Disclaimer: As a child in the 60s we considered it fun to follow mosquito foggers in Houston, only to discover some years later that DDT was harmful. (But I never had a problem with mosquito bites until I was well into my 40s)
Then Round-Up was my go to for weed control for many decades only to be told it is also a carcinogen.
So how much safer are these being used now?
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Then Round-Up was my go to for weed control for many decades only to be told it is also a carcinogen.
So how much safer are these being used now?
So, to our resident brain trust on this topic what are those new pesticides? How much have they been tested for safety?Quote:
In an effort to lessen the spread of West Nile Virus, which is transmitted via mosquitos, the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene began spraying pesticides throughout Central Park on Monday, Aug. 26.
The trucks sprayed "very low concentrations of Anvil 10+10, Duet or MERUS 3" between 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 26 and 6 a.m. on Aug. 27. The pesticides pose little risk to humans or animals, though a rash and short-term eye or throat irritation may be possible for those sensitive to spray ingredients.
"The Health Department is actively working to prevent West Nile through public education, treating marshy areas and spraying for mosquitoes," Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in a statement.
Four cases of West Nile Virus were reported by the Health Department as of Aug. 19, with detections in mosquito pools in all of New York City's boroughs. According to a press release, areas sprayed include parts of Carnegie Hill, Central Park, East Harlem, Fort George, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Inwood, Lenox Hill, Lincoln Square, Manhattan Village, Manhattanville, Morningside Heights, Sherman Creek, Sugar Hill, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Washington Heights, and Yorkville.
But as Council member Gale Brewer learned recently, the Health Dept. is not set up to deal with individual requests for spraying.
In her weekly newsletter, UWS City Council member Gale Brewer noted that a constituent asked if they could request a mosquito spray in their neighborhood; "I asked the Dept. of Health, and was told that their process is more scientific, and they do not accept requests for spraying, he said. The Health Dept stated, according to Brewer: "Our spraying is scheduled and based on our daily trapping and testing of mosquitos. Constituents need to understand that when we spray for mosquitos, we are introducing a pesticide into the environment, and we need to provide justification to the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation to do so. That justification is: a high number of mosquitos and confirmed presence of disease in those mosquitos. If those parameters are not met, we cannot spray. We continue to test daily and if thresholds are met, we will move forward to schedule a spray operation..."
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