Rural groups push crop-spraying safety
Victims of spraying described cropdusters releasing chemicals over their farms and homes without warning, and adverse health effects that followed.
Subject: Rural groups push crop-spraying safety
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 14:45:19 -0500
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 Regulationcc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker, I thought you might like to read an article entitled: Rural groups push crop-spraying safety - Plan includes notification, buffer zones By Richard Locker. <A HREF="mailto:locker@gomemphis.com">locker@gomemphis.com</A>
NASHVILLE - Alarmed over the health impacts of aerial crop-spraying of pesticides, a group of rural residents launched an effort Friday to enact a tougher state law regulating the spraying.
Victims of spraying described cropdusters releasing chemicals over their farms and homes without warning, and adverse health effects that followed. Although she was hurt by misapplied pesticides in her East Tennessee home instead of aerial spraying, 6-year-old Shanedra Hawkins brought the gathering to tears when she read a statement she had written saying that she came to Nashville with her parents to help make sure other children aren't harmed.
"I know what it's like to be sick from pesticides. I got sick from pesticides that were used wrong in my home. I have been sick a lot and have to go to the doctor a lot. I have headaches a lot and my legs and arms hurt a lot too," Shanedra said at a press conference on the steps of the War Memorial Building, adjacent to the Capitol.
"There are other kids being hurt by chemicals being sprayed in other partsof Tennessee. I am here today for them and to ask you to make changes." The citizens outlined a bill they hope will be adopted in the Tennessee legislature in January to bolster existing law. The proposal, based on laws in other states, include provisions for advance notification of spraying for nearby residents; buffer zones in which spraying is not allowed around roads, vehicles, buildings and waterways; increased permit and licensure requirements; county-level record-keeping giving citizens access to information on the type and amounts of chemicals applied within the county; increased enforcement and medical attention for people sprayed.
Two organizations, the West Tennessee-based PITCH (People Insisting on Their Children's Health) and East Tennessee's Save Our Cumberland Mountains, are uniting to push the new law, said Murray Hudson of Halls, Tenn. Hudson helped organize PITCH in response to widespread malathion spraying of cotton fields as part of the state-sanctioned Boll Weevil Eradication Program.
Alan and Karen Weldon of Bruceville, Tenn., in Dyer County spoke at Friday's gathering while holding up a picture of their 10-year-old daughter Kayla, who has suffered health problems after being hit by the spraying. "She's confined to the house 85 percent of the time. It's changed our lives. I don't believe they should be allowed to do this," Karen Weldon said. Barbara Crenshaw of Newburn, Tenn., lived in a subdivision in Dyersburg summer before last when a cropduster spraying cotton fields never turned off its spray when flying over her street.
"It went right over our house. There were children outside nearby. The chemical burns your skin and your throat. There was no escaping it; the air-conditioning pulled it inside the house," she said.
Tom Womack, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, which regulates spraying, said his agency has not seen the proposals and thus can't comment on its specifics. "We'd have to know more about the proposal and the intent. They may or may not have an impact on ensuring that pesticides are applied safely," he said.
Contact Nashville Bureau chief Richard Locker at (615) 255-4923. November 10, 2001
Well Mr. Helliker, When will it be "legal" (in your opinion) to use safe and far more effective (unregistered) alternatives to actually control pest problems - without injuring and/or killing the public?
Respectfully, Stephen L. Tvedten
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