Commentary
Airtoxics
Levels: Highest In Decades
The events
regarding the neurological disease called "West Nile
virus encephalitis" (ref) in
New York City, 1999 correlate very closely with very high
levels of atmospheric pollution. Toxicology was ignored by
CDC and NYC Department of Health epidemiologists despite
ozone exceedances for 1999, which were higher than each of
the previous seven years as of late July (with the rest of
the summer remaining). These levels were the worst since the
mid-1970s (ref) -- within one of the most highly polluted
industrial regions within the U.S. These atmospheric
pollutants are powerful central nervous system (CNS) toxins,
capable of causing symptoms (ref) (ref) (ref) of WNV/SLE encephalitis, especially as defined by the NYCDOH
(def1) and CDC: (def2) at available dosages. These
dosage levels are comparable to the exposure present during
the summer of 1999, especially when duration of exposure is
included in the definition of dosage, as the effects of
airtoxics can be accumulative.
Ozone is an
indicator of other air toxic levels, such as nitrogen oxides,
carbon monoxide, non-methane organic carbons, and sulfur
emissions, which with the increased sunlight and temperatures
of summer, are able to combine to create high quantities of
neurotoxic photochemical smog. (ref) Studies have shown that atmospheric
pollutants can cause extra-pulmonary damage such as
encephalitis. New evidence demonstrates that air toxins may
be capable of causing asthma, not just from their obvious
damage to the respiratory system, but from damage to the
autonomic nervous system. (ref)
The geographical
epicenter of the WNV
epidemic was the area of College Point, Whitestone, and
Bayside, within Northern Queens. When I requested EPA station
monitor data, I asked for all stations in Queens and was told
that only three monitors existed: 2 within College Point and
1 in Bayside, installed because these are the areas of
greatest concern. The data can be requested from the EPA,
however, the EPA receives from state DEC, which operates the
monitor stations. The various state DECs send their data to
Atlanta and from there it is sent to the EPA after a 3 to 6
month delay (3 month delay for 3 month blocks of data).
College Point is
about 3,500 feet from the heavily polluted SE Bronx and 2,500
feet from the La Guardia Airport runways. Heavy and light
industry exists on its western waterfront, including The
New York Times plant. Bayside is also close to the SE
Bronx and both townships are close to the Whitestone bridge,
the Throgs Neck bridge, and numerous overlapping expressways
that connect Long Island with Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn,
Bronx, Connecticutt, and New Jersey.
Since last summer, 1999,
with new construction, the number of station monitors
providing data will have nearly doubled in New York City by
the end of the summer of 2000.
MTBE
Approximately
half of the nation's MBTE consumption has been in the East
Coast. (extRef) During the
summer of 1999, approximately 11% of all automotive gasoline
in the tri-state Severe-17 region contained Methyl Tertiary
Butyl Ether (MTBE). This is a neurological toxin which
through photochemical combination may actually increase
levels of other neurological toxins, e.g., ground level
industrial ozone, and photochemical smog.
In 1992, federal
law (as lobbied by the petroleum industry according to some)
required improvements in emission characteristics of gasoline
through the use of oxygenates. MTBE was claimed to fill this
requirement. There are doubts as to the benefits of MTBE,
however, it does provide an economic benefit to the petroleum
industry because it is manufactured from refinery waste
products. If MTBE is banned then NAFTA rules allow the
petroleum industry to sue the U.S. government for
compensation.
In 1995 MTBE
became a significant environmental factor in the tri-state
area.
In 1999 a
"No Action Memo" was issued by the EPA to
refineries, which allowed RFG refineries to formulate
gasoline with high levels of toxic petroleum fractions,
without fearing that punitive action would be taken. Also,
the deadline for RFG refinery reporting for the year 1998 was
extended to August of 1999, making evaluation, regulation,
and penalties impossible to apply for the summer of 1999.
MTBE was used in
winter programs where its toxic presence at ground level
would be lessened by cool atmospheres and reduced sunlight,
because ground-level pollutants such as photochemical smog
are a function of available sunlight and higher temperatures,
and in 1999, in the New York City region, MTBE was used
year-round and at 15% during the winter, 11% during the
summer. The summer of 1999 was one of the hottest and driest (few clouds, increased sunlight) in recorded history. (ref)
Nationally, in 1999, MTBE
requirements in the New York City region were unique to the
nation. The yellow-coded area below represents 2 things:
| 1) |
The precise area of
unique oxygenated (MTBE) fuel requirement categories,
as limited to certain counties of the New York City
region, as perceived in a private, industry
newsletter, not necessarily in terms of EPA
requirements. I contacted the newsletter to ask what
data they were using to generate the yellow-coded
areas, and received no reply. The EPA stated that I
should not trust any data except for EPA
requirements, however, the requirements are not
refinery formulations and the formulations are
proprietary. |
| 2) |
The precise area of
unprecedented masses of encephalitic dead birds found
positive for West Nile Virus, according to the NYSDEC
database. |
From www.oxybusters.org
MTBE and
Massive Bird Deaths
Since January 1,
1995, MTBE was mandated to be used year-round in the NYC
region, which had been designated an RFG (reformulated
gasoline) region. During the next mid-July, at the height of
the ozone season, and every mid-July thereafter, several bird
deaths reported with clinical descriptions of neurological
disease became a regular annual occurrence at the NYSDEC.
Previously, there were no such bird deaths reported from the
NYC region (ref).
A tremendous,
unprecedented epidemic of such kinds of bird deaths occurred
in mid-July of 1999. More than 3,000 crow deaths had been
reported to NYSDOH (New York State Department of Health) and
for the most part categorized as unconfirmed. (ref) It has been conjectured by NYSDOH that
the 3,000 may only represent half of the reported crows and
that 1/3 to 2/3rd of the entire crow population may have been
destroyed. There are 520 officially confirmed bird deaths
according to the NYSDEC WNV Database (published 2/23/2000).
Of these, almost all were reported from August 11th onward. (ref) 60% were crows. Most of the 520
occurred concurrently with the tremendous publicity regarding
crows as vectors for encephalitis. (ref)
Due to
insufficient funds, the NYSDEC pathology lab has no
capability to determine cause of death by atmospheric
pollution. The NYSDEC pathology lab also has no virus testing
capability and sends tissue samples to the CDC and other labs
for analysis. (ref). The results are returned to the NYSDEC, and
under the NYSDEC title, a virology report is distributed with
the results of this outsourced testing.
In late July,
just a week after the apex of record level ozone, MTBE
atmospheric pollution, and massive (unconfirmed) bird deaths,
the EPA Blue Ribbon Panel recommended removal of MTBE from
gasoline. (ref)
In early
September, 1999, the WN virus diagnoses by the CDC and NYCDOH
caused the NYSDEC to hold back the release of bird autopsies
which at that time were clearly going to be positive for
toxic death, not virus-caused death. (ref) (ref)
According to Dr. Tracey
McNamara, President Clinton established the Emerging Diseases
Task Force in ___, 1995. In 1996, a presidential directive
established a national policy which stated that emerging
diseases are a national priority, a mandate. (Dr. Tracey McNamara, at the
Conference On Emerging Diseases in NYC, 12/11/00).
MTBE Phase-Out and Ban
In spite of the
controversy surrounding MTBE, this ubiquitous neurotoxin will
have come and gone with virtually no public awareness of its
existence. Over 100,000 have petitioned for its end in
California. Activists in New Jersey have also petitioned.
During the summer of 1999, the EPA and industry negotiated to
reduce industrial emissions in the New York City region,
however, due to economic/political concerns this was
unsuccessful. (ref)
July 26, 1999,
EPA announced that it's Blue Ribbon Panel recommended a ban
on MTBE. March 21, 2000, "in a move aimed at protecting
drinking water while still maintaining the clean air benefits
of oxygenated fuels, the Administration is moving forward
with legislation that would reduce or eliminate MTBE." (extRef) As of April 11, 2000, New York State proceeded
on legislation to ban MTBE, and a week later President
Clinton publicly called for a global ban on MTBE. A
California ban on MTBE (established December 1999) is to go
into effect on December 31, 2002.
On May 24, 2000
New York State passed law to ban MTBE:
"N.Y. Gov. Pataki
signs ban of gasoline additive MTBE" - "New
York State Gov. George Pataki on Wednesday signed a bill
banning MTBE at the state's gasoline pumps by 2004,
hammering yet another nail into the controversial fuel
additive's coffin." (Reuters, 5/25/00)
On May 25, 2000
it was announced in the media that during Memorial Day
Weekend 30 million Americans would be on the roads, and for
these drivers to beware of high gasoline prices due to a
shortage of RFG (MBTE) gasoline. Taxpayers are legally bound
to reimburse industry for the ban on MTBE and, speculatively,
the "shortage" could be a "voluntary"
part of the MTBE phase-out or an exploitation of the more
confusion of law caused by the ban of the oxy-fuel program.
Gasoline prices were projected to rise 25% during the summer
of 2000 (extRef) and that turned out to be an understatement.
Even before the New York
State legislation, there was "final rulemaking".
The EPA, Office of Mobile Sources writes (extRef):
"New
York/Northern. N.J./Connecticut: (12/6/99) OXY
& RFG: The oxygenated fuels program will no longer be
implemented in this CMSA . All three states have
requested that the program be dropped from their SIP's
for the upcoming 1999/2000. EPA has approved the removal
of the program for all three states and has published
final rulemakings for CT and the Northern NJ area."
"Connecticut:
A direct final rulemaking was published on 12/1/99 to
remove the oxy program from CT's SIP. The rulemaking
becomes effective on 1/31/00 unless EPA receives an
adverse comment by 1/3/00."
"Northern New
Jersey: November 22, 1999: Oxy program dropped
from the SIP."
As of 6/30/00,
EPA proposed that ethanol replace MTBE.
The banning of
MTBE, brought about by an elite panel's recommendation
immediately following mass death and disease, concurs with
the usual retrospective government/industry policy towards
dangerous chemicals in the environment. (ref)
Birds As
Sentinels
Bird morbidity
and mortality have traditionally been utilized as indicators
of a toxic environment (miner's canaries, sentinels for
toxins), the most famous example being the miner's canary. (ref) The crow's supportive relation to
humans is found in folklore:
"...the raven's voice
as a gift of God to foretell impending dangers... Its
call foretells a death in the neighborhood." (ref)
And as indicators of toxic
danger, crow death is recognized in the lives of persons
living in the tri-state area. Here is an anecdote from the Forbes
ASAP (culture and media magazine):
"Kiki Smith (1954- ) Smith,
self-taught, worked as an assistant in her father's
studio in the 1970s. She also worked as an electrical
contractor and industrial baker before exhibiting her
drawings, sculptures, and photographs in 1982. Jersey
Crows was inspired by a newspaper account of a flock of
crows falling dead from the sky after flying through
industrial smokestack fumes." (ref)
The message of
these toxin sentinels was neutralized by:
| 1) |
Omission of June and
July crow deaths in virtually all media. (ref) |
| 2) |
Failure to report
and/or follow-up to confirm reports of unprecedented
numbers of June/July bird deaths (ref) |
| 3) |
Popular media (news)
statements regarding human and crow deaths as occurring together beginning in early August. (ref) |
| 4) |
The virus epidemic
emergency status, overriding toxic oriented crow
autopsies. (ref) |
| 5) |
A fear-mongering
media mantra ("the deadly virus"). (ref) |
| 6) |
Scientific literature
statements regarding a crow/virus "natural
transmission cycle" beginning in August. (ref) |
| 7) |
Usurpation of
traditional birds-as-toxic-sentinels by
implementation of birds-as-virus-sentinels in public
health policy and publicity. (ref) |
The
crow deaths were a major journalistic device frequently used
to bolster media presentations and technical arguments for
the concept of virus-causality. The crow
deaths (as a virus vector event, i.e., as part of the
"natural transmission cycle") were prominently used
in scientific literature.
A policy move is
underway to prevent public access to animal morbidity and
mortality records as is presently the case with human health
records. It is possible that by some time in 2000, all NYSDEC
animal records will be recorded into a government mainframe
database in a fixed format, and available individually, by
password. (ref)
The primary
vector for West Nile virus was said to be mosquitoes, but
record-low mosquito populations existed in the NYC region
during the summer of 1999, as that period was regarded as a "mosquito-free
summer" due to
the lengthy drought. Mosquito larvae require standing water,
plus 11 to 14 days, to mature into adults, which in turn,
require the absence of predators such as dragonflies, birds
and bats. Clearly, rain and mosquitoes hardly existed at all
until a month after the human epidemic began. (ref)
Many citizens did not see a single mosquito until just after
the end of the NYC emergency aerial malathion application
program. (ref) When the epidemic began, the impression
was given by the media that the common house mosquito
population had exploded during the summer, concurrent with a
raging epidemic, when in fact neither was true.
Skewed
Epidemiology
The epidemiology
of West Nile virus encephalitis included crow deaths as a
dramatic and "commonsense" device to bolster WNV
oriented epidemiology, however, only crow deaths which
occurred near the human epidemic timeline were included. The
epidemiology omitted approximately 90%-97% of the crow deaths
(June/July), and thus the relation of bird deaths and
encephalitis to the record-high pollution. Also omitted, by
definition, were human neurological diseases prior to August
1. (ref)
Also omitted was
the toxicology of the encephalitis victims (crows and
humans), lab tests for traditional encephalitis viruses, and
the causal relation between toxins and virus proliferation.
The epidemiology was fully skewed towards avian/mosquito
virus theory. The non-avian causal viruses, i.e., the
traditional encephalitis viruses (echovirus, coxsackievirus,
poliovirus) were apparently not tested, (ref) even though encephalitis can usually be
associated with many viruses. (ref) (ref)
Historically, it is a rare encephalitis case that has not
been claimed to be causally associated with an enterovirus.
Such enterovirus causality is a possibility within orthodoxy.
(ref)
Epidemic
Contradictions
Only 7.7% (newer data states 13%) of the massive bird die off has been
associated with WNV (percent of tested birds in year 2000,
NYS). Labeling WNV causative contradicts basic epidemiology
and commonsense which states that the supposed causal factor
must be found in all cases of an epidemic event. Modern
virology stretches this, allowing "most cases".
Obviously WNV, if anything, is not even that.
In 1999, five
(some reports say 4), mostly elderly persons, died in New
York City. On the basis of two vague seropositive
identifications (using the most general antibody reaction
test, ELISA) of a flavivirus from octogenarians, the aerial
pesticide program began -- only hours after the second
seropositive, without a certainty of virus identity. (ref) Amazed New Yorkers watched the
headlines as the identity of the causal virus was changed
from SLE, to West-Nile-like, to West Nile, to Kunjin and back
to West Nile within the first 3 weeks of the epidemic. Before
the spray program ended the news had settled on the virus
"mystery" with rumors involving Plum Island,
Saddam Hussein, and the CIA.
Information
regarding the encephalitis victims is difficult to find,
their identity has been secreted along with their clinical
data, however, The New York Times did print a
"common thread": elderly, minor health problems,
outdoors type, and no recent travel. Most lived or spent most
of their time in Northern Queens, and some others in the
South Bronx. (ref) Later
the NYSDOH described the health problems: Three were taking
immunosuppressant drugs as part of ongoing cancer therapy and
one was diagnosed with HIV. (ref)
Because other flaviviruses, never previously associated with human death, and
things other than WNV, can also cause an ELISA seropositive (ref), the aerial malathion spray program
over NYC was invoked, therefore, with the knowledge that the
unidentified virus may have been harmless, mild, inactive, or
unknown. The dominant virus (in terms of "percentage
identity", Lipkin) in the persons that died of
"West Nile encephalitis" was actually the Kunjin
virus, a virus which has never been associated with human
death. Three viruses, all flaviviruses, were associated with
4 of the reported 5 WNV deaths, which have been now been
rephrased as 4 WNV deaths in some reports. (ref) Frequently promoted is the idea that
all three rare viruses arrived for the first time in New York
City, although SLE had a minor historical mention in New York
State several decades ago.
There were many
more dangerous ongoing epidemics in New York at the time of
the West Nile "epidemic". It is clearly strange
that it could have generated such media attention, a
political and media freeze, and war-like mobilization. (ref)
In 1999 the West Nile was
claimed to be a new virus in the U.S. in order to explain WNV
as causative for the unprecedented number of bird deaths
though this virus has not previously been hunted in the U.S.
A year later, July 2000, the expected nation-wide epidemic
has not happened. According to the principle of an epidemic,
Farr's Law, that an epidemic expands exponentially through susceptibles, one would expect the virus to be spreading
outward from NYC throughout the U.S. to all other WNV-naive
regions, killing billions of birds and some elderly humans.
Yet, this is not the case, to date there is no continuance.
Viruses
and Toxins
It is well
established (but not well known) that toxic environments
increase viral activity and that viruses can often be viewed
as manifestations of toxicity rather than cause of disease. (ref) One percent of the human genome (DNA)
is dedicated to endogenous virus proliferation which normally
occurs during environmental stress or illness. (ref) Thus, even in virus-biased
epidemiology, toxicology should be included.
Toxicology is
strong with regard to the West Nile epidemic -- it could even
override a cofactor theory. The correlations of ozone with
disease events are tight (one day, or hours), and thus a
paradox arises when one considers the incubation period
required for the virus to bring its population to a quantity
sufficient to manifest disease symptoms.
An analysis of
NYSDEC Wildlife pathologist Ward Stone's "West Nile
Database" demonstrates a near perfect correlation
between West Nile virus positives and RFG/MTBE gasoline
categories, county by county (ref).
The WNV has been
described as having an unusually short incubation period of
3-6 days (in3)
whereas most RNA viruses have a 6-7 day incubation period. (in6) Another report, regarding New York
City West Nile encephalitis, reports
5-15 days. (in5)
Other discrepancies can be
found among reports touting electromicroscopic photos of West
Nile virus: One shows the virus to be 35nm to 40 nm in
diameter and another shows it to be 50 nm -- which calculates
to twice the mass. This is paradoxical because virus species
are defined as highly specific nucleic acid structures of
fixed length and weight, encapsulated in a specific protein
structure. Measurements are precise because they are derived
from electron microscope photographs which provides an exact
enlargement.
The West Nile virus has
never been isolated in its purified state, so there remains
doubt that the highly-amplified (via PCR), genetically
identified, genomic entity actually exists as a tangible and
active virus -- as the single, causative virus for the
encephalitis epidemic. Its character, activity remain in
doubt due to lack of quantitative evidence. (ref)
Even if we assume virus
causality, the impure isolation leaves doubt regarding the
identify of the causal viral genome. Testing is limited in
that it is necessarily specific, it is not a scan for all
possible types of viruses. The viruses and virus families to
be tested for are dictated by the epidemiology which had
assumed an arbovirus because of the crow deaths, and assumed
to be WNV because the primary human susceptibles were not
children as is usually found with CNS disease epidemics.
Epidemiology overlooked, however, the fact that most of the
bird deaths were of the young (Dr. Charos), and that the
young and the elderly are susceptible to neurotoxins.
Because the isolation is
not pure, containing cellular material, possibly other
viruses, and unknown genomic structures, then the specific
tests can at best only confirm or reject the assumptions of
the arbovirus-chasing epidemiology. PCR can multiply genomic
structures a billion times or so in order to identify a
suspected virus and yet not return a tangible quantitative
value regarding the original virus being amplified. The PCR
technicians amplified the said NYC WNV genomic entity
repeatedly, through 40 cycles. Generally, with PCR technique,
a low amplification per cycle can be 60% and a high number of
cycles can be 35. This calculates to a huge exponentially
amplified end-product which can used for genetic
fingerprinting, i.e., matching with the cataloged WNV virus
genome descriptions at GeneBank. It is clear that WNV has not
presented itself as a substantial entity.
There are no conclusive
quantitative studies regarding NYC WNV according to the Ft.
Collins laboratories as of April 2000. Without quantity the
virus identity remains a mere anecdote, not a proof of
disease cause.
The predominantly
identified virus found by Dr. Lipkin in 4 NYC human dead was
the Kunjin virus, not previously associated with human death.
WNV was not described re the 5th victim, though clinically
and epidemiologically this 5th victim fit the description of
the WNV encephalitis.
The problem of quantity
has also been the Achilles' Heel of arguments for HIV
causality. Molecular biologists have compared the chemistry
of many viruses and devised a dendogram (tree diagram)
describing the line of structural evolution. WNV and HIV are
both shown as similarly removed from the line of classical
virus evolution. (_____)
Summary
and Conclusion
The thousands of
crows that died with neurological disease symptoms in the New
York City region during the summer of 1999 were young crows,
not adult crows (cyc) -- inexperienced crows which could not
easily establish themselves in prime, environmentally safe
territories. They must compete for territory and they are not
migratory. (yct) Generally, crows have a wide variety of
nutritional options, they can live off roadkill, and as such
have evolved a strong immune system in terms of viruses and
bacteria. Crows would thus be the last kind of animal to die
of a virus and the first to die of industrial toxins. (cst) During the same week that the NYC was
declaring the West Nile emergency the NYSDEC was preparing to
release autopsy reports that indicated toxic-cause for the
crow deaths, but these were then promptly held back. (ada) Because crows are not migratory they
would be the last birds to be exposed to the West Nile virus,
which is a mild virus, not usually known to kill birds. (wnn)
These crows (and
human encephalitis victims) died in one of the world's major
industrial areas during a period of record-high CNS
disease-causing photochemical pollution, which included
tremendous amounts of the most highly produced neurotoxin in
the world, MTBE -- along with other dangerous petroleum
fractions such as benzene. The tri-state region is ranked
nationally as containing nearly the most neurotoxic
atmosphere (ozone, photochemical smog) in the nation, based
on EPA ozone measurements from 1996-1998. 1999 was at the
highest levels since the late 1980s. The epicenter of the
crow and human deaths occurred within the highest
atmospherically polluted areas within this industrial region,
downwind from the heavily polluted SE Bronx, La Guardia
Airport, near a conflux of 4 expressways running from the New
York boroughs and Long Island to the Bronx via the Whitestone
Bridge. (wst) Similarly, other recent West Nile
epidemics occurred where there is extreme air pollution:
Volgograd (Russia), Bucharest (Romania), Haifa (Israel).
These areas with oil refineries and steel mills.
The massive crow
deaths of 1999 didn't occur in the remote mountains of
Vermont. Scientific descriptions of the epidemic are profuse
with technical laboratory details (tdt), however, they are minimal and obtuse
with regard to environmental descriptions. (end)
When the
statistician, Dr. Jay Gould, analyzed the Vital
Statistics and correlated them with nuclear accidents
(atmospheric plutonium pollution), he discovered data
corruption and coverup by the government. Some of Gould's
evidence included massive young bird deaths. The
rationalization postulated by Gould for the coverup is the
existence of antiquated national defense secrecy laws which
have been needlessly extended to the utility industry (ref). Apparently no such rationalization
exists for the petroleum and automotive industries (although
air toxicology is handled under the Office of Air and
Radiation) , however, the education and lobbying of
scientific, medical, government, and media personnel
continues to be overwhelmingly dominated by industrial
interests. (tdc)
There has been opposition
to the spray programs. People have become aware of the
dangers (see NY Post cartoon 7/25/00) despite Mayor Giuliani's
blinding mantra "Pesticides are
harmless" (ref) (ref) Thanks to
the work of
environmentalists such as the NoSpray
Coalition, it's
coordinator Mitchel Cohen, environmental lawyer Joel
Kupferman, and others. Many activists are Green Party
members. With the lawyer Karl Coplan and aide Albert Strazza,
both of Pace University, a suit has
been filed in order to stop the pesticide spraying. Joyce
Shephard in Bayside with
Richard Janniccio have worked hard. Elizabeth
Shanklin of the Riverdale
Greens has organized tremendous speaking tours to every
community board in New York City. Dr. Joel Popson and Dr.
Adrienne Buffalo have had the courage to speak of the dangers
of pesticides. Lynn Gannett and
David Crowe have done much virological research in line with
the concepts of virologist Stefan Lanka. Robert Lederman has continued to detail the weekly events with
his media appearance and news articles. Al Sharpton was one
of the few prominent politicians willing to support the
anti-pesticide movement.
These people and others
have done much to educate the public, raising their voices
when most of the medicos, politicos, and major environmental
groups have been quiet. Curtis
Cost and Valerie
Shepherd (deceased) have been strong
organizers and publicists. www.chem-tox.com has been a source of data regarding
pesticide/disease. Florida State epidemiologist Dr. Omar
Shafey found employment difficult after he attempted to
release his unfavorable report on the malathion spray
programs which the state of Florida had hired him to
evaluate. Toxicologist, Dr. Simon, authoritatively spoke of
the dangers of malathion and its byproduct malaoxin. Several
radio stations such as WBAI have allowed the activists a
voice. Much of this work is listed on www.garynull.com. The Audubon Society (national and New York
State) has worked with the NoSpray Coalition to bring an end
to the pesticide spraying. Groups such as NYCAP, SAFE, NCAMP, The NY League
For Conservation Voters, and
others have worked to end the pesticide spraying.
It was surprising, at the
commencement of the spray campaign, when the Audubon Society,
Sierra Club and other established environmental groups did not (apparently)
respond vigorously, if at all, against the spray campaign. They didn't reply to my inquiries, as I
initially assumed they would be a source of political direction regarding the helicopters
spraying malathion throughout NYS.
