprayed pheromone designed to eliminate the light brown apple moth.
Though no date has been set for the aerial spraying of CheckMate LBAM-F, Steve Lyle, a spokesman with the state Department of Food and Agriculture, said an announcement would be made soon, possibly next week.
The specialist, Dr. Doris J. Rapp, a board certified environmental medical specialist, told about two dozen independent doctors and nurses Thursday she believes the pheromone, LBAM-F, if sprayed over a long period of time and at frequent intervals, is capable of causing respiratory problems, skin rashes, tender lymph nodes, stomach cramps, swollen glands and fever.
"But the problem is that you have to know what to look for, and you should probably get the appropriate blood tests to determine whether your liver or your pancreas have been affected," said Rapp, whose written several books on the dangers of exposure to toxic chemicals.
The state, however, continued to defend its stance on the use of the pheromone, which was sprayed in early November over portions of Santa Cruz County. It said there has been no documented evidence that the aerial treatment of a moth pheromone has caused injury to anybody in the 10 years that it has been used -- in both the United States and Australia.
"It's been determined safe by state and federal authorities," Lyle said.
An estimated 10,390 light brown apple moths have been trapped in the county, the highest number in the state since the moth was first detected in February of last year in Berkeley. The state Department of Food and Agriculture has received 330 illness reports from people in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties since the pest-eradication program began in September.
The state says that the light brown apple moth must be eliminated to protect the future of California's agriculture from the pest, which is capable of eating away at more than 250 plants and crops, causing millions of dollars in damage a year.
Contact Tom Ragan at 706-3254 or tragan@santacruzsentinel.com.