Steve Tvedten of Get Set, Inc.'s email to Lyndon Hawkins of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation .

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:

Subject:    "Registered" Pesticide Poisons Obviously Kill Many Things
  Date:    Thu, 01 Jul 1999 12:53:03 -0400
  From:    Rosalind Tvedten <stvedten@earthlink.net>
 Organization:  Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
    To:  Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>

Children's Deaths From Arrhythmias May Have Pesticide Link

Feb. 11, 1998

ONTARIO, Calif.  - A four-month newspaper investigation into the health effects of toxic chemicals on south Fontana residents found a possible link between three teen deaths and pesticides.

The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin began its investigation in mid-October as a follow-up to the June 30 death of Chrissy Garavito, a popular 15-year-old Fontana High School cheerleader.

Ms. Garavito's mother, Janine Matelko, believes her daughter succumbed to exposure from pesticides applied by the city, county and school district to kill flies attracted to manure at nearby egg ranches.

She suffered seizures that were symptoms of a rare heart condition medical experts now say could be linked to long-term pesticide exposure. However, she was not diagnosed with Prolonged QT syndrome, an electrical problem of the heart, until after her death.

The newspaper reported that it found evidence that pesticides contributed to the deaths of three other young women from 1992 to 1997: Jennifer Denzin, 21, of Upland; Colleen Bright, 18, of Fontana; and Jaimie Pettey, 15, of Bloomington.

The investigation found evidence suggesting that all but Ms. Denzin died of heart arrhythmias after pesticide exposure. A fourth woman, from Upland, died from an asthmatic condition brought on by pesticide exposure, the family alleges in a lawsuit.

 The Daily Bulletin also gathered evidence suggesting pesticides or environmental toxins were behind the cases of an additional eight Fontana teachers, students and residents who are either experiencing heart arrhythmia symptoms or have been diagnosed with the same condition that killed Ms. Garavito. They include her mother Mrs. Matelko, 38; Matelko's son Matthew, 8; and his sister, Dena Garavito, 21.

Dr. Marc Platt, an electrophysiologist and associate professor of medicine at Loma Linda University said while the condition usually is genetic, "organophosphate (pesticides) can make you have the same condition."

He said he's seeing more and more Prolonged QT cases and is treating at least five local families for Prolonged QT syndrome.

"There has been one or two reported cases of people contracting Prolonged QT syndrome from pesticides," but those were from acute one-time exposures, said Dr. Arthur Moss, a Prolonged QT expert who is a cardiologist and professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. "It could be genetic or it could be acquired due to drugs or pesticides."

The newspaper said no direct connection had been established between environmental toxins and the health problems and deaths in south Fontana and the surrounding area, but anecdotal and circumstantial evidence is strong that pesticides and air pollution have played a significant role.

The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health is investigating whether pesticides caused the young women's deaths.

"It's uncommon enough for us to take a look at them," said Dr. Thomas Prendergast, the San  Bernardino County health officer. "There is no direct evidence that pesticides were involved in  these deaths, but it's certainly a question worth pursuing."

Although south Fontana is surrounded by the Stringfellow acid pits, the former Kaiser Steel  Mill, the Southwest Industrial Park and three egg ranches where heavy pesticide spraying  occurs, no public agency has ever investigated how this toxic combination has affected  people's health, the newspaper said.

 Christina Graves, the Los Angeles organizer for Pesticide Watch, said the news about the deaths and illnesses in south Fontana was a call to action. "It's tragic that the death toll climbs  and adverse health effects accumulate when alternatives to toxic pesticides have proven to be  effective," Ms. Graves said.

Since October, Fontana, Etiwanda and Rialto school districts have banned or stopped using  some pesticides. The county superintendent of schools has taken steps to recommend other school districts hire a progressive pest control company that uses alternatives to spraying  pesticides. Also, a bill is expected to be introduced soon in the Legislature to reduce pesticide use in California schools.

Lyndon, it seems you are killing more than farmworkers with your "registered" poisons. Respectfully, Steve