“Harmful if inhaled. Avoid breathing vapor or spray mist.” Not the warning you might expect on a chemical soon to be sprayed over extensive areas around San Francisco. According to StopTheSpray.org, the pesticides currently used (CheckMate OLR-F and LBAM-F) have only undergone short-term tests on rats and rabbits. The manufacturer states, “Long-term studies on the active ingredients have not been done, however, no adverse effects expected.”
The state agriculture department plans to use airplanes at night this summer to spray a farm pesticide over urban San Francisco, Marin County and the East Bay, intending to eradicate a potentially destructive moth.
The little-known proposal to wipe out the light brown apple moth, which if it became established could destroy the region’s agricultural industry, has developed increasing opposition among some residents who fear for their health.
Hundreds of people whose homes and yards were sprayed in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties from September to December have filed reports that said the pesticide seems to have caused coughing, wheezing, muscle aches and headaches, among other symptoms. Continued at SF Chronicle.
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Official plan @ CDFA.