Dear Editor,
I am outraged, but not surprised, to read that Dr Marion Bullock-DuCasse is contending that the chemical malathion that is used to attack people or "fog" the area is "safe".
According to her: "This is recognised on the safe list in terms of the international health organisation." That is the most you can say to reassure people, despite admitting that "it is a chemical and individuals react differently to chemicals; some have an allergic reaction, some might have respiratory irritation, but that does not mean it is something that is not safe for you and is not approved for you". In other words, it is being dismissed as just a "minor inconvenience" and citizens must get used to it.
I urge Dr Bullock-DuCasse to reflect on the implications of the above statement and then, perhaps, come to a decision as to whether she wishes to continue to promote herself as a doctor or person of science or, whether she shouldn't start wearing the real hat as a salesperson for chemicals.
Please allow me to inform everyone that, despite your safe label pronouncement, malathion is an organophosphate that can cause neurological damage and is considered carcinogenic by scientists who have carried out studies.
Had anyone taken the time to peruse the Internet, for example, he/she would discover that the US Environmental Protection Agency has taken the position that there is "suggestive evidence" that malathion causes cancer. And, that recent studies provide even stronger evidence that commercial malathion insecticide caused breast cancer in laboratory animals, and malathion use by farmers is associated with an increased incidence of a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma -- a type of cancer.
The policy of the Ministry of Health of indiscriminate spraying of people -- not to mention the potential damage to bees and the water supply -- is in itself wicked, given the known health risks of malathion. It cannot be a defence that you keep yourself blissfully ignorant.
I therefore urge the ministry to revisit this matter. I urge that, despite your awful powers to legally and lethally attack people with chemicals, you have a moral duty to at least inform them as to when you intend to carry out your attacks. Unless, of course, your commitment to elsewhere and others is irreversible and the people be damned.
Lloyd D'Aguilar
lgdaguilar@yahoo.com
Chemicals used in fogging are not safe
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I am outraged, but not surprised, to read that Dr Marion Bullock-DuCasse is contending that the chemical malathion that is used to attack people or "fog" the area is "safe".
According to her: "This is recognised on the safe list in terms of the international health organisation." That is the most you can say to reassure people, despite admitting that "it is a chemical and individuals react differently to chemicals; some have an allergic reaction, some might have respiratory irritation, but that does not mean it is something that is not safe for you and is not approved for you". In other words, it is being dismissed as just a "minor inconvenience" and citizens must get used to it.
I urge Dr Bullock-DuCasse to reflect on the implications of the above statement and then, perhaps, come to a decision as to whether she wishes to continue to promote herself as a doctor or person of science or, whether she shouldn't start wearing the real hat as a salesperson for chemicals.
Please allow me to inform everyone that, despite your safe label pronouncement, malathion is an organophosphate that can cause neurological damage and is considered carcinogenic by scientists who have carried out studies.
Had anyone taken the time to peruse the Internet, for example, he/she would discover that the US Environmental Protection Agency has taken the position that there is "suggestive evidence" that malathion causes cancer. And, that recent studies provide even stronger evidence that commercial malathion insecticide caused breast cancer in laboratory animals, and malathion use by farmers is associated with an increased incidence of a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma -- a type of cancer.
The policy of the Ministry of Health of indiscriminate spraying of people -- not to mention the potential damage to bees and the water supply -- is in itself wicked, given the known health risks of malathion. It cannot be a defence that you keep yourself blissfully ignorant.
I therefore urge the ministry to revisit this matter. I urge that, despite your awful powers to legally and lethally attack people with chemicals, you have a moral duty to at least inform them as to when you intend to carry out your attacks. Unless, of course, your commitment to elsewhere and others is irreversible and the people be damned.
Lloyd D'Aguilar
lgdaguilar@yahoo.com
Chemicals used in fogging are not safe
-->