Here is a Facebook post by Natasha Marie Agramonte in response to the Miami New Times article by Jerry Iannelli Pesticide Sprayed Over Wynwood Is Banned in Europe, May Also Harm Fetuses
Since part of my PhD deals with mosquito insecticides and I have Miami friends that have expressed concerns, I feel I should clarify a few things:
No, the use of Naled (active ingredient dibrom) should not be a concern. Organophosphates are more toxic than some other classes of insecticides, however, they range in their toxicity to humans and Naled is one of the less toxic OP’s along with malathion, which is why it is often used for mosquito control. The comparison to the neurotoxin sarin either a misunderstanding of the science or a scare tactic.
The article cites the use of Bti, which has a low toxicity to humans, however, because the spread of Zika is an immediate public health concern, the adult mosquitoes must be killed quickly to reduce transmission. Killing the mosquito larvae will not help with the immediate threat.
Also, OP’s are 10-100x more toxic to mosquitoes, and because mosquitoes are also smaller in size (this matters because toxicity is rated by amount of chemical per kg of organism), then the concentrations they are spraying aren’t a concern.
Incidentally, because of the Puerto Rican protests about these chemicals and their lax attitude to Zika in general, they are experiencing a huge outbreak right now compared to Florida.
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