I haven’t written a letter of protest in years, but the thought of a government agency dropping little capsules of an untested synthetic hormone from the sky – onto the playground equipment that Melina and Kai use daily – once a month for the next three to five years scares me to no end.

Below is a letter I sent to East Bay assemblymember Loni Hancock and Governor Schwarzenegger.

Please help keep this on their radar, and push for full testing of any substance sprayed on such a dense urban area – or better yet, to use a different method altogether.

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February 20, 2008

Dear Loni Hancock,

I am a Berkeley mother urging you to help stop the scheduled aerial spraying of synthetic pheromone intended to eradicate the light brown apple moth in the densely populated Bay Area.

Spraying that occurred in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties late last year resulted in hundreds of reported cases of sickness following the application of the pesticide. These included burning eyes, scratchy throats, shortness of breath and stomach pain, as well as asthma attacks and symptoms as disturbing as interruptions in menstrual cycles, indicating that the reproductive system is affected.

I am seriously concerned about any number of frightening consequences for my young daughter and stepson, my family, my neighbors, and our community at large.

While I understand that the formulation of the pesticide has been changed since last year’s spraying in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, I am appalled that the USDA so easily earned an “emergency exemption from registration” and is allowed to spray the new pesticide without sufficient testing for immediate let alone long term health effects. I am equally disturbed that similar aerial spraying efforts have not been successful at eradicating the light brown apple moth in other regions, and the possibility that our government would put our children and our community at risk for naught.

Please force the CDFA to forego the aerial spraying for the light brown apple moth in dense Bay Area neighborhoods until the ingredients and their properties are fully disclosed and shown to be safe, the reports of illness in sprayed areas are investigated fully, and the threat to the ecosystem and feasibility of species eradication is proven. Urge them to proceed instead only with the less invasive measures currently in place in other counties, such as pheromone-soaked twist-ties, traps, and Bt applications.

Let our children play safely outside this and every summer.

Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Laralynn W Rapoza

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