Steve Tvedten of Get Set, Inc.'s email to Lyndon Hawkins of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation relating actual cases of pesticide poisoning while the CDPR does nothing.

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.  The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has remained silent and not responded to these issues:

"Poisoning without Representation"

This Country was founded because the populace did not want "Taxation without Representation."  They fought a terrible war because someone was arbitrarily taking their money.  What do you think will happen when the people find out you are bureaucratically and arbitrarily taking their health and very lives without allowing them any choice?

On Tuesday, 2/23/99, I talked to a retired California fish and wildlife employee who notes his Wife had just been killed from pesticide exposure and his Son had died earlier from pesticide exposures.  The California resident noted that at the start of his career the State had game birds and lady bugs.  Now they both are seldom seen.  He also noted he could no longer safely eat any fish that he caught, so he no longer goes fishing.  He described clouds of pesticide poisons rolling into his valley from April - August and knew of 3 ministers' wives who had never smoked but were all currently dying of lung cancer.  It took this man several minutes to correctly take down my phone number.  The amazing thing to me is that even with visible "clouds" of pesticide poisons, you still have an increase in pests.  You have killed the beneficial insects, birds, fish, wildlife and people, but not the pests.  Never in the history of synthetic pesticide poisons have you ever eradicated even one pest specie, yet you continually demand California residents use more and more of these  useless, expensive and dangerous poisons!  Why?

Watchdog group warns of pesticides in air by Tim Tesconi, Santa Rosa Democrat, Jan. 13, 1999  Toxic pesticides are drifting from agricultural operations into the air people breathe in Sonoma county and seven other counties, putting millions of Californians at risk of pesticide exposure, according to a report to be released today by an environmental group.  The report by the Environmental Working Group follows a two-year study in which air samples were collected and analyzed by an independent laboratory in Oakland.  In Sonoma County, drifting pesticides, primarily sulfur, were detected in 62 percent of the 26 air samples taken between May and August of 1998.

"The evidence shows that pesticide use routinely exposes Californians to multiple hazardous chemicals in the air where they live, work or attend school," said Bill Walker, state director of the Environmental Working Group and principal author of the report titled What You Don't Know could Hurt You.   Walker said the levels of airbornes detected were relatively small in most cases, but that doesn't mean the air is safe, particularly for children and the elderly.  He said health-based safety standards for most pesticides in air have not been established.  He said those standards that do exist are based on safe levels of exposure for the average adult male. Walker said California's Department of Pesticide Regulation, the state agency responsible for regulating agricultural pesticides, is failing to protect Californians from toxic chemicals used in farming.  He said the Department of Pesticide Regulation does not test the air from some pesticides known to cause cancer.

"The Department of Pesticide Regulation is in denial about the public health risks of the excessive use of pesticides in California," Walker charged.  The study calls for Gov. Gray Davis to "clean house" at the Department of Pesticide Regulation by replacing top officials with people more concerned about human health than the pesticide applicators they regulate. The study recommends that authority for monitoring airborne pesticides be transferred to the California Air Resources Board.  Veda Federighi, spokeswoman for the Department of Pesticide Regulation, Tuesday said department scientists had not studied the report to comment on its findings.  She said the report would be reviewed to determine if there are hazards based on legitimate scientific research. She said California has an extensive program for strictly controlling pesticides and monitoring airborne pesticides, ensuring the safety of the state's residents.  She said the air monitoring program tests for pesticides considered to be the highest risk, such as methyl bromide, during the months of peak use. "In situations where we have found pesticide levels that are of health concerns we have quickly done something about it," said Federighi.  Federighi said the California Air Resources Board works with the Department of Pesticide Regulation in monitoring the air for pesticides.

The Environmental Working Group's study found that sulfur, a naturally-occurring mineral used to prevent fungal diseases in vineyards, was the most frequently detected pesticide in the Sonoma County air samples.  Although classified as a pesticide, sulfur is generally considered a non-toxic element even allowed in organic farming.  The Sonoma County study found five detections of carbaryl and one sample of phosmet.  Carbaryl is a widely used pesticide classified as a possible human carcinogen.  Phosmet, an organophosphate pesticide used on vineyards and orchards, also is a possible carcinogen.  In addition to Sonoma County, the other counties in the air sample study were Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Contra Costa.

I have a few questions and comments.  First of all, I find your Department's use of the term "legitimate scientific research" highly insulting - where is your legitimate scientific research that all of the volatile poisons you recommend and have "registered" are truly safe and/or create no hazards for every California resident?  Honestly, how can any "regulator" in your Department, e.g., Veda Federrighi, suggest you are even vaguely concerned with "legitimate scientific research", when you do not even bother to consider much less examine any of the chronic health effects and multiple exposures, or any of toxic health effects caused by the "inerts", synergism, contaminants, metabolites, medication, pre-existing health conditions or even allow the use of any of non-toxic alternatives to these dangerous poisons?!  Do you really believe the California Retiree who just lost his Wife and Son within the last year to pesticide exposure wants you to only consider what you and the poison "industry" consider to be "legitimate scientific research" before you also "legally" poison him to death?  Do you intend to conduct "legitimate scientific research" like Dr. Mengele, by applying poison to one twin and then autopsying them both to "legitimately and scientifically" determine that these poisons are really killing/poisoning/sickening/destroying people, pets, fish and wildlife?

The July 1983 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute clearly noted legitimate scientific research had determined over 16 years ago that pesticide inhalation was and is associated with brain and lung cancer.  A study of 3,827 Florida pesticide applicators employed for 20 or more years found they had nearly 3 times the risk for developing lung cancer.  The same study also showed the pesticide applicators had twice the risk for brain cancer.  There was not any increased cancer risk when applicators were studied for only 5 years implying it takes over 5 years to accumulate enough damage to the genetic structure to develop the cancers.  Do you really want to wait until everyone in California has cancer before you (or Veda)  have enough "legitimate scientific research" for you to realize that the "registered" use of pesticide poisons is really harming people and pets and wildlife in California?

 What will it take for you to allow the use of safe alternatives (common sense) rather than only the "registered" use of volatile, synthetic poisons in California?
 

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