Adv Will Challenge Pesticide Spraying against WNV

ADS CHALLENGE PESTICIDE SPRAYING AGAINST WEST NILE VIRUS

ALBANY, New York, June 28, 2000 (ENS) - An ad campaign raising public
health concerns and challenging the effectiveness of aerial spraying for
mosquito control will be unveiled this week in several New York newspapers
by two environmental groups. The national organization Beyond
Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides and the New
York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NYCAP) say widespread
spraying in the fight against the mosquito borne West Nile virus is
unsafe, and causes human exposure to neurotoxic and cancer causing
pesticides. The groups advocate preventive action and more targeted spray
programs as a last resort to protect the public from the virus.

"People are calling on their public officials at the local, state and
national level to stop unnecessary pesticide use that can result in
widespread poisoning and contamination. If people knew the truth about the
dangers of pesticides, they would not tolerate their use," said Pam Hadad
Hurst, executive director of NYCAP. Jay Feldman, executive director of
Beyond Pesticides, called aerial spraying "a cure that is worse than the
disease, especially given the availability of alternative approaches and
materials."

The ads are being released as New Yorkers and residents along the eastern
seaboard face the possibility of a repeat of last year's massive
helicopter and ground spraying of hazardous pesticides as the primary
method to stave off the West Nile virus. The groups are urging a more
focused effort on mosquito prevention, targeting breeding areas and
utilizing biological controls. Widespread use of toxic pesticides such as
malathion, an organophosphate, and synthetic pyrethroids can cause adverse
effects in people, pets and wildlife. Both of these classes of pesticides
were used last year to combat the virus.

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ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS) June 28, 2000
http://ens-news.com "We Cover the Earth For You"
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Lois Levitan, PhD Program Leader
Environmental Risk Analysis Program
Center for the Environment
213 Rice Hall, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York USA 14853

Phone: (607) 255-4765 Fax: (607) 255-0238
Email: LCL3@cornell.edu

Program Email: envrisk@cornell.edu
http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/risk
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Received on Thu Jun 29 09:40:46 2000