Survey of
Mosquito Control Practices and Less-Toxic Alternatives
December
2002 - Update
Contents:
II – Hazards
and Alternatives – are under-publicized
II-a. Filling
the Information Gap
II-b. Media
Omits the Hazards of Adulticides
III-a. Towns,
Counties and States avoiding adulticide spraying:
III-b. Other
Maryland Non-toxic Examples:
III-c.
Studies Promoting Non-toxic Alternatives (i.e. Prevention Methods)
III-d. CDC
calls prevention steps “most effective”;
adulticiding “least efficient”.
III-e. Other
groups promoting non-toxic alternatives
IV-a.
Professors, Doctors and Scientists Against Spraying
IV-b. The
pesticides connection to Nerve Gas
IV-c. Naled
(Dibrom) Problems for Mosquito Control
IV-e. Naled
and Permethrin Toxicity:
V-a. Federal
Violations and Mistakes
V-b. Routine
Spraying and Widespread Spraying are Improper
Appendix A --
Local Problems from Aerial Spraying
Appendix B –
New/Emerging Non-toxic Products
Purpose of the Report- The TV and other media
within their
This update-report is a supplement to the September 2000 report, Survey of Mosquito Control Practices and Less Toxic Alternatives prepared for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. Both this update-report and the earlier Sept 2000 report are available on the website, http://skipper.physics.sunysb.edu/mosquito/
Non-toxic Alternatives - More than two-dozen examples are shown of jurisdictions recently publicizing their adoption of programs using the non-toxic alternatives such as larviciding. These towns and counties are avoiding the more toxic spraying of adulticides for mosquito control. Some jurisdictions have successfully used the non-toxic methods for periods of years after they abandoned adulticide spraying.
One significant example of how non-toxic methods are being
promoted is the State of
The jurisdictions adopting non-toxic methods usually mention their concern for the groups more sensitive to the pesticides, the elderly, children, those with asthma and with cancer taking immuno-suppressing drugs.
Comprehensive Studies - Groups that have recently prepared comprehensive studies of mosquito control are helping to fill the information gap, but publicity for those studies has been minimal. Thus, our purpose is to report on this updated material for the benefit of our environmentally sensitive area, bordering the Md. Coastal Bays, and for its residents.
These studies present information in two ways.
First, there is the approach of emphasizing the non-toxic methods of mosquito control. Some studies focus on encouraging the use of a number of techniques such as removing standing water, larviciding, disposal of old tires, open water marsh management, encouraging natural predators and several other steps within the realm of non-toxic controls. These methods are called prevention, since the efforts are directed against the larval stages, before they become flying, biting adult mosquitoes. Details are presented of “how-to-do” the non-toxic steps. Criticism of adulticiding is also discussed and the final recommendations are to adopt non-toxic methods.
The second approach analyzes the toxicity of products being sprayed with an “in depth” review. These studies examine the toxicity records including evidence of sickness, scientific publications, lab reviews, fish kills, chemical sickness, hospitalization records, diseases from chemical exposures, toxicology studies, and other technical and medical sources of information. These studies have recommended avoiding adulticides because of their toxicity and health hazards, and to adopt the non-toxic alternatives.
Studies of both types are shown in the update report. Three are highlighted below.
Stopping Mosquitoes Safely, a study from Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC) presented information on larval control of mosquitoes, breeding sites around the home needing attention, natural pools, swamps and marshes, fish to consume mosquito larvae, Bti and other non-toxic steps. When analyzing adulticiding, the report concluded: “Area-wide spraying for adult mosquitoes represents a technology that has failed.”
Public Health Mosquito Management Strategy, a study from Beyond Pesticides-National Coalition Against Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP) discussed strategies such as eliminating breeding sites at home and on public land, public awareness campaigns encouraging prevention methods, fish to eat mosquito larvae, and larviciding. The report made several comments regarding adulticides: Dangerous to public health and the environment, Do not conduct aerial spraying of adulticides.
Three-state report, (
A variety of other groups have criticized adulticiding in
the
Toxicity Details - The toxicities of mosquito
control products are discussed including how toxicity is measured. The toxicities and health problems of Naled
and Permethrin are listed. Those are the
adulticides used in
Details of the harmful effects of mosquito adulticides on people are presented, and there are examples of harm to fish and crabs. Of course, we are sympathetic to all of the victims of West Nile Virus and wish that their suffering had not occurred. But there is a need to do mosquito control in the right way to avoid undesirable, toxic side-effects.
Medical professionals, professors and scientists are warning of the hazardous effects of adulticiding. Of greatest concern are impacts on the immune system and the risks of encephalitis.
Improper Practices -
Investigative reports have shown that improper practices have included
violations of pesticide regulations and mistakes which have resulted in public
exposures. Several
Additional improper practices are routine and widespread spraying, which were criticized by many sources in the survey. It has been found that routine and widespread spraying can lead to more mosquitoes in the long-term. This result occurs since the mosquito’s natural predators are killed by the sprays, and do not reproduce as rapidly, leaving more favorable conditions for mosquitoes to increase their numbers.
An example of this produced a 15-fold increase in mosquitoes
at
Recommendation - From the scientific and medical sources referred to herein, there can be no doubt that the mosquito pesticides are quite toxic and very capable of harming people and the environment. These facts should give pause and deliberation.
The sources herein indicate that spraying is not
automatically the answer to mosquito presence or to
We urge
Developments regarding West Nile Virus that originally
struck in 1999 in
There has been very little coverage of the non-toxic alternatives for mosquito control. The essential fact to realize is that adulticide sprays are the more toxic products, and that larvicides are virtually non-toxic products. Section III discusses larvicides and other non-toxic steps and shows adoption of non-toxic programs by a variety of towns and counties. Section IV reports the hazards and toxicity of adulticides products used for mosquito spraying. Section V presents information about improper practices which were found by investigative reporters. Information in the report (particularly in those three sections) is the type that typically received almost no coverage by the media. The report’s mission and purpose is help to fill the information gap by compiling, assembling and restating information from scientists, professors, doctors, etc, within one compilation. Web references and sources are given throughout the report.
Much of the mass media have failed to report the hazards of mosquito adulticide spraying, although the adverse health and environmental effects are known and readily available with a little research effort. This lacks balance, and can contribute to lack of public concern and lack of knowledge about the health hazards of the pesticides being used.
Often the media will show photos of trucks spraying adulticides, which almost seems to be promoting a toxic method of mosquito control in the public’s perception. Such an unintended result leaves people with the impression that routine or widespread truck spraying is OK. But the routine or widespread spraying of pesticides is not OK, because of their toxicity.
The photo on the right is an example showing an adulticide spray truck. This image is so frequently shown on TV that a false sense of security can develop. However, these sprays have known toxic effects that should not be overlooked, as so often occurs in the media stories.
Adulticide Spray Truck – ABC News.com
The same TV media have failed to give adequate coverage to the dangers of the mosquito spraying to children
Photo: New York Times –
The photo, on the left, was given virtually no TV coverage, [although printed in the New York Times]. Dancing in the spray is dangerous, and deserves criticism and warnings.
Here’s a missed opportunity for the TV media by failing to warn the public and children of a toxic hazard.
These mosquito pesticides can be absorbed through the skin or through the lungs, and are not children’s play toys.
The toxicity of pesticide sprays is discussed in detail in Section IV of this report, and should be publicized more extensively by the media, especially when the risks involve
children’s health.
Within the media reporting, there are many instances where false assurances were given to the public. The most blatant falsehood is the assurance that the spraying is SAFE - - but the adulticide spraying is far from safe. Other false assurances are the use of “fancy-worded” statements intended to mislead the reader into thinking the spraying is benign. These misleading examples typically mention that the products are EPA registered, or have relatively small impact or are sprayed in small quantities. Those assertions chose to ignore or cover up the facts and the substantial evidence that the sprays are indeed toxic.
In some cases, the false assurances may occur from ignorance of the facts, rather than any intention to mislead the public. And in some cases they know otherwise and are covering-up.
But the facts are clear. Federal law prohibits the assertion that pesticides are safe. And that’s because they aren’t safe. For example, Mayor Rudy Giuliani was cautioned by the NY’s Attorney General to stop making statements that the mosquito adulticides being sprayed are safe. But those kinds of false assurances are still popping up in various locations.
Generally the mosquito control authorities will avoid saying the word SAFE, because they know the law, but they try to cover up any toxicity questions by misleading assurances, (trying to look good.)
More details on the toxicities of the mosquito spray
chemicals are discussed in Section IV.
Even small exposures to these chemicals are now identified as health and
environmental risks. The health effects
are worse for children, older adults, those with asthma, and breathing
problems.
The following listing shows a number of jurisdictions which have publicized, during the last two years, their avoidance or restriction of adulticiding for mosquito control.
These examples illustrate the use of non-toxic alternatives for mosquito control.
1) Adams County and City of Natchez, , Mississippi The Natchez Democrat 8/24/02 “The best way to curb the mosquito population - and thus, the spread of West Nile virus - is to kill the insects while they're still young, say many mosquito control experts.” County employees will use Agnique MMF spreading a thin film in breeding areas which drowns the mosquito larvae and pupae.
2)
3) “
4) “
5) “
6) “
Funding of $1 million from the Governor’s discretionary fund, limited to use only for larviciding and public education (standing-water information). Grants will be distributed by the Arkansas Dept. of Health to the counties and municipalities.
“Ann Wright, director of communications for the Arkansas Department of Health, said all 75 counties in the state made application for the money, which will be divided based upon county population and geographic size.”
7) Arlington County, Virginia Govt. News Release 9/13/02 County maintains an aggressive mosquito monitoring and larviciding program and is urging residents to eliminate mosquito breeding areas around their homes.
“At this point, it is the
consensus of the Virginia Department of Health and of other mosquito experts
that spraying [adulticides] would not be effective in controlling the mosquito
species that carry
The County has two probable and one suspected human cases of West Nile Virus, 51 dead birds and 13 mosquito pools test positive for WNV so far this year, but has not adopted the spraying of adulticides.
8)
9)
10)
11)
Cowley, Kansas Topeka Capital-Journal 8/9/02
Tom Janousek, West Nile virus
coordinator for the Kansas Dept of Health and Environment said spraying would
be an inefficient way to control the virus. "It would have to be an
extreme situation similar to
12)
Fort
Worth, and Tarrant County, Texas Health Dept. Release
i)
Spraying
adulticides is ineffective as many mosquitoes are not hit, hiding in bushes,
trees etc. and larvae will continue to thrive, soon producing more adults.
ii) Adding harmful chemicals to the environment
can have unwanted effects to both air and water.
iii) Thousands of
13) Highland Village, Texas City website July 2002 The city is using Bti donuts targeting mosquito larvae, and is recommending that residents clear standing water, and also use the Bti dunks. The City’s program is based on CDC recommendations that source reduction and larviciding are more effective methods, and that adul