What I'm dealing with...

[David]

My son is now 4 months old. I moved to Florida about 2.5 years ago and nobody told me they do aerial spraying for mosquito control. I began researching the spraying while my wife was pregnant and it has been a horrifying journey of enlightenment.

The pesticides they use have been correlated with reduced IQ, ADHD, and other developmental neurotoxicity issues in children.

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate... [Environ Health Perspect. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Urinary Metabolites of Organophosphate Pesticides

Comparative Developmental Neurotoxicity of Organophosphate Insecticides: Effects on Brain Development Are Separable from Systemic Toxicity

If you're an agricultural worker, BY LAW, when they spray a field with the EXACT same pesticide they spray us with (Naled, an organophosphate) the workers cannot go back into that area for 24-48 hours. Yet our children play in those areas the very same day. Our children and pregnant women have less health protections than agricultural workers: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/naled_fs.htm

Establish 48 hour reentry intervals after application to field crops.
Establish 24 hour reentry intervals after application in greenhouses.

So basically, they've found it necessary for ADULTS to avoid entering an area where these pesticides have been sprayed but our children can live in it despite data coming out that it is likely detrimental to their health.

I am leading a grassroots organization that aims to get the Mosquito Control District to change their methodologies. It's going to be a process, but I sincerely believe we will be successful. In time. If there's one thing I am, it's persistent.

But good god would I not prefer to doing this.

/vent

Who I'm fighting for:

 

[nogutsnoglory]

That is awful! There is just so much that goes unaccounted for and that we don't even know. Thanks for taking the lead in tackling this issue. The picture is adorable.

 

[Clash]

I remember kids chasing the mosquito trucks on their bikes during the summer. You would see the mosquito truck then 8 or 10 kids behind it in the fog of spray. YIKES! I would freak out now to see this bit didn't think anything of it when I was younger.

What a cute baby, David!

 

[David]

I hear that a lot Clash. "When we were younger, the kids used to be outside when they sprayed" or, "We were right behind the truck..."

The thing is, it is still EXACTLY like that, the technology has simply improved so it's not so obvious. Now they use spray technology that aerosolize the pesticides into extremely fine particles you can't see. It's designed to have an extremely low deposition velocity which is a fancy way of saying it stays in the air a long time. But due to the half-life of these pesticides (meaning they don't become inert right away), when our kids go outside in the morning, to the bus stop, or outside for recess, there is still an invisible cloud of this very active pesticide still present in the air that they are walking around in.

Nothing has changed

Thanks for your kind words regarding my son

 

[VeganOstomy]

Holy crap!

I've never been around mosquito-sprayers, but I was at a stoplight next to a local apple orchard when they were spraying, and the fumes immediately caused a headache and nausea.

I hope you're able to convince your local authorities to change how they manage mosquitoes in your area.

 

[David]

They're even finding that the pesticides may not affect a parent, but their subsequent offspring can have all kinds of issues. It's insane.

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/new...fects-of-pesticide-exposure-span-generations/

All those medications we're taking? They go through RIGOROUS clinical trials in animals and humans. And as we all know, they still have side effects the creep up left and right.

What is the testing process for pesticides? The manufacturer does a few animals studies. Then the human clinical trials start when they begin spraying the general population with them.

 

[Astra]

Hiya David

Lovely to see you, I didn't know you had a baby! I've been off the forum for a while, lots going on.
He is gorgeous, I could eat him on a butty!

 

[SarahBear]

Oh my goodness, David, your son is ADORABLE. He looks like such a happy little fellow!

I hope your efforts go well. It really is absurd and changes are definitely needed.

:hug:

 

[Grumbletum]

What a bonnie baby you have, David. Reading about your situation makes me feel mad and sad at the same time. I wish you all the very best with your campaign.

 

[Jmrogers4]

What a cutie! They often spray around here during the summer when ever a mosquito tests positive for west nile. I've never thought twice about. Guess I've got some research to do.

 

[Jennifer]

Oh man, sorry to hear that David. However you're one person I wouldn't want to bad side of. I have no doubt in my mind that you'll be able to eventually make a change.

He's adorable by the way.

 

[Orchid]

They're even finding that the pesticides may not affect a parent, but their subsequent offspring can have all kinds of issues. It's insane.

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/new...fects-of-pesticide-exposure-span-generations/

All those medications we're taking? They go through RIGOROUS clinical trials in animals and humans. And as we all know, they still have side effects the creep up left and right.

What is the testing process for pesticides? The manufacturer does a few animals studies. Then the human clinical trials start when they begin spraying the general population with them.

Do you want to know the worst part? Some of these changes are propagated to the next generation by mechanisms we don't know about or understand. Your genes aren't touched but somehow the stain remains, dripping into future generations.

 

[glum chump]

I wanna say that your baby is entirely squishable and yummy! Those cheeks, my gawds, those cheeks! And what a happy happy baby...

A number of years ago, the city I live in was going to do aerial pesticide spraying and there were a number of protests that were successful in stopping the spraying. I hope you guys are also successful.

Unlike the 90s, when the protests happened in our city, today you're up against a different set of justifications like West Nile Virus and so on. But again, I think we're at a point in time where we know and understand the devastation of toxins on our bodies which may be a slower but devastating effects on humans and other animals. Illnesses like West Nile are dramatic events whereas the effects of toxins can oftentimes be hidden (eg. can we trace higher rates of certain illnesses like cancer long after theh spraying be linked directly to aerial spraying? instincts tell us 'yes', but actions by governments are rarely taken without scientific 'proof'). It's frustrating that our actions are directed by quick, short term solutions rather than thinking through to the larger picture.

I wish you all a lot of success in lobbying for changes.

Take care and continue to share lots of smiles with your beloved bouncy baby!

Kismet

 

[David]

Thanks for your kind words glum chump. The thing is, West Nile is completely blown out of proportion. From the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/symptoms/

No symptoms in most people. Most people (70-80%) who become infected with West Nile virus do not develop any symptoms.

Febrile illness in some people. About 1 in 5 people who are infected will develop a fever with other symptoms such as headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Most people with this type of West Nile virus disease recover completely, but fatigue and weakness can last for weeks or months.

Severe symptoms in a few people. Less than 1% of people who are infected will develop a serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis (inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues).

So the VAST majority of people who get West Nile never know they have it. A small percentage get some very annoying symptoms they recover from. And less than 1% actually get really ill (of those, about 10% die). But these are the same people who would get really ill if they got the flu, pneumonia, etc because their immune systems are already compromised. And the flu, pneumonia, etc are FAR more common than West Nile. Should we be spraying bleach from the air to kill the flu virus?

They use West Nile to invoke fear.

 

[tots]

What a sweet baby!


Lauren