WARNING! Nashville "Health" Department's new 2008
mosquito control policy ALLOWS SPRAY TRUCK DRIVERS TO LEAVE THE SPRAY
ON WHEN PEDESTRIANS ARE PRESENT and the removes opt out rights. Click here for details! The department is aware of at least 7 pedestrians who report symptoms and has had 2 lawsuits against them for serious injuries. While many other citizens reported symptoms while in the "safety" of their homes. This
policy is unreasonable, risks our health, and does not comply with the law. We are taking legal action however in the meantime, make sure to sign up for spraying notification (click here).
Attorneys have told us that any pedestrian who is sprayed should file a police report. This creates a record.
CLICK HERE FOR TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY AND WHAT TO DO IN A
SPRAYING EMERGENCY.
If you see a driver with the spray on near pedestrians:
Try to document with photo/video without exposing yourself to the pesticide. Write down location & description of the
truck or driver. If it is safe and you are able, see if victim/s need assistance. Report to us immediately by phone 327-8515!
If you are a victim (do the above plus):
File a police report!
If you have symptoms seek medical attention, let them know you were exposed to Anvil 2+2, save clothing in plastic bag, & ask for a blood test to show pesticide levels. See our link on spraying emergencies.
This picture shows a Metro Public
Health Department spray truck driver John Primm in a North Nashville neighborhood
on June 15, 2006 violating the policy they USED to have to shut off the pesticide (called Anvil 2+2)
when people are present in their front yards. Despite a multitude of
complaints from citizens from 2003-2006, Health officials have denied ANY driver
has EVER left the spray running in the presence of pedestrians.
One man from Fisk Park said, "I don't think they'd get way with spraying the
children in Belle Meade like they did in our neighborhood." READ ABOUT HOW SPRAY TRUCK DRIVERS LEFT CHILDREN AND OTHER PEDESTRIANS IN A CLOUD OF PESTICIDE ON JULY
31, 2006 in North Nashville.
The EPA does not
allow manufacturers or distributors to say that any pesticide is safe, yet health
officials in Nashville make these claims constantly. An EPA representitive even called a staff member in 2005 and told him to stop making these blanket claims - it made no difference.
Hear their Public Information Officer Brian Todd
talk about how the strength of the pesticide could be increased by 80,000 times
and still be SAFE!" This is one small example of the
irresponsible and unethical behavior that has been allowed at the Metro Public
Health Department.
View it, click
here!
Why are they being contacted by the EPA in 2008? Click
here.
WHAT IS THE RISK OF GETTING WEST NILE VIRUS IN MIDDLE
TENNESSEE AND DOES SPRAYING HELP? Middle Tennessee
has had a total of 15 human cases of West Nile virus since 2002. 9 were in
2002 and 2003. Many counties around us had no mosquito control during those years
and did not have significantly higher incidences of disease. There have been over
30 victims of pesticide spraying including two people who lost lung capacity when
they were sprayed at close range.
NO SPRAY DOES NOT MEAN NO
MOSQUITO CONTROL!
Cities that elected to use safer methods of mosquito
control have controlled mosquitoes and West Nile virus as well as those that have
sprayed. (See our
comparative analysis.) So, if there are less toxic and less
costly methods available that are equally as effective, why would our city
spray our neighborhoods with pesticide?
DOES "NO SPRAY" MEAN NEVER, EVER SPRAY?
Absolutely not. There may be
emergencies where spraying is an appropriate response. We want criteria to
establish what constitutes an emergency based on diseased mosquitoes and human
disease cases and scientific protocol to outline exactly how the spraying will be
done. In 2002, Memphis had a small area in the downtown area that was responsible
for a large percentage of the state's West Nile virus cases. This is a good
example of an emergency.
No Spray Nashville is working to bring RESPONSIBLE MOSQUITO CONTROL to
Nashville! Learn about successful models in
other cities, local scientists who are
speaking out, and how failure by our Health Department to act responsibly when
they use a toxic substance could hurt your health and does hurt our wallets. To
date, 26 people have been injured and sickened from the spraying.
FACT: The two most common mosquitoes in Tennessee that carry West Nile
virus (Culex pipien and Culex quinquefasciatus) have a flight range of 1/4 to 1/2
mile from their breeding grounds according to John D. Hopkins of the University
of Arkansas. The most effective mosquito control
method is to eliminate standing water close to your home!
"INGREDIENTS OF THE PESTICIDE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT SPRAYS ARE KNOWN
ENDOCRINE DISTRUPTORS AND A MUTAGEN," said Vanderbilt scientist (who teaches
an advanced class on Environmental Toxins and has been a cancer researcher for
over 30 years) to the Board of Health (April 2005) Read his letters to the board. See
latest news about studies about breast cancer and environmental risks. (This
link was sent to us by this concerned Vanderbilt scientist.)
OTHER LOCAL SCIENTISTS SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND
CONCERN. See video footage!
Read about LAWSUITS
connected to the spraying issue.
Does this upset you? Click here to take
action.
We suggest you at least read the links at the bottom of the page numbered
1-3 so you will have the critical information you need to decide what risks you
are willing to take.
