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Light Brown Apple Moth - Aerial Spraying in San Francisco & Bay Area

Information on proposed aerial spraying for Light Brown Apple Moth or LBAM in San Francisco and the Bay Area

See additional articles on the LBAM spray topic:

• News & Updates on Light Brown Apple Moth Spraying
• Notes on Berkeley Informational Meeting - LBAM Aerial Spraying
• Things You Can Do if You Oppose the LBAM Spraying
• Upcoming Community Meetings on LBAM Spray

Information on the proposed eradication program of the Light Brown Apple Moth in California.

Light Brown Apple Moth Aerial Spraying: Where and When

In August of 2008, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) plans aerial spraying for the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) over urban areas of the San Francisco Bay Area. The areas to be sprayed include all of San Francisco, south Marin, and the East Bay from Carquinez area to the southern border or Oakland, and including wilderness areas like Tilden Park and Wildcat Canyon.

Map of proposed spray zones in the Bay Area (jpg).

Why is This Important?

Read this summary of points presented at the Berkeley community meeting of February 24, 2008. Link to the various resources in the summary document to get a better understanding of what, exactly, the California Department of Agriculture (CDFA) is proposing. The CDFA obviously takes a different position.

There are serious questions stemming from anecdotal accounts collected from Santa Cruz and Monterey residents after they were sprayed. The method of delivery is via plastic microcapsule, in a time-released form, and activists are concerned there is no long-term testing for such application over widespread urban areas.

None of the speakers at the Berkeley informational meeting believed the LBAM is a threat that justifies an experiment of these dimensions, over human populations and natural habitat. The CDFA maintains that the spraying is safe and necessary.

LBAM Spraying: What

In the meetings I've attended, CDFA representatives refer to the spraying as the application of pheromones. The spraying would involve a pest control product that does contain a moth pheromone, as well as numerous inert ingredients which carry various potential adverse effects. The CDFA claims that these effects should not occur at the levels presented in the aerial spray.

But the no-spray organization LBAMspray.org reports that symptoms are consistent with the adverse effects described for these ingredients. Although a final decision hasn't been made on which substances will be used, a product known as CheckMate, produced by Suterra, is in consideration.

Richard Fagerlund of the San Francisco Chronicle describes the ingredients in Checkmate and the potential health effects.

The websites LBAMspray.com, Stop the Spray and Don't Spray California have more extensive literature on the aerial spraying and on the products in question.

LBAMspray.com has also posted a warning label from the pesticide CheckMate.

LBAM Plastic Microcapsules and Time-Released Product

When you think of aerial spraying, you tend think of a single application of a pesticide which then dissipates after it's applied.

The proposed treatment is a different beast altogether. The substance, according to speakers at the Berkeley informational meeting, will be contained in tiny time-released plastic microcapsules which will release the contents over days. And, which can potentially be inhaled. Speakers at the meeting suggested they cannot avoid being inhaled.

The time-release aspect suggests that leaving your home for the duration of the spraying would not be an effective option since the substance will persist in the environment as it's being released.

The website Hope for Truth has a referenced explanation of microcapsules and how they work. The document also describes what the possible composition of the capsules could be, depending on which product is used for the aerial spraying.

LBAMspray.com has an illustration of a microcapsule and its size as compared to a human hair.

Santa Cruz and Monterey - After the LBAM Spraying

Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were subjected to a similar course of spraying last year (2007). After the spraying, more 600 health complaints were filed by residents, ranging from minor to serious, from general malaise, to burning eyes and throat, to asthma effects, headaches and dizziness.

There were also reports of numerous dead birds found almost immediately after the spraying, as well as reports of pets experiencing ill effects after the process. Again, the CDFA claims there is no connection between these occurrences and the aerial spraying.

As stated by presenters at the Berkeley community meeting on February 24, some of the inert ingredients in the Santa Cruz/Monterey spraying are known aquatic toxins and although the CDFA denies a connection, activists believe the timing is significant.