ATTENTION! HEALTH ACTION ALERT!
The county's spray plan has no provisions for people whose health conditions put them at greater risk than average when exposed to toxic pesticides. (not to imply average risk is a bed of roses)
The Santa Rosa Bug Affinity Group is urging people in higher risk
categories* to:
1. Contact us, get into our "at greater risk" database.
2. Get a letter from your doctor stating diagnosis and concerns.
3. Send copies of the letter to Board of Supervisors; So Co Ag
Commissioner; Public Health Director. Include a cover letter requesting a
disability compliance coordinator be appointed to interface with those of
us at risk to revise the plan so we can be protected.
4. Let us know you've done steps #2 and #3.
*Higher risk categories:
Families: Pregnant or lactating women, children under 10 years old
Compromised immune: cancer, cancer survivor, HIV, multiple chemical
sensitivities, chronic fatigue, mononucleosis, Lyme, para- or quadriplegic
Lung/nerve conditions: asthma, emphysema, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons
And so on (excuse us for not knowing/listing your condition that
puts you into this lively group)
Or are you a pregnant or nursing mother or a parent of small children? Are you a senior citizen? Your health or the health of your loved ones could be at risk if Sonoma County carries out its plan to eradicate the glassy-winged sharpshooter with pesticides!
There are steps you can take to prevent forced spraying of pesticides near your home or your children¼s school.
Ö The first thing you need to do is to get a letter from your doctor stating your diagnosis and the symptoms that could be caused by the specific pesticides the County is planning to use. Your doctor must state the distance from your home or school that must be kept pesticide-free. If you or your children have ever been exposed to any of these pesticides and suffered ill effects, have your doctor state what the pesticide was and what symptoms it caused. Then make four copies of the letter and include a cover letter (see below) with each copy. Send one copy to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors; one to John Westoby, Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner; one to Mary Maddux-Gonzalez, Public Health Director; and one to the address at the bottom of this notice. Our group is going to keep track of the chemically vulnerable people who have contacted the county. Keep the original doctor¼s letter in case you are notified that spraying will occur in your neighborhood and you want to appeal or ask for a form of abatement that will not be harmful to you.
Ö The cover letter that should be included with your doctor¼s letter and sent to each of the three County entities mentioned above should ask the Board of Supervisors to appoint a disability compliance coordinator who is trained in the Americans with Disabilities Act. This individual should meet with chemically vulnerable people to revise the workplan so that it spells out exactly how we are to be notified and protected in the event conventional pesticides are to be applied. (It does not currently state these things.) If you have nowhere else to go should spraying occur in your neighborhood, ask to be housed in a hotel or motel until pesticide levels around your home have returned to pre-treatment levels or until your doctor says it is safe for you to return home. Ask that any animals you may have be boarded while you cannot be at home to care for them Ask for notice of spraying that guarantees receipt of such notice a minimum of 72 hours before pesticide application is scheduled to begin. Ask also for a personal response from the County agencies.
Lucy Kenyon, one of our members, is spearheading this movement. She has
already addressed the Board of Supervisors and is awaiting their reply, and
your additional voices creating strength in numbers! Please join us!
Thank you very much.
See below for more specific details and sample letters.
A model letter from a doctor is included here for use by people with medical conditions that could be aggravated by pesticides:
Dear Supervisor Reilly and Other Members of the Board:
My patient, (insert your name), has been diagnosed with (insert diagnosis). His/her condition poses a serious health risk to him/her should he/she be exposed to the insecticides that are being proposed to combat the appearance of the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) in Sonoma County.
Extoxnet information makes clear that persons with respiratory ailments or liver malfunction are at increased risk of exposure to Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos and other members of the organophosphate family can cause effects on the nervous system resulting in convulsions and respiratory failure. Literature from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states that exposures at high levels may result in death, but since we do not know what a „high level¾ might be in a person of (insert your name)¼s sensitivity, strict avoidance must be practiced.
Carbaryl and other carbamates, while only moderately toxic to most humans, can be toxic to the nervous and respiratory systems, resulting in nausea, stomach cramps, blurring of vision, incoordination, convulsions, and unconsciousness.
Imidacloprid, the present insecticide of choice for control of the GWSS, is moderately toxic and symptoms of exposure would be expected to be fatigue, twitching, cramps, and muscle weakness including the muscles necessary for breathing.
Permethrin and other synthetic pyrethroids can by themselves cause coughing; burning, itching, and redness of skin; eye pain and redness. It should be noted that the inert ingredient in Permethrin is stoddard solvent, which may cause headaches, dizziness, loss of sensations or feelings (numbness), and liver and kidney damage.
I hope that for the health and safety of this patient, you will take all possible precautions to help him/her avoid contact with any pesticides at all. It is my recommendation that any pesticide treatment for the GWSS in his/her neighborhood take place at least one-half mile from his/her property line and then only on a perfectly still day, as pesticides are easily airborne for great distances.
I thank you for your attention to this matter and hope you will take the necessary precautions to protect his/her health.
Sincerely,
<
(Doctor¼s name), MD
More information about the pesticides mentioned in the sample letter can be found at the following Internet addresses:
Chlorpyrifos:
www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng0851.html
http://ace.orst.edu/cgi-bin/mfs/01pips/chlorpyr.htm
Carbaryl:
www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng0121.html
http://ace.orst.edu/cgi-bin/mfs/01/pips/carbaryl.htm
Imidacloprid: http://ace.orst.edu/cgi-bin/mfs/01/pips/imidaclo.htm
Permethrin: www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng0312.html
Please send a copy of your doctor¼s letter and your cover letter to Lucy Kenyon, 195 Walnut Circle, Rohnert Park, CA 94928 or e-mail them to me at lucykenyon@juno.com. I can be reached for questions at (707) 206-0243. Along with a group of other interested people, I will be keeping track of the contacts the County is receiving from chemically vulnerable people. I hope some of you will want to join us when we meet with the County to establish a policy to protect ourselves from toxic pesticides.