From Walton Sun
A few weeks ago, For the Health of It owner Ed Berry was taking a routine trip to the bank across the street, when an airplane sprayed him with a light mist.
For the next 24 hours, Berry experienced a terrible headache and a host of other symptoms. Concern led him to do some investigation. He discovered the airplane had been spraying Dibrom Naled as part of Walton County?s Dog Fly Control program.
Since 1972, Florida has funded the Dog Fly Control program through the Department of Agricultural and Consumer services. In the program, DC-3s dispense the insecticide Dibrom Naled from an altitude of about 150 feet along the beaches.
According to the director of the South Walton Mosquito Control District Gary D?Andrea, from August to November, dog flies congregate on Northwest Florida beaches. The bugs are relatively harmless. However, their bites are a nuisance for residents and tourists.
Under Environmental Protection Agency?s 1999 proposed Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment, the organization classified DDVP, an impurity in Naled, the active ingredient in the pesticide, as having ?suggestive evidence of carcinogenity, but not sufficient to assess human carcinogenic potential.?
The EPA has stated that during aerial applications the amount and there are ?no adverse effects expected? at levels of exposure used for pest control.
According to a statement by Jay Feldman, Executive Director of Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, Naled is an organophosphate, a highly toxic class of pesticides that affect the central nervous, cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
The label accompanying Dibrom Naled claims that the substance is highly corrosive. Symptoms of exposure can include, numbness, tingling sensations, headache, dizziness, tremors or even death.
In addition to the potential dangers for humans, the label warns about the toxicity for fish, birds and other wildlife. Yet, the product is sprayed relatively close to the beach and water.
?It?s corrosive, but breaks down quickly. It doesn?t last in the environment, but it corrodes all the spraying equipment,? D?Andrea said.
He added that people shouldn?t worry about pesticides, because they are formulated to do a certain job and pose a low risk to humans.
Charlotte Wells, the executive director for Texans for Alternatives to Pesticides, explained government would never be able to come out and claim pesticides are safe.
?They can?t claim that they?re safe, they?re toxic by design. They are formulated to kill,? she said.
?The initial exposure may be low toxicity, but it is cumulative. After years of exposure, this is when we will see the effects,? said Susanne Morrone, a Ph.D. candidate in natural health.
In 2001, Morrone almost died from pesticide poisoning. During the trial that followed her experience, opening statements from her legal council claimed homicide, suicide and pesticide were all methods of murder.
?The issue is extremely important. This is something that people need to be aware of. We inhale (pesticides) and absorb them through our skin,? she said.
Morrone explained that the numbers of various childhood cancers have increased. Cancer is now the number two killer of children under the age of five.
?Why is that a concern? It?s a concern because the lifestyle of a toddler has not changed that much. They don?t smoke or drink. Pound for pound, their exposure to chemicals is much greater than adults. They breath faster and they are much closer to the ground,? she said.
?What?s more scary than the cancer statistics,? Morrone continued, ?is that there are safe alternatives that have been used for over a century by organic farmers.?
Wells said that sometimes spraying for insects merely eliminates mental worries. Pesticides do not always significantly lower the amount of insects.
?People want the spray because they think it helps,? she said.
According to Wells, people may have to make the decisions concerning the risk of natural diseases or those caused by man made chemicals. In addition, as a society, we may have to be cognizant of our behavioral patterns.
?Should we stay inside at night, or should we spray and sit outside with the pesticide?? Wells said.
In the early 1960s, environmentalist Rachel Carson became one of the first people to question human rights violations concerning pesticides. Her book ?Silent Spring? describes how on a daily basis, pesticides and other chemicals are poisoning humans without their consent. Some panhandle residents are upset that they are being unwittingly exposed to chemicals, including Dibrom Naled.
?I don?t want to be poisoned. I think the spraying and the pesticides use needs to be brought to the forefront of our community,? Berry said. ?I?ll put a solid immune system up against the diseases spread by immune systems, as opposed to chemicals. (By spraying) we may prevent one disease, but are we facilitating another. What is the balance? We can?t kill every little insect.?
It's curious.
Wonder why they can't just spray at night? 
People SHOULD worry about pesticides! We should always check into the potential cumulative affects substances have on us. This doesn't mean we need to live in fear, but we do need to be informed regarding the pros and cons of chemicals with which we come in contact, and how they affect the natural balance of plant and animal life.
