The "legal" Killing of The Innocent
Subject: The "legal" Killing of The Innocent.....................
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 08:52:20 -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 Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker, I thought you might like to read an e-mail I just received:
Dear Steve:
As a teacher of 36 years in a California public school system, my body can no longer deal with the pesticides used at my school site. Although my reactions are more severe than most, 50% of the students I have said they had headaches, 50% reported being extremely tired, 65% said they were in a bad or depressed mood, and 25% said they had burning eyes and/or sore throats during the week following what is reported to be a spray application with Tempo 20 WP at .1% ( 20% Cyfluthrin and 80% Trade Secret). This information was obtained from the County Dept. of Ag. Investigation Report. The Ag. Dept. further stated that the applications were legal as per label information.
No
notice was given staff or students nor was there any posting of the pesticide
use. Management refused to
inform me on several occasions even
with specific face to face verbal
and written request which I made due to my sensitivity to pesticides. Management
has expressed concern that if notices were posted on doors leading into the
Cafeterias and in other areas sprayed around campus, panic might result over the
kids being exposed to pesticide...yet, they continue to do it.
I'm
open to suggestions, Steve. Where
do we start now, when we were using IPM until
this fall, and now all this spraying for "prevention"?
Thank you for your consideration.
Well Mr. Helliker, your "registered" POISON applications were (and always will be) "legal" as per label information but, the innocent are POISONED! Do you care in the slightest? Your continued silence screams a resounding "NO"!
Respectfully, Stephen L. Tvedten
Further Email Information from Teacher...
I teach in a California school district where we had real problems with everyone using whatever they wanted as a pesticide and mixing it however (1988), to limited spraying on an as need basis only 1999). We had made this progress due to my having become extremely ill with chemical pneumonia (1988) after an illiterate janitor purchased, "mixed" and sprayed his own brew in a 2-3 foot swath around all concrete work around all sidewalks and buildings...repeatedly. The District at that time acknowledged there was a problem with that specific incident, but the perception that pesticides are sanitary, clean, safe and necessary persists in the psyche of those who have not advanced in either scientific knowledge or mental ability over the years.
Through the District Health and Safety Committee (I became a teacher's representative member in 1994) I managed to inform, threaten/intimidate management to become aware of a healthier pesticide use system of IPM...they became aware of the words "exposure" and "health effects" and we have a Board Policy of IPM ... until we "got rid of the latest superintendent" in May.
We now have a Terminix contract ...Terminix is spraying regularly / monthly everywhere from the cafeteria, "public areas", restrooms, faculty lounge, offices, with gallons of .1% Tempo 20WP (20% Cyfluthrin and 80% Inerts), as a "preventive"...since they have no evidence of insects in all but the cafeteria...it's making many people sick, but they're told they have "allergies", "flu" and whatever...in my case it is termed "crazy".
Here in California's Central Valley, the Dept. of Agriculture and the DPR are in charge of legal pesticide application...they say if it's in consistent with label information then it's ok to use as stated...regardless of the effects of the kids and teachers??? You Bet!!!
We need your help...I'm open to ideas...Thank you for your consideration.
If you would like to be included in our mailing list for continuing information on pesticides, Email Us. with "subscribe" in the subject line.