Subject: Skeeter Spray Firm Is Swatted 4/6/01 - Did "They" Learn Anything?
Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 14:02:17 -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
cc: Carol Browner browner.carol@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker, I thought
you might like to read several news items, the first is entitled: Skeeter Spray
Firm Is Swatted, 4/6/01, By JOE MAHONEY - Daily News Albany Bureau Chief.
ALBANY
The state's environmental agency will levy a fine of
"at least six figures" against an Illinois company for violating
regulations during a spray assault against West Nile virus.
Clarke Environmental Mosquito Management was cited yesterday for using
untrained and unsupervised workers.
The state action came after Daily News columnist Juan
Gonzalez revealed how Clarke workers complained of ailments ranging from
breathing difficulty to sexual dysfunction after being exposed to Anvil spray.
"We consider this to be a very serious
violation," said Jennifer Post, assistant commissioner of the state
Department of Environmental Conservation.
Gonzalez reported this week that Clarke was the only
company to submit a bid for the city Health Department's multimillion-dollar
pesticide contract — estimated to be worth $50 million over the next three
years. The city's mosquito-spraying program was put on hold when no other
company made a bid.
State law requires that pesticide applicators receive
safety training. But a violation notice sent to Clarke yesterday named 31 people
employed as apprentices in the city who were not trained.
Julie Ugarte, a Clarke spokeswoman, said the company is
"committing to protecting the health and safety" of the public. In a
statement, Clarke said the company provided workers with appropriate instruction
and supervision.
Clarke was fined $6,750 by the Occupational Health and
Safety Administration in connection with related violations of federal
regulations.
City Health Department officials said they are reviewing
the state's findings.
The city has yet to release its new West Nile virus control
plan, but it is expected to step back from widespread use of pesticides.
"This is the first time we are going into West Nile
season with a full year of experience and surveillance," city Health
Commissioner Neal Cohen said at a conference in White Plains.
The state Health Department's proposed West Nile Virus
Response Plan says pesticide spraying should be used only when the virus poses a
danger to "human health."
"As the threat increases, the public health response
will change as well," said state Health Commissioner Antonia Novello.
The second news item is entitled: West Nile strategy
changes. By DINA CAPPIELLO, Staff
writer - It was first published: Friday, April 6, 2001.
West Nile strategy changes
Albany -- State Health Department recommends spraying
insecticide only when humans are at risk from virus, a move embraced by
environmentalists
Calling the West Nile virus a "genie out of a
bottle,'' the state Health Department has recommended that communities not spray
pesticides to control mosquitoes carrying the disease unless human health is
threatened.
As part of its proposed 2001 West Nile Virus Management
Plan, the Health Department says that communities should use chemicals like
Anvil, the insecticide sprayed in Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer counties
last August, only as a last resort.
A year ago the policy followed by local communities was to
spray mosquito-killer in a four-mile-wide circle around where a dead crow was
found.
But that was before the virus spread to 61 of New York's 62
counties, and was found in eight more mosquito species than the initial type
that was thought to harbor the virus exclusively.
Health officials said Thursday that pesticides failed in
containing the virus' spread, and now the focus is solely on preventing human
infection. A bite from an infected mosquito can develop into West Nile
encephalitis, a deadly inflammation of the brain that hospitalized 14 and killed
one person in New York City last year.
"We are emphasizing that spraying to control adult
mosquitoes should be reserved only for those situations where there appears to
be an imminent risk to human health,'' said Health Commissioner Antonia C.
Novello.
The threat to human health this year will be determined not
just by the existence of one infected crow -- but by the number of infected
crows found dead in a given area, or bird density.
"Dead crow density per square mile is a good surrogate
for human risk,'' said Health Department spokeswoman Kristine Smith.
Instead of sending every crow in to the state for testing,
a policy that caused more than 1,000 dead birds to pile up at state wildlife
pathologist Ward Stone's laboratory last summer, this year there will be more
focus on reporting dead birds. In the Capital Region, local health departments
will step up the use of "dunks'' to kill mosquito larva.
For Jack Parisi, director of environmental health for
Schenectady County, which spent $14,500 hiring Clarke Mosquito Control to ground
spray Anvil last year, the new recommendations come as a relief.
"We really weren't crazy about spraying last year, but
we were a little pressured by policy,'' Parisi said. "We had a company come
out of the blue that was doing all New York state and their method really wasn't
effective in our area.''
Illinois-based Clarke Mosquito Control defended its methods
Thursday, saying that Anvil is effective when used in conjunction with other
techniques.
"Clarke still sees the need for mosquito control,''
said Julie Urgate, a company spokesman. But "spraying in a target area is
not reaching the entire habitat for mosquitoes. Additional spraying needs to be
considered.''
Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer counties opted not to
spray a second time last summer. "It became apparent very quickly (that
pesticides weren't going to work),'' said Albany County Health Commissioner
James Crucetti. "That was an effective strategy last year when surveillance
indicated the disease wasn't so widespread.''
Environmentalists, who had voiced concerns about the use of
chemical pesticides last year when Anvil was being sprayed in nine counties and
New York City, embraced the policy switch Thursday. The new state regulations
are in line with those being promulgated by the federal Centers for Disease
Control.
"We're thrilled to hear that just evidence of West
Nile virus isn't going to trigger spraying,'' said Pam Hadad Hurst, executive
director of the New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides. "West
Nile virus is in every corner of the state right now, but that doesn't
necessarily transmit it to humans.''
The state Health Department acknowledges that the chances
of a human illness from West Nile virus are low -- only 1 percent of those
bitten by an infected mosquito get life-threatening encephalitis, and it's
usually the very young or elderly.
But there's another factor on the side of those combating
the disease this year: timing. In 2000, the West Nile virus turned up in birds
-- which act as reservoirs for the disease, multiplying it in their blood -- in
mid-August, the tail end of mosquito season. This year, counties are ahead of
the curve, a position that will make larviciding -- or killing juvenile
mosquitoes -- more effective.
Dunks, containing Bti, a bacteria that eats developing
blood-suckers, will be placed in standing water -- the environment where
mosquitoes like to breed.
"Basically, what it is is we have lead-time this year.
Last year, we were caught off guard. We never expected to find West Nile virus
in our communities,'' said Denise Ayers, director of the Rensselaer County
Health Department.
Before the summer was over, the tally in the four Capital
Region counties was: Albany 27; Rensselaer 9; Saratoga 10; Schenectady 10.
Statewide, 1,263 birds tested positive for the virus. 2001 West Nile Virus
Response Plan is posted on the DOH's Web site at http://www.health.state.ny.us/
nysdoh/westnile/index.htm. Public comment on the draft plan will be accepted
until April 22.
The third "news" item was found when Linda and
her son went on line looking at postings for summer jobs, they came across this
Clarke advertisement for (untrained) people to spray "registered'
pesticides.
Clarke Mosquito Control
Mosquito Control Technician
Job Location: New York City, Seneca County, Dutchess County, NY, USA
Region: Northeast
Job Description:
The primary objective is to treat municipal and/or
commercial areas that have been designated as breeding sites. Duties:
Application of a biological larvicide to breeding sites using a backpack, an ATV
(mounted with a spray unit), or a company vehicle (with a spray unit); use of
maps and/or GPS units to record site and treatment information. Requirements: 1)
This is a field postion; must be able to work in an outdoor environment which
may include heavy vegetation, uneven terrain, and varying weather conditions and
temperatures. 2) Must be able to lift 50-75 pounds for an extended period of
time. 3) Must be able to sit in a car for an extended period of time. 4) Must be
18 years of age or older. 5) Must have a valid driver's license and a good
driving record. Shift: Full-time and part-time shifts available, day and night
shifts available. Pay scale: $10-11/hour. Internship opportunities in the
biology, environmental sciences, life sciences, and related fields. Positions
available beginning mid-April.
Well Mr. Helliker, It seems
that even if you are caught being "bad", you can still "bid"
Millions of Dollars to apply "registered" POISONS.
Respectfully,
Stephen L. Tvedten
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