I came home Friday and found an 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper folded up and stuck in my outdoor electrical outlet. It was a friendly message from Pied Piper Pest Control and it read:

“If you find this 48 hour delay in pest relief and accompanying proliferation of signage for a professional pesticide application absurd, please call/email the following persons.”  (Mayor Begich and Assembly members’ contact info was provided).

     The other side was devoted to the toxicity of a pesticide called Carbaryl and how you shouldn’t:

 “allow humans or pets on treated areas until spray has dried.  Keep out of fish ponds and other bodies of water.  Avoid contamination of human or animal feed/food.  Avoid direct contact to unprotected persons or animals during application.” 

     Yet there was no reference as to how long this toxic chemical would take to dry and what health hazards one would encounter if accidentally exposed to the chemical.  But for me, the humdinger was that one of the main headlines on the notice was: 

“IMPORTANT – IF YOUR PROPERTY IS LISTED BELOW, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO GUARANTEE THAT THIS NOTICE REMAIN IN PLACE UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER THE SERVICE OR FACE A $200.00 FINE!” 

     After reading this, I thought, first, they will be charging you a pretty penny to spray neurotoxic chemicals and, second, don’t take this notice down for two days or you will be fined.  Interesting.

     I appreciate knowing when companies are going to be spraying some toxic chemical within 150’ of my home.  However, this notice was more about encouraging people to complain about the “delay of pest relief” and scare the customers who have contracted for such services. 

     I was so irritated by the tone of this notification, I called Pied Piper Pest Control on Monday and spoke to Ken, the manager.  I thanked him for the notification and then stated I was disappointed with the tone of the notice and the lack of specific information about the chemical to be sprayed and how long it might take to dry.  He said that the drying time depended on the weather.  I asked him if he had any reports on how much Carbaryl drifts.  He stated he didn’t have any specific data.  He tried to assure me that because Carbaryl is a heavy droplet spray, it wouldn’t go far – but he couldn’t provide me with any data about the chemical.  And he’s the professional?

     I asked him about the sarcastic tone in the notice.  He reported that the municipality’s ordinance requiring 48-hour notice before application of neurotoxic pesticides was causing “an additional burden for his customers” and their phone was ringing off the hook with people “upset” about the notice.  I asked how many people had called.  He reported eight.  Hmmm ... ringing off the hook.  I asked what people were upset about.  He said most of them “were confused” by the notice.  Confused, not upset. I don’t blame them for being confused. 

     I asked him to describe the additional burden.  He said he was charging an extra $50.00 fee to notify neighbors of spraying.  They charge $24.57 per tree, plus the $50.00 to notify people.  Money, money, money…

     As I write this article, the House Finance Committee is scheduled to discuss HB 19, the Pesticide Right-To-Know bill that would require on-site notification when pesticides are applied in public places.  The staffer for Representative Kevin Meyer, the bill’s sponsor, reported the bill “was assured of passage” and should move out of the committee late this afternoon.  I went ahead and called all of the committee members requesting they support the bill.  Please call your Senator and urge her/him to support HB 19 as well.

     I’ve been studying the proliferation of pesticides in our daily lives for about 14 years.  It’s not a pretty picture.  “A Diet for a Poisoned Planet” by David Steinman is a valuable resource for people concerned about pesticide concentrations in our food supply.  Basing his recommendations on the Food and Drug Administration’s ongoing study called the Total Diet Study, Steinman ranked foods by "green light" (relatively unpolluted by pesticides and other toxic chemicals), "yellow light" (moderately polluted, to be eaten seldom), and "red light," (to be avoided completely, if possible).

     He is particularly good on fish. For instance, we find that cod from Canada, Denmark, Iceland, and New Zealand is virtually pollution-free, thus earning a green light; rock cod from California is moderately "saturated" with DDT, which gives it a yellow light; and cod from California and the Pacific Northwest is "saturated" with DDT and PCBs, eliciting the "red light" warning. Chub from the Great Lakes, says Steinman, "will expose you to more pollution in one meal than a careful shopper might be exposed to in a lifetime."  In Steinman’s view, "Consumers have been duped. They have been made the unwitting victims of low-level pesticide exposures." Over and over he warns, you must be responsible for the safety of your food. Government isn't.

     Pesticides are manufactured to be fat soluble to disrupt an insect’s nervous system (i.e. brain).  The human nervous system is composed of approximately 90% fat not to mention the rest of our cells are surrounded by a lipid membrane.  These neurotoxic chemicals can pass easily into our cells, creating mass chaos.  Steinman notes that certain foods like apples and peanuts had over 70 different pesticide residues found in them.  Foods high in fat, like dairy products and meats had higher concentrations of pesticides.

     The agrochemical industry doesn’t have to go through rigorous toxicity testing before they start marketing a new pesticide.  They can start spraying and if the FDA determines there might be a health risk, they start testing.   Plus, crops aren’t just treated with one chemical, a whole slew of “pest relief” products may be applied to one crop.  Money, money, money ...   

     Right now, the United States has the highest infant mortality and morbidity rates per capita in the world.  Childhood cancer rates are increasing.  In certain areas in our country, women must have their breast milk tested for toxicity before they can feed their babies.  Rachel Carson got it right over 40 years ago.  We are poisoning ourselves, our children, and the planet.

     So, Mr. Pied Piper, you can take your sarcastic “pest relief” notification and shove it up your greedy, tight ass.  I’ll be sure to bitch about your lack of concern for our planet with every person I talk to this summer and discourage anyone needing “pest relief” from contacting you.  Oh, and I’ll make sure to send lots of thank you notes to the Assembly and the Mayor for being so concerned about our health.  In the meantime, I will pray our children don’t disappear overnight, like the ones that followed your poison music many years ago.

For more information on what you can do to educate yourself about pesticides, go here:  http://www.organicconsumers.org/

Katy Parrish is a freelance writer and media activist who can be reached at takebackthemedia@hotmail.com.