Lyndon Hawkins of the Dept. of Pesticide Control Replies

Questions have been asked of the California Department of Pesticide Control since Fontana Unified School District declined to consider a pesticide free IPM program because of the Department of Agriculture's opinion about only utilizing registered pesticides to eliminate pests.

Subject:             Re: Immunotoxic Effects of Dursban, etc.
Date:              Thu, 04 Feb 1999 09:28:32 -0500
Organization: Get Set Inc.
         To:
            Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>
         CC:
            "Marion Moses, M.D." <pec@pesticides.org>,
            "Doris J. Rapp, M.D." <drrappmd@aol.com>,
            Jay Feldman <ncamp@igc.apc.org>,
            Will Snodgrass <lookusup@bigsky.net>,
            CHEC <chec@checnet.org>,
            Robert McClintock <rmcclintock@northmont.k12.oh.us>,
            Cynthia Stoddard Fitzgerald <cfitzge562@aol.com>,
            Tom Alsup <info@ginesis.com>,
            Norma Grier <info@pesticide.org>,
            Linda Jensen-Pascarella <info@safe2use.com>,
            "Robert K. Simon, Ph.D." <ETIRKS@aol.com>,
            "Robert L. Laing" <"71674,1365"@compuserve.com>,
            "Claire W. Gilbert" <blazingt@concentric.net>,
            Donnelly Hadden <dwhadden@umich.edu>,
            "Eric W. Acosta" <EBugs@aol.com>,

I have "enclosed" an article on cancer caused by industrial solvents - industrial solvents (as you well know) are included in "registered" pesticide poisons, but these "inerts" are not even listed on the label, the MSDS or considered in the "risk formula". Many of these "inerts" (all of which are totally ignored in "registered" pesticide poisons) have an MSDS that prohibits their use around people, but put a "registered" poison active ingredient in and they bureaucratically/magically become 'safe" enough to spray inside our homes, schools and offices. Please do not try to "hide" behind bureaucratic definitions. There are people dying and becoming ill in California because of bureaucratic definitions and lack of concern. I know the definition of "registered" pesticides.

My only point in writing you repeatedly was to point out there are many ways to control pests more effectively and far more safely than the use of "registered" pesticide poisons. In 1993 the EPA, FDA and Department of Agriculture all agreed to look for alternatives to "registered" pesticide poisons. San Francisco has elected to use some of these alternatives. When we tried to protect the children in several school districts in California, we were told by Mr. Mitchel of your Department that it was illegal to use any pest control alternatives in California. I have repeatedly asked you, "Is it really illegal to wash your can in California?" A single dirty garbage can can produce 1000 flies and 2000 maggots each week in California. If you wash this can, the soap and water will kill the flies and maggots. Is it really illegal to control flies in California with soap and water by your interpretation of the law? Until you answer this question, and allow the use of alternatives in California, you personally are ensuring the continued contamination of the State of California and its people with these "registered" poisons that do not control pests.

I have many ways to solve the fire ant problem in Orange County and elsewhere through the State, none of which requires the use of "registered" poisons. The federal government and every department of agriculture in every fire ant infested state have been totally useless in controlling fire ants with "registered" poisons. Tens of thousands of chemicals/poisons have been tested, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent and every year 20% more of the United States is infested with fire ants. My chapter on how to control fire ants with several safe alternatives that actually control fire ants will shortly be put up on the internet.

Mr. Hawkins, it is a sad thing in this Country to find bureaucrats more interested in protecting the profits of poison companies and their bureaucratic jobs rather than the health and welfare of the people. Obviously, it is no longer the government of the people, by the people and for the people. The Nuremburg trials clearly showed that "following orders" was not an excuse for one's own culpability. As I have said before, people and pets will continue to sicken and die in California and some pest control applicators will have pulled the "registered" trigger, but you, Mr. Hawkins, will have aimed the gun.

Lyndon Hawkins: Is it still illegal in California to wash your can? If
so, please comment on the enclosed 3 brief articles and why you still
insist only "registered" poisons must be used to "control" pest problems
in California.

Apparently you did not understand my comments about pesticide
registration and use. Refer to the websites for California law and
FIFRA regarding pesticides (registration and use) so you can read the
requirements. Please note the definition of pesticide.

http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/fac/fac.htm
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regleg.htm

    Lyndon Hawkins
    Department of Pesticide Regulation <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>
    830 K St.                           Work: 916-324-4254
    Room 200                            Fax: 916-324-4088
    Sacramento                          Netscape Conference Address
    CA
    95814
    Additional Information:
    Last Name     Hawkins
    First Name    Lyndon
    Version       2.1

                                      Living Life in a
                                      Cancer Cluster
                                      Parents and Children
                                      Looking for Answers

                                      Michael Gillick, age 20, with his mom,
                                      Linda Gillick. Michael stands 38 inches
                                      high, no taller than the average
                                      4-year-old, one of the effects of
                                      neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous
                                      system. (LaCoppola-Meier)

                 By Buck Wolf
                 ABCNEWS.com
                 T O M S   R I V E R, N. J. — Michael Gillick scares
                 some children. And he inspires others.
                      Cancer has ravaged the 20-year-old Toms River, N.J.,
                 resident. Tumors cover his body, enveloping many of his
                 organs, even his optic nerve. One eye barely opens. He
                 stands 38 inches high. And when little kids see him, he
                 sometimes hears them say, "Run, run, it’s a monster."
                      Yet Gillick struggles to live, largely to help childhood
                 cancer victims. "Anyone can see I have a severe cancer
                 condition," he says. "If I can get through to a little kid with
                 cancer and let him know it’s good to be alive, that means
                 something."

                 Lucky to Be Alive
                 Gillick has been battling neuroblastoma, a cancer of the
                 nervous system, since the earliest months of his life.
                 Doctors told his parents he’d be lucky to reach his first
                 birthday. Twice, he came close enough to death for a priest
                 to read him the last rites. Yet this month he celebrated his
                 20th birthday.
                      "I know I’m living for a reason. Maybe sometimes the
                 doctors didn’t know that."
                      The Gillicks are one of some 60 families in the Toms
                 River area who believe that two local companies polluted
                 their water supply with industrial solvents that caused
                 cancer among the children
                      For more than two years, federal and state scientists
                 have been studying this section of Dover Township after
                 data from the state cancer registry revealed that cancer
                 was diagnosed in 24 Toms River residents younger than 19
                 between 1979 and 1995 — 10 more than statistically
                 expected.

                 In Dover Township, 90 children contracted cancer in the
                 same time period. According to statistical averages, health
                 officials had expected to find 67 cases among the area’s
                 11,000 children.
                      "As we were running in and out of hospitals, we didn’t
                 know for years that so many people in our community
                 faced the same sorts of problems," says Linda Gillick,
                 Michael’s mother and a former teacher who now works as
                 co-founder of Ocean of Love, a nonprofit support group
                 for cancer sufferers and their families.
                      "Then we found out," she says. "And we have to look
                 to each other for support."
                      In November 1996, scientists discovered small levels of
                 styrene-acrylonitrile trimer, a byproduct from plastic
                 manufacturing that might be a carcinogen, in water from
                 area wells. The families and some environmentalists pointed
                 to two local manufacturers — Union Carbide and Ciba
                 Geigy — which deny any wrongdoing.
                      But instead of suing, some 60 families have entered into
                 an agreement with the companies and the local water utility,
                 with the help of various government regulators. The two
                 sides meet regularly, albeit warily, exchanging information
                 and trying to reach some kind of arrangement that satisfies
                 everyone without the tremendous costs and animosity of a
                 court battle.

                 Something to Crow About
                 Despite the horrors of childhood cancer, Toms River has a
                 lot to crow about. Thousands of tourists flock to the
                 nearby sandy beaches each year. New businesses and
                 industry are omnipresent. And the town reveled last year in
                 winning the Little League World Series.
                      "When we had our victory parade, a lot of people
                 thought that the kids with cancer should be up there with
                 the Little Leaguers," says Lori Cardini, whose 11-year-old
                 daughter Jessica suffers from leukemia. "Because in a
                 sense, they are the real heroes."
                      After celebrating his birthday, Michael Gillick considers
                 the rest of his life borrowed time. "They said I’d never
                 make it to adulthood, so I figured if I made it to 20 I’d be
                 proving them wrong," he says. "It’s very sweet to kiss my
                 teen-age years goodbye."
                      Bad days come and go. But Gillick has done his best to
                 approximate normal life. He graduated high school through
                 a home study program, and served as best man at his older
                 brother Kevin’s wedding.
                      If he had no impediments, Gillick says he’d be bound
                 for medical school. But his illness makes it impossible to
                 work, drive a car, or even type for long periods at a
                 keyboard. "I don’t dwell too much on what could have
                 been," he says. "That is a trap that can be worse even than
                 cancer."
                      "I never had the dating and going out that other kids
                 had," he says. "But I love my friends and family and I try to
                 help the kids around me. I know what it’s like to live with a
                 condition and I can help others."
Check out the accompanying slide show, etc. at:

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