Florida spraying sickens 123, federal agency says

Florida spraying sickens 123, federal agency says

By RUSS BYNUM

ATLANTA (November 10, 1999 9:45 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - A pesticide sprayed over two Florida communities to kill crop-eating Mediterranean fruit flies may have sickened 123 people last year, the government said Wednesday.

In one case, a woman with asthma who was exposed to malathion suffered nausea, diarrhea, coughing, wheezing and fatigue when she was exposed to the chemical. In another, blisters broke out on the arms of a man mowing grass after a malathion spraying.

None of the cases reported after the sprayings last spring and summer in suburban Orlando and Tampa Bay were severe, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The CDC concluded that malathion doesn't pose a serious risk to most people, but it asked federal and state officials to look for less toxic alternatives for wiping out the Medfly.

"The risks are already pretty small, but we would like them to be even lower," said Geoffrey Calvert of the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Cheminova Inc., the New Jersey company that manufactures malathion, had no immediate comment.

Malathion is used in several states to kill a host of agricultural pests, including mosquitoes. It was sprayed over New York City after a summer encephalitis outbreak, and North Carolina used it after Hurricane Floyd left the area a soggy breeding ground for mosquitos. No pesticide-related illnesses were confirmed in either state, health officials said.

When used to fight mosquitoes, malathion dissipates in the air within a day, making it less likely to causes illnesses, Calvert said.

To kill the Medfly, malathion is mixed with corn meal and corn syrup that is sprayed on plants for the flies to eat. The mixture causes the pesticide to stick around, normally for four days, but possibly as long as a month, Calvert said.

It was sprayed in Florida suburbs with a population totaling about 132,000 to protect surrounding citrus and tomato crops. Rather than zeroing in on farmland, helicopters and airplanes blanket large areas.

"People are spraying poison on your head," said Jeffrey Huggins of Tampa, a spokesman for the group Citizens for Responsible Alternatives to Malathion, which has been pushing to get malathion spraying banned in Florida.

The CDC suggested using less toxic chemicals or even pesticide-free approaches, such as introducing sterile males into the Medfly population to disrupt its reproduction.