Sacramento area is Delta's
top pesticide source, study finds.
A new study, led by
UC Berkeley toxicologist Donald Weston, indicates that "Urban
Sacramento is the leading source of pesticide contamination disrupting
the Delta aquatic environment." A chief culprit in the study are
the pyrethroid pesticides, which are what the SYMVCD sprays over the
region
aerially in their ill-fated attempt to combat West Nile virus.
The Bee article claims that "there is no evidence pyrethroids are
harmful to people at typical consumer exposure levels. But they are
proving harmful to aquatic life at very low concentrations."
However, Amber
Nickol McKeown's parents might beg to differ, after having filed a
lawsuit following Amber's death after using a lice treatment shampoo
containing a pyrethroid.
While the article points out that residential use of
pesticides is a major contributor to this overload, would it make sense
to continue to spray pyrethroids over urban areas even if these
treatments were effective? Given
their total lack of effectiveness, this seems to be yet one more reason
to suspend the District's aerial spray program.