NewsTarget.com printable
articleOriginally published December 31
2007 http://www.newstarget.com/z022434.html
Thousands Exposed to Poison by
Government's Aerial Spraying by
Rami Nagel
(NewsTarget) Sometimes bad dreams do come true. My bad dream
was that the government issued quarantine, and forced everybody to be vaccinated
for some fake disease. In my dream, I took my family, and fled to the hills to
avoid being vaccinated.
Now, nine months later, this dream has come true.
In an emergency, I relinquished my rental contract and moved my pregnant partner
and three and a half year old daughter out of Santa Cruz, CA, to avoid being
exposed to potentially deadly chemicals.
The chemicals, known by their
trade names as Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F, have been sprayed via state
owned airplanes in September and October in Monterey County California. These
same aerial chemicals, despite their known health risks, were
sprayed on two nights (11-8, 11-9) over the people of Santa Cruz County. The
purpose of this spray is to control the mating habits of the light brown apple
moth (LBAM). The reason the moth needs to be controlled is due to the
possibility of 100 million dollars of damage (Realize that this figure is not a
fact, but based on a government guess).
Government's Pesticide
Experiment Program
The California Department of Food and
Agriculture's own doctor acknowledges, in court documents, that aerial
application of this chemical has not been tested. Let me repeat this so you
understand, chemicals are being sprayed on young children, nursing mother's,
people with asthma, lung
problems, heart problems, the elderly, the disabled, the
homeless and the chemically sensitive - and this chemical formulation has NEVER
been tested on even a piece of dirt, let alone, humans. The newly designed
Faroes Statement, the consensus of over 200 scientists, calls for a
precautionary approach with respect to exposure of fetuses and children to
environmental toxins. The consensus is that exposure of fetuses or children to
chemicals can cause increased susceptibility to disease and disability later in
life. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has specific directives and
codes that state that they should not experiment with pesticides on pregnant women, or
infants. It is a fact, since this aerial pesticide has not been proven to
control the moth's mating habits and has not been proven safe to animals or
humans, that this is an experiment.
In Monterey, approximately 100,000
residents were exposed to untested chemicals to control the mating habits of
less than 750 moths. In Santa Cruz County, over 100,000 residents will be
exposed between 11/06/07 � 11/09/07 to untested chemicals to control the mating
habits of less than 9,000 moths. This is not a one time application, but will
continue monthly beginning again in February, for nine months, and then repeated
for up to a total of three years. Again, this program designed to eradicate the
moth at best will only control the moth's mating habits; it will not eliminate
the moth. At worst, the program will be ineffective, cost tax payers millions of
dollars, and cause permanent disability to residents and their pets. All this
harm is over a little moth that has yet to cause even $1 of damage in
California.
Did you know that each aerial application of
Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F costs approximately $3.5 million and that
$3 million is paid directly to the manufacturer Suterra, LLC of Bend, Oregon?
The projected expense of this eradication "attempt" will cost
tax payers over $70 million dollars just to spray Monterey and Santa Cruz
counties the proposed 9 times. These monthly sprays are already scheduled for
next year to begin in March. The California Department of Food and Agriculture
has created a map which shows the spray
area to grow and encompass various portions of the entire San Francisco Bay Area,
click on the Central Coast (www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PDEP/lbam/maps.html)
. The United States EPA has authorized an emergency permit which could allow the
CDFA to aerially spray the state of California until the year 2010. This Light
Brown Apple Moth Eradication could cost California tax payers more than $500
million dollars when all is said and done, which is five times the projected
amount of losses to the agricultural industry if the moth were to infest the
state. Ridiculous and frivolous spending on untested, unproven and toxic methods
of "attempted" pest eradication are unacceptable actions taken by Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger and the
California Department of Food and Agriculture. This is not a state plan, but is
a plan that is sponsored, endorsed, and largely funded by the EPA and the
USDA.
Documented and Undocumented Pesticide Damage to
Humans
While the moth may cause an estimated $100 million of
crop damage, one cannot put a price tag on the damage that Checkmate's chemicals
cause to humans. In Monterey County, the first county in California to be
sprayed with Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F, documented affidavits show
that citizens got sick, ill or suffered life threatening reactions to the toxic
spray. One infant in the City of Monterey nearly died from inhalation of the
experimental biochemical, and now has permanent lung damage. Dozens of women in
cities throughout the Monterey Peninsula are reporting problems with their
reproductive systems after exposure to the pesticide, including: sudden, severe
and irregular menstrual cycles, extreme cases of tender and swollen breasts, and
the recurrence of menopause symptoms in older women. Other side effects of both
Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F include: asthma and sudden breathing
difficulties, chest pain, vomiting, lethargy, fatigue,
and extreme mood swings. Some people have coughed up blood and have gotten
bloody noses from Checkmate exposure.
If you are familiar with chemical
exposure, then there is something to note which is of great alarm. If you have
ever smelled paint, bleach, or something toxic like that, it takes a significant
and potent amount of the chemical to make one sick. It is not typical that such
small and minute amounts of chemicals can cause such severe damage as described
above. The explanation for the severe side effects, is that the chemicals are in
miniature balls of volatile plastic called microcapsules; thus chemicals can be
introduced deeply into the body through swallowing or inhalation of the
micro-sized particles. It is as if this "agricultural" product acted more like a
drug on humans, than as a pesticide on moths.
Thousands of residents,
including myself, have undocumented pesticide damage. I lived forty miles from
the October-Monterey spray zone, and on the last day of aerial spraying, my
entire family became ill. My daughter vomited. I had severe intestinal distress
and could not eat for several days. I felt nervous and anxious, as if I had the
caffeine equivalent of 10 cups of coffee. And for the first time in my life, I
had yellow/red colored urine (I am now mostly recovered). I did not link these
symptoms to pesticide exposure until days later upon talking and hearing about
dozens of other Santa Cruz residents who were experiencing the same or similar
symptoms, on or near the same day. Their symptoms included severe vomiting and
yellow/red colored urine. Recently I learned that this exposure may not have
been from pesticide drift, but a rogue plane releasing chemicals where it was
not supposed to. Witnesses have recently linked the red color to the Checkmate
formulations, seeing small red droplets where the Checkmate has contacted
metallic objects.
The questions I ask myself are: What type of chemical,
in such small doses, causes such profound harm? Why does a chemical claimed to
be harmless to humans by the EPA, the CDFA and Governor
Schwarzenegger have a significant and severe effect on the female
reproductive system?
Microcapsules =
Microwarfare
The aerial application of Checkmate OLR-F and
Checkmate LBAM-F is designed out of the concept of miniature plastic sphere-like
particles, generally the same size as the width of a human hair. They are called
microcapsules. Each capsule is a biologically "loaded gun" due to its own
chemical make-up and that of the pheromones held inside. Research indicates that
the capsules are likely made out of a urea-formaldehyde polymer, the industry
standard. This is an extremely volatile plastic which, under UV rays, degrades
over a time period estimated to be anywhere from 30-70 days. These
"agricultural" microcapsules have never been tested safe for humans. Thus, the
life of these microcapsules inside our bodies is truly unknown as are the health
risks of inhaling or swallowing them. Preliminary research on the microcapsules
have revealed that they are made of a new technology, and that the large
capsules are made up of a cluster of smaller 3-4 micron size capsules - a size
of capsule that can be deadly to humans over the long term.
Many of the
chemicals used to make the Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F products have
been deemed harmful for human consumption, like butelated hydroxyl tolune (BHT).
For example: on the label for BHT it says (in big letters) "Do not inhale this
product. Dangerous to respiratory health." The symptoms documented by Monterey
County residents can be directly correlated to the warning labels of BHT, and
several other chemicals. BHT, is also known as DBPC, a dangerous pesticide known
to cause sterility in men. Recently, Dole Food Company lost a lawsuit in which
Nicaraguan Banana farmers
were exposed to DBPC. In pending lawsuits, thousands of South American Farmers
are claiming that they were harmed by exposure to DBPC.
Within these
microcapsules is an endocrine disrupter which attaches itself to estrogen receptors and forces
the activation and constant production of estrogen to occur in the human body. This happens
for men, women and children. This chemical is called 2 hydroxy 4n
octyloxybenzophenone. The warnings surrounding the exposure to this toxic
chemical can be directly correlated to the documented symptoms of women living
within the spray zone in Monterey County. These are health concerns which CANNOT
be overlooked or swept under the carpet. The entire state of California and its
residents are at risk for severe short term reactions to this aerial spraying.
The projected long term effects of exposure to Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate
LBAM-F are unknown, undocumented and until now - not even a thought in the minds
of those who are authorizing the spraying, and manufacturing the
chemical.
In addition to the horrible documented health effects of coming
into contact with Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F, there is a great chance
that it will not even prove to be an effective investment. The EPA's own
documents state that such a microcapsule cannot successfully release pheromone,
and that "The studies show that only a small proportion of the microcapsules
actually release any pheromone or only a portion of the total pheromone loaded
into the capsule is capable of ever being released." Science and competent
intelligence does not seem to be the methodology of this spray program; in light
of such statements made, the technology cannot work.
The EPA masks their
"emergency approval" of Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F behind the
assertion that the pheromones in the products are safe. They then make the
scientific leap and pronounce the entire pesticide is safe to be sprayed on
residential neighborhoods, schools and water ways. This arrogant
assertion by the CDFA and the
EPA comes, again, without ANY LEGITIMATE TESTING. Under the "emergency
exemption" (also known as Section 18), regulations allow the EPA to disregard
the important 3% of "inert" ingredients. The "emergency exemption" allows this
disregard even though many of those ingredients are not even inert, and are
actually part of the "active" ingredients. The EPA then reaches the conclusion,
"EPA believes use of these pheromone products, including aerial application over
residential areas, presents negligible risks to human health and the environment." This
is another case of ridiculous, frivolous and blatant disregard for human health
by Governor Schwarzenegger, the CDFA and the EPA.
In addition to the
aerial application which focuses on the agriculture industry,
microcapsules are used in medical and military technology. In
medical technology, microcapsules are used to time-release drugs into the body.
The medical capsules are made out of a bio-compatible material that the body can
easily absorb. In military technology, they can be used for chemical shields, or
for experimental "non-lethal" weapons (That means the weapon does not cause
immediate death). These thoughts do not leave one with a pleasant taste about
how these microcapsules are being used in our neighborhoods and
communities.
The over 30 billion microcapsules sprayed over Monterey
County last month are not bio-compatible; and yet children are playing in them,
dogs are rolling around in them, and people are inhaling them. And the state
continues to spray more communities as I write this.
Like pollen, the
miniature capsules can float in the air and they can stick to surfaces people
touch. Imagine hundreds of synthetic microscopic plastic balls floating in the
environment and then entering your nose, mouth, eyes and ears. Is this safe?
What happens when those minuscule plastic balls are inhaled? We know what
happens. They get lodged in your lungs, you cough profusely to
expel them, and you go into respiratory distress. Some Monterey County residents
report asthma attacks increasing, others report coughing so hard and for such
long durations that they cough up blood. One healthy adult male in the sprayed
Salinas area, who jogs five miles daily, now has developed asthma since the last
two aerial sprays. For the first time in his life, he must use an inhaler to
help him breathe. The local doctor he sees is out of inhaler samples, he's given
them all away.
These and other serious side effects associated with the
aerial application of Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F are being captured by
citizen groups daily. Local doctors are refusing to document that their
patients' symptoms have any relation to the aerial spraying. One doctor even
told his patient (who was very ill from the spraying) that he would have to
consult with this lawyer before discussing the matter further. An attorney
representing the CDFA declared to a judge in Monterey County superior court
during a hearing where a local environmental organization was suing the CDFA to
stop the aerial spraying, that the CDFA has no intention on monitoring or
following up on any of the health concerns or complaints that have been or will
be filed in association with this aerial application. This is another blatant
disregard for the health and well being of citizens. The CDFA can pay $3.5
million dollars to spray the residents of Monterey County, but cannot and will
not spend a penny to assure citizens and residents that their health is of
consequence to this program. This is repulsive! This is a
crime!
Cities Are the Targets!
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