Thank you for your editorial, “Take West Nile seriously,” (Sept. 20), in which you state that you think that massive insecticide spraying is unjustified for the West Nile Virus (WNV). Your editorial agrees with a recent Harvard School of Public Health study, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health.
The Harvard study emphasizes: “We find that ULV (ultra low volume) applications of resmethrin had little or no impact on the Culex vectors of WNV even at maximum permitted rates of application.”
In the same chemical family as resmethrin is sumithrin, an ingredient in Anvil, the insecticide sprayed in Oak Park. These synthetic pyrethroids are both endocrine disruptors.
Poisonous sprays plus lawn pesticides are a threat to our health. Oak Park’s vulnerable population are children, pregnant women, elderly, asthmatics, resident with respiratory problems and other debilitating diseases. What about Anvil’s effect on birds, rabbits, squirrels, earthworms and cats and dogs that take poisonous residue through their paws?
Can we control our destiny or are we at the mercy of the Mosquito Abatement District (MAD)? It’s the trustees’ call.