No Malathion - Health Chief: City Not Spraying Until EPA Gives Okay

The position is a reversal of the city’s position last summer. Then, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani approved widespread aerial and ground spraying of the pesticide

 

[ Review Comments ]

[ Pesticide Poisoning and Kids ] * [ Symptoms of Pesticide Poisoning ]
[ MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS ]

No Malathion - Health Chief: City Not Spraying Until EPA Gives Okay - By Timothy Williams. - The Associated Press.

N E W   Y O R K, April 14 — The city will not spray malathion to kill mosquitoes infected with the West Nile virus until the Environmental Protection Agency completes its review of the pesticide sometime late this summer, the city’s health director said Thursday.

“At this point, in the event of an outbreak, we will use other pesticides,” said Health Commissioner Neal Cohen. “We will not use malathion. It is not on the table. We will await the conclusion of the EPA’s review.”  The position is a reversal of the city’s position last summer. Then, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani approved widespread aerial and ground spraying of the pesticide during an outbreak of the West Nile encephalitis virus that killed six people and infected 62 others. Four of those deaths and 45 of the cases occurred in the city. Thousands of birds and other animals were also killed.

During several rounds of aerial citywide spraying, Giuliani, Cohen and other officials repeatedly told people that the pesticide was safe, although they cautioned that residents should try to stay indoors during spraying.

Linked to Rashes, Asthma

Many residents, however, were doused with the chemical during times that spraying had not been scheduled.  Dozens of people complained that the malathion caused rashes and flare-ups of asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

As recently as January, Cohen refused to rule out the possible use of malathion and in the health department’s report released Thursday on its plan to prevent another outbreak of encephalitis this year, no mention is made of suspending the use of the pesticide.

Cohen’s disclosure came during a hearing before the City Council’s health committee and in comments to reporters after the meeting.

Instead of malathion, the health department plans to use other pesticides, including resmetrin, sumethrin and permethrin if spraying becomes necessary, Cohen said.

EPA Reviews Malathion

The EPA did not confirm that it was reviewing malathion as a possible carcinogen until earlier this year after complaints about its negative health effects in New York, Florida and other areas.

A message left with the EPA was not returned Thursday, but in February, Steven Johnson, an EPA assistant deputy administrator in charge of the program that regulates pesticides, confirmed the agency’s safety review of malathion.

“Through rigorous scientific analyses we have identified some issues as to whether this compound causes cancer in laboratory animals and what this means for people,”  Johnson said. “Up to now it was not classified as a human carcinogen. But looking at data generated in recent years this issue has arisen.”

The safety study will likely not be completed until the end of summer.

While some environmentalists who had opposed the spraying last year cheered the city’s decision to suspend the use of malathion, the Sierra Club and other groups called for a ban on all pesticide spraying.

“We are calling on the city to make sure that nontoxic preventative measures be done consistently to contain the encephalitis virus,” said Frank Eadie, the group’s conservation chairman. “We are very concerned that there are significant health questions about resmethrin and d-phenothrin in addition to malathion.”

A Last Resort

Cohen however, said the use of pesticides would be a last resort.

The city’s plan to prevent an outbreak calls for testing for the presence of the virus through the use of sentinel chickens and mosquito testing.

Beginning next week, the city will also release larvicide into the city’s storm drains, and later this spring, will expand its use of larvae-eating “mosquito fish” in the city’s waste water treatment plants.

The city will also embark on a public education campaign in which pamphlets in 11 languages urge people to unclog their roof gutters, drain or chlorinate unused swimming pools and discard old tires.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

TOP
 If you would like to be included in our mailing list for continuing information on pesticides, Email Us. with "subscribe" in the subject line.