NEW YORK CITY MUST STOP SPRAYING TOXIC PESTICIDES!

NEW YORK CITY MUST STOP SPRAYING TOXIC PESTICIDES IMMEDIATELY!

Mitchel Cohen
mitchelcohen@mindspring.com
(718) 449-0037
Cathryn Swan
cathrynbe@earthlink.net

For Immediate Release -- August 3, 2011

The City has announced it will spray dangerous pesticides in crowded residential areas in Brooklyn and Queens on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011.

The No Spray Coalition is appalled by Mayor Bloomberg's and the City's Department of Health decision to renew the mass-spraying -- no legitimate reasons given.

We also condemn the New York City government's advice to residents and visitors that they personally use insect repellants containing DEET on themselves and their children. DEET is especially dangerous for children and should NEVER be used; it is associated with numerous infant deaths. The City knows this; we negotiated an agreement with the City last year that they wouldn't recommend DEET. And here they are, again, acting in utter disregard of the health and safety of our children, and more generally of all the people of New York.

Furthermore, this year's spray of choice -- Anvil 10+10 -- is listed in Local Law 37 (2005 update, see page 1, paragraph 4, discussion of table 2) that states that for piperonyl butoxide and MGK-264 contained as synergists in Anvil 10 + 10, that

"both of these chemicals are classified as possible human carcinogens by the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs. Only 94 products contain pyrethrins without other carcinogen ingredients. Therefore, most products containing pyrethrins continue to be prohibited under LL37 even if the reference to the EPA list was updated".

Local Law 37 prohibits the use of pesticides by NYC in public places if it contains PBO and/or MGK-264.
Why are they violating their own law?

The No Spray Coalition is also deeply troubled not only by NYC's reckless spraying of Anvil 10 + 10 to kill mosquitoes, but for the City's very short notice -- around 24 hours, that's it!

"After years of litigation to stop this reckless spraying of pesticides which has contributed to skyrocketing increases in cancer and asthma, and now the collapse of bee colonies in the New York area, I am outraged that the Bloomberg Administration is renewing its mindless criminal poisoning of the people and environment of our City," said Howard Brandstein, coordinator of SOS-FOOD, NY State Against Genetic Engineering, and a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit brought seven years ago by the No Spray Coalition and other organizations against Rudolph Giuliani and the New York City government.

That lawsuit ended in April 2007, when NYC signed a settlement agreement acknowledging, among other stipulations, that pesticides:

may remain in the environment beyond their intended purpose
cause adverse health effects
kill mosquitoes' natural predators (such as dragonflies)
increase mosquitoes' resistance to the sprays, and
are not presently approved for direct application to waterways.

The Department of Health contravenes that settlement by now stating that there are no significant risks of adverse impact to human health associated with the proper use of this product. "That is simply a lie," said No Spray Coalition coordinator Mitchel Cohen. In fact, the spraying puts many New York City residents and visitors at grave risk.

"These kind of ignorant and lying politicians and bureaucrats apparently have no problem destroying our health in order to 'save' us from the so-called West Nile virus," Howard Brandstein added. "Clearly, the spraying jeopardizes a thousand times more people than the disease."

The pesticide the City is spraying -- "Anvil 10 + 10" -- belongs to a class of adulticides known as pyrethroids, which are endocrine disruptors. They mimic hormones such as estrogen, and may cause breast cancer in women and drastically lower sperm counts in men. Pyrethroids have also been associated with prostate cancer, miscarriages and preterm delivery, asthma, toxicity to many vital organs including the nervous system, liver, kidneys and the gastro-intestinal tract, skin rashes, itching and blisters, and nausea and vomiting.

Anvil contains the cancer-causing chemical piperonyl butoxide, which the Environmental Protection Agency lists as a suspected carcinogen. It also contains Sumithrin -- a synthetic toxin, made in the laboratory -- as well as benzene-related chemicals (which the label calls "inert ingredients.")

Thousands of New Yorkers were severely sickened by the spraying in 1999 and 2000. A number of members of the No Spray Coalition, including several of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, died from pesticide-related illnesses.

Many suffer from Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) or Asthma caused or exacerbated by the spraying. "The City administration must be made to understand that pesticides are extremely dangerous to human health as well as to the natural environment, and have long-term consequences," Cohen said.

The No Spray Coalition strongly urges the City to stop pesticide spraying immediately, reconsider its entire approach, and seek alternative, safe means to control mosquitoes. There are natural, safe ways for each person to ward off mosquitoes. The City should not be poisoning the entire population.

http://www.mitchelcohen.com/

Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack, a crack in everything, That's how the light gets in.
~ Leonard Cohen