Return to the aftermath of Malathion Spraying in Florida

The result: Malathion - at levels up to 81 times higher than state and federal standards - found its way into the creeks, which feed into Lake Thonotosassa. It wiped out all but two species of snails and two species of beetles.   The long-term absence of aquatic invertebrates - key components of the food chain - could ultimately affect fish, reptiles and even people, Morgan said.  

 

 

Subject:   Your "Registered" POISONS Are Killing More Than Pests----
Date:       Tue, 29 Aug 2000 08:52:25 -0400
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To:     Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
          Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation 

Dear Mr. Helliker,  I thought you might like to read an old article entitled:  FLY WAR'S LEGACY OF DOUBT ONE YEAR AFTER AGRICULTURE OFFICIALS LAUNCHED THEIR AIR WAR AGAINST THE MEDFLY, QUESTIONS ABOUT MALATHION'S LEGACY LINGER. Friday, June 5, 1998, Section: NATION/WORLD - Page: 1 -  By JAN HOLLINGSWORTH - OF THE TAMPA TRIBUNE.

TAMPA - June 5, 1997. Hillsborough residents may remember it as the day pesticide-spewing aircraft became a fixture in the summer sky.

Julie Sternfels remembers it as the day she watched the ladybugs and wasps that preyed upon the leaf-chomping pests in her organic garden begin to disappear.

She wonders about the long-term effects of dousing the county with nearly 30,000 gallons of malathion.

The truth is, one year after agriculture officials launched their air war against the Mediterranean fruit fly, no one really knows.

"There is nobody out there - no government agency, no university - that is studying the local ecosystem," said Tom Cardinale of the county's Environmental Protection Commission. "If you're not looking at that, you may be overlooking small things that may have a negative impact."

Peggy Morgan was looking at small things - like insect larvae in local streams - long before anyone ever considered crop-dusting urban Tampa with an agricultural pesticide.

As an aquatic biologist for the state Department of Environmental Protection, her work at Baker and Pemberton creeks outside Plant City provides one of the few scientific snapshots of malathion's effect on a local watershed.

The result: Malathion - at levels up to 81 times higher than state and federal standards - found its way into the creeks, which feed into Lake Thonotosassa. It wiped out all but two species of snails and two species of beetles.

The long-term absence of aquatic invertebrates - key components of the food chain - could ultimately affect fish, reptiles and even people, Morgan said.

Forty-two days after spraying ceased, the creatures began to reappear.

"I was a little bit surprised. I thought it was going to take longer," said Morgan, who plans to sample the creeks today to see whether populations have returned to pre-spray numbers.  She expects they have.  "If the source of toxicity is taken away, they will come back. What we don't know is if the more sensitive organisms can sustain consistent hits," she said.

One thing is certain, she added: "If we continue to go on with the spraying year after year, it's bound to have some kind of permanent effect on some organisms."

California saw 13 consecutive years of aerial malathion spraying before the state successfully instituted the year-round release of sterile Medflies in 1994 as a means of controlling outbreaks of the crop-killing pest.  Sterile flies mate with wild ones to break their reproductive cycle.

Some studies indicate the California malathion spraying led to the proliferation of mites, aphids, scale, white flies and other plant pests whose natural enemies were more susceptible to the pesticide.

"Most of that evidence is circumstantial," said California entomologist David Polcyn. "There is a lack of real hard data on numbers [of insects] before, during and after the spraying."

An explosion in Tampa's butterfly population last August was thought to be the result of caterpillar predators being killed off by the spray, though no concrete link was ever established.

While the multitude of colorful wings fluttering across the local landscape was considered a benign and even welcome development, it represents a shift in the delicate balance of nature.

"You solve one problem and you're unwittingly creating another one," said Cardinale. "That's always been the problem with using pesticides." (They still had the Medflies, so how do you figure that they "solved" any problem with POISONS?)

For instance, Hillsborough mosquito control officials last fall saw the highest counts of the disease-carrying pests in 15 years.

That, and the unprecedented proliferation of biting black flies, has been attributed to standing water left by El Nin~o rains.

But consider this: Dragon fly larvae - which eat mosquito larvae - proved susceptible to malathion in the doses used in Tampa's Medfly campaign. Mosquito larvae did not.  (So, why would any sane person use Malathion to try to "control" mosquitoes?)

"The spraying may have contributed to food-chain-type effects," said Polcyn. "I'm not sure I would go out and say it caused it."

No more easily understood is the spraying's effects on the human population.

Hundreds of residents complained to authorities of symptoms ranging from nausea and respiratory problems to sinus congestion and skin rashes in the wake of last year's spraying.

"There is no question in my mind whatever that a number of people were made ill. Do we know how many? No," said Thomas Mason of the University of South Florida's College of Public Health.

Residents who responded to a survey Mason conducted reported symptoms similar to those previously reported by residents in California's spray zones.

But there is a significant gap in the information, he said: People with previously diagnosed conditions - children with asthma, adults being treated for cancer, lupus, HIV and others with impaired immune systems - would be the most likely to have been affected and the least likely to have called authorities to report a worsening of their condition.

"They would have called their doctors or gone directly to an emergency room," said Mason.

The next step is to access medical records of people with these conditions and reconstruct their medical histories before, during and after the spraying. Even that will not provide a complete picture because health surveillance was delayed for more than a month after spraying began.

"We'll never be able to look at total impact as it relates to animal and human health," said Mason.

With helicopters poised to begin spraying 50 square miles of neighboring Manatee County this weekend, the prospect of another local Medfly air war weighs heavily on Sternfels mind.

Agriculture officials have released millions of sterile flies outside the core infestation area in Bradenton and Palmetto to stem the spread of wild flies into Hillsborough.

They have proposed to release millions more from the Pasco County line south to Venice as an additional preventive measure. Money to fund the venture has not yet materialized.

Meanwhile, rotting fruit in local yards and abandoned groves throughout the county provides fertile grounds for infestation.

"Knowing they have not started the sterile release [in Hillsborough] I live in daily fear of the spraying returning," Sternfels said.

An environmental scientist by profession, an anti-malathion activist by circumstance, she said she's doing the only thing she can to help.

"I'm picking up the rotting fruit in my yard, something I didn't do before."

Today her garden flourishes. But the mud dauber wasps that usually nest each spring beneath the eaves of her home have not returned.

"I haven't seen any explosion in leaf-chewing activity, but I know down the line I'm going to see something," Sternfels said. "The wasps just aren't here."

Cutline: (2C) Helicopters were a common sight spraying for Medflies last year in Hillsborough County, as were residents washing malathion off their vehicles. DAVID KADLUBOWSKI/Tribune file photo (1997) BOB WESTENHOUSER/Tribune file photo (1997)Grapefruit rotting on the ground in this abandoned Brandon citrus grove are perfect places for Medflies to reproduce. DAVE GEIGER/Tribune photo

Jan Hollingsworth reports on environmental issues.  She can be reached at (813) 259-7607.Read previous coverage of the Medfly  infestation at http://tampatrib.com/ news/medfly.htm

All content © 2000 The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. Send comments or questions to newslibrary@krmediastream.com

Respectfully. Stephen L. Tvedten

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