Florida Now Spraying Neurotoxic Pesticide Banned in Other Countries to Combat Zika

Areas of Miami, Florida, are now being sprayed with the insecticide naled in an attempt to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito — carrier of the zika virus. Naled, a potent neurotoxin that kills mosquitoes on contact, is perfectly safe, or so the Environmental Protection Agency insists, despite Puerto Rico’s rejection of its use to combat the spread of zika there — due to concerns about its safety.

To keep naled airborne where it would be most effective, the agent is sprayed in very fine aerosol droplets — about two tablespoons can be dispersed to cover an area the equivalent of two football fields, a local CBS affiliate reported.

If a ‘far greater’ amount of naled were employed, according to the Florida Department of Health, ‘it could cause a person to salivate more, feel numbness, headaches, dizziness, tremors, nausea, abdominal cramps, sweating, blurred vision, difficulty breathing and a slowed heartbeat.’

Though fear of the zika virus — which may cause microcephaly, or reduced head size, in babies born to infected mothers — and lack of federal funding for a vaccine have left Florida officials desperate for options, the use of naled has stoked controversy.

Beside possible adverse health effects, experts argue whether or not spraying campaigns are even effective in diminishing mosquito populations, particularly because the insects can live indoors or in small, enclosed areas where spray wouldn’t necessarily reach.

On Wednesday, airplanes were set to begin spraying naled aerosol over an approximately 10-square-mile section of Miami, centered over the neighborhood of Wynwood, where zika has reportedly been spreading — but wind conditions forced a delay.

We had vintage WWII bombers loaded up with Mirex and heptachlor battling the fire ant invasion

Sprayed day and night for weeks in the now historically referred to fire ant wars

You can google that term

I lived where malaria and yellow fever had wiped out generations once so we were grateful for DDT

And yes we played behind the trucks and the huge air balloon sized cloud

Loved that smell

The use of DDT declined, because mosquitoes became resistant to it.... Quite a few myths have been circulated about DDT. It is harmful to reproductive systems in people and animals.

This had been thoroughly debunked in the literature. DDT was abandoned through a global scare campaign based on fraud, precisely because it works so well and is harmless to humans and animals. I'm not interested in looking it up for you, for one because I'm sure you're already well aware of it, and for two because I'm not being paid for my time as you are. Also, as hundreds of millions of people died from the banning of its use, and you are knowingly defending that, I don't care to intact with you at all - we live in different universes.

Bye.

"...That was safe for humans. This stuff is not..."

I know zilch about Naled (they stuff they are spraying) and found this link to an EPA description of Naled: EPA Datasheet on Naled

Here is a paragraph: "Naled may no longer be used in and around the home by residents or professional applicators. However, residents can be exposed as by- standers from wide-area mosquito control applications. Sergeant's, the sole end-use registrant for pet collars, is voluntarily cancelling all of its naled products. With mitigation limiting homeowners' and children's exposure naled fits into its own "risk cup." With other mitigation measures, naled's worker and ecological risks are also will be below levels of concern for reregistration."

And this:

Risk Mitigation

In order to support a reregistration eligibility decision for naled, the following risk mitigation measures are necessary:

To mitigate risks to agricultural workers:
• Require closed mixing/loading systems for all agricultural uses (except greenhouses and hand- held application) and public health uses involving control of mosquitos and black flies.
• Require enclosed cabs for ground application or enclosed cockpits for aerial application, for all agricultural uses and public health uses involving control of mosquitos and black flies.
• Prohibit manual activation of hotplates.
• Prohibit manual activation of ventilation equipment in greenhouses.
• Delete backpack sprayers and hand-held foggers.
• Delete the greenhouse heat/steam pipe painting use.
• Delete use in apartments, motels, hotels and drive-in theaters.
• Reduce the maximum application rate for use on almonds and peaches to 1.875 lbs ai/A and prohibit aerial use on almonds and peaches.
• Prohibit ready to use formulation.
• Delete wet and dry bait uses.
• Delete spot treatment for cockroach control.
• Prohibit human flaggers.
• Establish 48 hour reentry intervals after application to field crops.
• Establish 24 hour reentry intervals after application in greenhouses.

To mitigate risk to residents and children, the following measures are needed:
• The sole manufacturer of pet collars (Sergeant's) has requested voluntary cancellation of these uses.
• Prohibit all residential uses either by resident or professional applicator. Use in residential areas by mosquito control districts would still be allowed.

To mitigate risk to non-target species:

• Reduce application rates for control of black fly from 0.25 to 0.1 lbs/ai/A, and reduce rates on peaches and almonds from 2.8 to 1.875 lbs/ai/A.
• Require buffer zones around permanent bodies of water to reduce runoff.
• Establish spray setbacks to reduce spray drift for agricultural uses.

Sounds a lot riskier than DDT. But it makes no difference, they would never allow reuse of DDT, they would have to admit they were wrong, and they would much rather see people sickened, injured, or dead before they admit they were wrong.

They are Liberals.

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