Comments:
Help Needed to stop EPA
from discouraging alternatives to pesticide poisons for pest control
Dear FDA: I am a Nauropath who suffered serious injury due to dental toxins placed in my mouth many years ago. As a result, I have not
physical or immunological ability to be in contact with insecticides.
I live in a part of America that is sub-tropical and in a house not consturcted as well as
it could be. I have a steady stream of ants flocking through my house. Until I was able to begin spraying the ants with Safe 2 Use products, I could only stamp upon all the thousands of ants
flocking through my house each day.
Now, the ants are disabled and drown in the Safe 2 Use Products. AND I am not
negatively affected by the Safe products being utilized.
When I have white flies, I simply fill up my sprayer with Safe 2 Use products and spray my bushes. The white flies drown in the substance and
I am not negatively affected. You cannot tell me these products do not work.
I t appears to me FDA has been contacted by some chemical company with compalint because people are learning just how toxic chemical
sprays are for the human and other animal organisms, not to speak of our water table.
C. T. Tayler, N.D., C.N.C.
Steve,
Maybe you should ask the scum bags at the EPA why they are finning you for your products, but not the manufactures of fly swatters and rat
traps.
Clearly if a product is not toxic it should not need registering.
Any dangerous toxic chemicals should be denied registering if there are safer and yet practical alternatives. It's such a joke this
governmental agency clearly works for the poison pushers and not the public that pays their salaries. I don't know anyone who would rather
have their homes, businesses, food, water and children contaminated
unnecessarily with dangerous chemicals that are not tested for safety but allowed registration anyways. Your products do not need testing
because they are non toxic. How can we the tax payers get the scum bags in the epa fired and put in jail for reckless endangerment, and
covering up the devastation their "registered" products cause to our
health.
Robert Christ
One of the many victims whose life has forever been destroyed by pesticides
whats wrong with the epa dont they belive in free speach
morris
RESPONSE:
Obviously not, EPA also wanted me to stop selling my book. Steve
My name is Kathy Rink, I live in Sarasota, and I am an
environmental health activist. Ann
Mason has spoken to me about you (glowingly I might add).
I am the current president of SCRAM - Sarasota Citizens Rallying
Against Malathion and other Chemicals and am also on the board of CoSCEP -
Coalition to Stop Children's Exposure to Pesticides.
We are kept very busy here, as you are aware!
The Florida Dept. of Agriculture is in the midst of a massive
eradication of the 2 lonely Oriental Fruitflies they found in north Sarasota.
They are broadcast spraying a Dibrom mixture every other Wednesday and
I have received calls from numerous residents who are ill, and some have had
to flee their homes. Dept. of Ag.
is trying to keep it as quiet as possible and not notifying the residents,
most of whom are low income African American citizens!
We have placed a call to the NAACP and will call the ACLU next.
As the media coordinator for our groups, I have alerted TV and
newspapers, and one station in particular has taken a very active interest in
this issue. Thank goodness for
the media. I just finished
creating a flyer to hand to the residents in that area, warning them of the
health effects, as well as, the next spray date, which is Wednesday, September
5th.
Since the EPA is not protecting we citizens in this
current fiasco, which by the way, horrifyingly resembles the Malathion
spraying/eradication of the Medfly in '97, I am not surprised that the EPA is
targeting you. After reading your S.O.S. communication, I again wonder,
"what is really going on?" It's
all about government control as we all know.
And GOD forbid the EPA was put into place to really protect us or the
environment.
Well, we'll do our best in not letting them treat you in
such an abominable and unjust way. I
will contact our Representatives here, who are Dan Miller (R) and Sen. Bob
Graham (D) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D). I
have their websites now-thank you. It
was very helpful of you to supply your readers with this info.
Kathy Rink
Dear Steve, Does
this mean I will be fined or jailed for using my fly and cockroach swat - is
my shoe destined by law, to become registered as a lethal weapon when we kill
these very hardy Australian cockies (cockroaches) - does my spray bottle of
homemade fly, ant and cockroach repellant comprising vinegar, epsom salts and
tabasco sauce (hot pepper sauce) destined to become criminal spray -
I am assuming the Environmental Protection Agency has a
brilliant sense of humour - as
the EPA is exactly that, to Protect our Environment - which of course would
mean, protection from harm to humans and the environment - now as the mother
of a little boy who's life has been ruined by neuro-toxic chemicals - the only
thing we can use are fly swats, shoes and alternative "bug" and
"insect" destroyers,
which can only mean alternatives to pesticides -
and my son is one of countless people, who suffer sensitivity to
chemicals and are forced to use alternatives. I used olive oil in my son's
hair to rid him of head lice - does this mean olive oil has to be registered
as an alternative to pesticide.
Steve, please tell me this is a joke - if not - the EPA
is most certainly going to end up what we call in Australia,
"a laughing stock" - this just has to be a joke - I'm sorry I
cannot believe that such a thing could happen - it is just too completely
ridiculous.
Diana Buckland
The EPA needs to be fined for allowing the use of
pesticides in public buildings, without notification to the public.
I was over exposed to Dursban. My life has been trashed.
The doctor's were clueless on what was wrong with me. I had no idea they were
spraying where I worked. I worked there for 5 years and was constantly sick!!
Flu like symptoms, the skin under my eyes would crack and bleed along with my
lips and fingers. Joints were swollen, asthma bronchitis, constant coughing,
runny nose, memory loss. All types of skin problems from cyst like lumps on my
face to rashes all over me. You want to know what HELL is. I lived it!!! I am
know longer able to work in any public building. I am female it also caused
severe bleeding during menstrual cycle.
I learned to drive a truck. I thought I could get away
from it. Well that did not work either. That cost me 5,000 to learn they
fumigate the trailers. I now have thyroid problems and GOD only knows what
else is wrong with me. Would the EPA like to support me. My finances are
shot!!!
Thanks to the EPA doing such a good job of keeping
control on pesticides. I have become very ill!!! And yes I am very angry.
I use to be full of energy and willing to take on anything.
Now I spend my life dodging pesticides. Trying to figure out where I
can
work so I will not be exposed! Does anyone at the EPA have any ideas.
I have to thank you Steve for the garlic information how
to keep mosquito's out of my yard. I put garlic all over my grass last night.
It works!!
Everyone employed at the EPA should spray Dursban all
over there house. Let me know how
they feel in a week.
To the EPA if you can come up with a bug killer that does
not make me sick. I will be more the happy to try it. Until then every product
you approve has sickened me. Raid is one of them.
And if any one would like to see my medical records I
will be more then happen to share them!!!!!
Terry Aston
4102 Harris Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21206
Phone 410-483-4876
This is very similar to the ongoing battle between the
Drug companies and the vitamin supplement companies. The drug companies want
all vitamins controlled by FDA and if at all possible have them available by
prescription only. Meanwhile the vitamin companies circumvent this whole
process by calling them food supplements not drugs. It seems a simple matter
of semantics. Soap water and vinegar are not pesticides because they are not
poisons and do not have to be regulated by EPA. Since they can be used as
"insect controlling agents" a suitable name has to be found.
Alternative ISAs (insect controlling agents) sounds good as any to me.
Norm
As a victim of the toxic effects of a pesticide, I fully support all efforts to encourage the use of non-toxic methods to the control of pests regardless of the crop or domestic application.
Are you aware that in Canada the very toxic pesticide Furdan/Carburan is being used on specific berry corps. There is a National ban in place however individual provinces have been given the power to engage in "exceptions to the rule". This practice is unethical and irresponsible.
Melanie Elliott
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
carpe.diem@ns.sympatico.ca
Dear Steve,
Can you clarify for me what is on the exempt list and how
they got there when so many other things did not get on there?
I just got rid of a sugar ant invasion
with a home made solution of vinegar, dish soap and fresh squeezed
lemon juice. I assume it would be
illegal for that solution to be advertised and none of those things are on the
exempt list?
This will help me formulate my next letter.
Bush never writes back to me but I always get a response from the EPA
so I must be on a roll.
Barbara
RESPONSE:
All three items are not on the exempted list, so if you
made and sold this product and said it did what you know it does, safely and
effectively controls pest problems - you would be fined many thousands of
dollars for selling an "unregistered pesticide".
You need to ask your U.S.
Representative and Senators to have the EPA, USDA and FDA
describe officially what they consider are acceptable alternatives to
pesticides.
Every time someone comes up with a safe and far more
effective alternative - EPA moves in and fines people for selling
"unregistered pesticides'. EPA
has said if you say your product/food "mitigates" pests in any way
you must register your product/food as a POISON!
If there are no "legal" alternatives to
"registered" POISONS, we all will continue to get POISONED!
Steve
"Pesticides are, by their very definition,
poisons"
This is misleading to the point of being incorrect.
Some examples: Borax is very poisonous to insects with a
chitin exoskeleton, but no more toxic than soap to other animals.
Many plants use substances to defend themselves against
competitors - for example walnut trees (Juglans spp.) excrete juglone from
their roots to prevent their own seeds from germinating too close to existing
adult trees (yes, it affects some other plants, but not most).
Many Compositae excrete pyrethrins in their flowers to
reduce the number of insects eating their pollen (it's only us that
concentrate them and spray them all over the place).
I trust you know that Monarch butterflies isolate the
alkaloids from Asclepias spp. so that birds won't eat them (milkweeds
originally developed the alkaloids to keep mammals from eating them).
2,4-D is a close analogue of the natural plant growth
hormone auxin, used by all dicots to control branch growth, and so much more
toxic to them than to other living things...
Virtually everything in nature produces something
poisonous to some other life form.
Just because something has an effect on some other living
things does not mean it is a poison to all. Of course, physical barriers like
your grandmother's screen door are the least likely to have toxic side
effects. But, there are many substances that are millions of times more toxic
to one life form than to another. And, some of the most toxic substances to
mammals that exist were created in nature long before we existed, e.g. botulin
or stonefish toxins. That's why the EPA should use the original definition of
pesticide - anything that is claimed to have an effect on pests.
Here in Canada, our PMRA has recently been taking the
opposite approach, and has just given approval for any pesticide whatsoever to
be included along with a fertiliser and sold with no pesticide label,
registration, or MSDS. Those of us who care for human health are fighting it.
So, I find myself on the opposite side of most of your
argument.
"May I humbly suggest, that as a start, the EPA,
USDA and FDA consider that if any alternatives are food grade products or
Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS), that it is illogical to register these
safe alternatives as "poisons" and/or to consider their alternative
use as "unregistered pesticides" that require "regulatory"
action."
Non-poisons are indeed not poisons. However, if they are
sold as pesticides, they should be required to prove that they are effective
at what they claim. That was what the Canadian government used to do, until
Health Canada took over pesticides from Agriculture. Otherwise people will
spread all kinds of wild concoctions all over the landscape that cause health
problems to people but don't affect their pest targets.
Lots of people have far more health problems from
so-called inerts like solvents than from the official pesticides. If you are
going to try to kill things, let's call a spade a spade.
John Sankey http://sankey.ws/pen.html
RESPONSE:
Dear John,
The U. S. government defines "registered" pesticides as
"economic POISONS" - Borax is not registered as a pesticide here in
the U.S. I would suggest that if you or any animal eats borax you or it could
die - this is not a product that I would consider as "safe" as soap.
For the record, I am totally against the use/misuse of anything that
can harm people, pets and/or the environment
I have written for years that the "inerts" often are far more
dangerous than the "registered" active ingredient! But,
these toxic "inerts" are obviously not considered to be food-grade
materials and/or they are not considered to be GRAS (Generally Recognized As
Safe) materials. Have you
bothered to check out any of the data on the dangers of
pesticides/"inerts" on my websites e.g., http://www.getipm.com
before you decided to write your critique of my recent e-mail asking for help
to stop the use of "registered" pesticide POISONS here in the
U.S.A.? If you honestly believe
that mayonnaise should be "registered" as a pesticide/POISON, we are
truly on opposite sides of the issue. Steve