http://parkslope.patch.com/articles/residents-feel-stung-by-surprise-west-nile-sprayings
Residents Feel Stung by Surprise West Nile Sprayings
Locals claim the Department of Health did not give enough time
to prepare for neighborhoods surrounding Prospect Park to be covered by
noxious pesticides Thursday night.
Locals are peeved about a city plan to spray a mosquito-killing
pesticide in the neighborhood Thursday eveningand the city’s lack of
warning about the plan.
The Department of Health plans to spray Anvil, a pesticide thought to
cause cancer, throughout the neighborhoods of Park Slope, Prospect
Heights, Windsor Terrace and Sunset Park beginning at 8 p.m. on Thursday
evening, in hopes of eradicating mosquitoes potentially carrying the
deadly West Nile Virus.
The DOH sent out an email warning residents, but only gave residents an
initial 24 hours of notice. They also suggested to keep all windows
closed and stay indoors until 6 a.m. tomorrow.
Gilly Younger, a member of the Park Slope Civic Council, was in the park
unwittingly during the first night the trucks were supposed to come. She
found out about the scheduled spray through a Twitter feed, which she
thought was unacceptable.
“They need to shut down the park for this,” Younger said explaining if it
wasn’t cancelled she would’ve been exposed to the harsh chemicals. “I am
a cancer survivor so I take precaution with airborne toxins. These
pesticides do have links to causing cancer.”
On August 2, the DOH sent an E-mail to community board members, city
council members and Notify NYC the day before the first scheduled spray
on August 3. When that spraying was cancelled due to rain, another E-mail
gave 24 hours notice.
By default, there was a 72-hour warning (though the DOH said that it was
not merely by default). But the community believes the medium of
communication between them and the DOH was not sufficient.
Council member Brad Lander was just as peeved at the lack of adequate
community outreach.
“I am disappointed that the Department of Health gave such short and
incomplete notice about its planned mosquito spraying,” Lander said. “The
agency needs to give adequate notice of such actions and be transparent
about the risks of the pesticide and the precautions that should be
taken.”
Locals were also upset about the city agency’s initial plan to spray
Prospect Park during Thursday evening’s Celebrate Brooklyn
concertdespite that it recommends locals stay indoorsbut in the face of
criticism the city quickly decided to spray the park after the show
instead.
The exact areas that will be sprayed by trucks are boarded by Washington
Avenue to the East; 20th Street, Prospect Park West, and Eastern Parkway
to the North; 45th Street and Fifth Avenue to the West; and Ft. Hamilton
Parkway and Caton Avenue to the South.
The Environmental Protection Agency grades Anvil in the least toxic
category, sumithrin, a neuropoison in Anvil, is dangerous to humans.
Symptoms of exposure are dizziness, headache, fatigue and diarrhea. In
laboratory tests, sumithrin is known to damage the liver and kidneys,
cause anemia, and increase the chances of liver cancer. It is also found
to increase the proliferation of cells in breast cancer and can also
mimic estrogen and prevent other hormones from binding to its normal
receptors. Even in low concentrations, sumithrin kills fish and bees, and
is poisonous to cats and dogs.
Although the DOH suggests residents in the area should stay indoors, they
do not believe the chemicals pose a serious threat. “In the amounts used,
risks to people and pets are relatively low,” said DOH’s
website.
But many locals just aren’t buying it.
“The Department of Health is making up all these lies, saying it’s
diluted and not toxic,” said Mitchel Cohen, the Coordinator of No Spray
Coalition who sued the City in 2000 for spraying Anvil on Prospect Park’s
waterways. “But if you are a child, forget it. It is deadly. It is
extremely dangerous for the elderly and the immune compromised.”
According to other studies, piperonyl butoxide, another ingredient in
Anvil, is considered a group C carcinogen, meaning it is considered a
possible carcinogen to humans based on limited evidence of cancer in
laboratory animals.
“I don’t think they are evil. They’re not Nazi doctors doing
experiments.” Cohen said, explaining that the city is used to spraying
dangerous chemicals because it is cheaper. “They just don’t know, don’t
want to know and their jobs depend on following orders.”
The DOH outlines precautions to be taken on their
website,
however, they do not say Anvil is outright toxic to humans and the
environment.
“We don’t need to poison our environment, kill off the mosquitoes’
natural predators, and cause long-term health problems,” said Cohen, who
in 2008 blocked a spray truck with his car, which resulted in the city
not spraying the neighborhood. “And that’s exactly what these spray
trucks are going to do.”
Cohen suggests using natural predators like dragonflies or bats to combat
the mosquito problem. “One bat can eat 1,500 mosquitoes in one day,”
Cohen said while explaining that bats could clear up a mosquito problem
quickly and naturally.
But whether one is afraid of pesticides or believes Anvil is not
dangerous, concern is still needed, especially with chemicals that have
been proven to cause cancer and the community is not adequately
notified.
Regardless of how much time the DOH gave the public to prepare for the
chemicals emitted through their streets, three people walking near
Prospect Park this afternoon had no idea the city will puff pesticide
over their neighborhood in a few hours.
“I had no idea,” stated Tommy Morgan, a Park Slope resident for 60 years.
“I am a Vietnam vet and they sprayed all sorts of stuff over us to kill
vegetation. I don’t want to get sprayed in the face here and then they
say, ‘Oh, this stuff will kill you.’ I’m not against it, I just want to
be more informed.”
“There is a reasonable debate to whether the spraying is worse than the
mosquitoes it kills,” said Eric McClure, the co-founder of Park Slope
Neighbors. “But the fact that the DOH would recommend to the public that
they stay indoors during spraying but only giving 24 hours notice, is
crazy. ”
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SOME COMMENTS:
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9:41pm on Thursday, August 4, 2011
Just like the air was at acceptable levels after September 11.
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10:58pm on Thursday, August 4, 2011
Just had two rounds on 23rd St (6th/7th Aves), and one in Green-Wood as
of 20 mins ago.
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10:58pm on Thursday, August 4, 2011
Thanks for the post, which was Slope-centric. The Greenwood Hits./Windsor
Terrace community was given less than 24 hrs notice the first day, less
the second day via my photos an post to local list servs. -Aaron
CCGH
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11:53pm on Thursday, August 4, 2011
We don't have a mosquito problem. I walk my dog every single day in the
park morning and night and we sit on the fields together. Last summer
there were many more mosquitoes and this year almost none. Who exactly
assessed that we were over run by bugs - there are hardly any. The odds
of getting West Nile from a mosquito - according to experts -- is less
than getting struck by lightning. There can only be one explanation when
no reasonable answer seems to fit. Somebody is making money off of these
extermination contracts and they do not want to lose that money. At the
expense of the hundreds of at-risk birds in Prospect Park -- especially
all of the smaller wrens and finches and amazing diversity of migratory
songbirds -- who cannot (as the DOH instructed) Go Indoors -- These
contractors are making a profit..??? What is the point of having a park
if it seems to exist in theory only. Mosquitoes, dragon flies, bats,
starlings -- all belong in our park. The trucks of rolling chemicals
don't.
http://www.nospray.org
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12:08am on Friday, August 5, 2011
Just saw the cop car and truck go by in Fresh Meadows.
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