Sierra Club Asks Halt to Spraying of Malathion

In the latest escalation of public debate over Mediterranean fruit fly eradication methods, the California division of the Sierra Club petitioned state officials Monday to halt aerial application of malathion over Southern California neighborhoods so that more research can be done on the pesticide.

Sierra Club California, the state’s largest environmental organization, with 14 chapters and 150,000 members, stated that it has not taken a position on whether the pesticide is safe but only that enough questions have been raised to warrant a stop to spraying until there is conclusive proof.

“We wanted to give the agriculture industry a fair chance,” said Joyce Coleman-Maginn, spokeswoman for the club. “But there is nothing we have been able to find out that says whether it is safe for aerial spraying. We just don’t know enough.”

Meanwhile, a new Medfly discovery could expand the spraying to Pomona, county agricultural officials said late Monday.

State and county agriculture officials, who have been battling the Medfly in Southern California since August, maintain not only that the spraying is safe, but that its continuation is crucial to the effort to rid California of a pest that could devastate the state’s farm industry.

In a statement released Monday, the Sierra Club called for new research on the short- and long-term effects of aerial spraying. In doing so, the influential organization lent its voice to what appears to be a growing movement of people opposed to aerial applications of pesticide.

“Until alternative methods are in place or the studies have been completed, we call on the California DFA (Department of Food and Agriculture) to declare a moratorium on aerial spraying of malathion over populated areas and to switch to alternative, safer and less intrusive methods,” the organization said.

The call for a moratorium came after a vote of the Sierra Club California’s executive board on Sunday.

Pat Minyard, emergency program supervisor of the Department of Food and Agriculture, called the Sierra Club’s demands unreasonable and potentially dangerous to agriculture. Minyard said previous studies have already shown malathion to be safe in the minute doses used in aerial spraying.

He added that to delay spraying now would only guarantee that the current infestation would spread throughout the state’s $5-billion fruit and nut industry.

“They’re being extremely shortsighted,” Minyard said. “If we stopped now, you would have the Medfly everywhere and there would be nothing you could do about it.”

Rick Hemb, the director of transportation and marketing services for the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, said the Sierra Club’s opposition threatens to further erode public support for spraying.

“Any opposition is significant,” he said. “This is a public relations battle at the current time. We’re really worried right now; there’s no question about it. With as much as we have on the line, we’re nervous and getting more nervous every day.”

But Hemb and Minyard both said they believe that opponents to spraying are still in the minority.

“Look, we’ve sprayed something like 750,000 residences,” Minyard said. “We got about 1 1/2, 2 million people. How many have we heard from? A few thousand? It’s a very small proportion.”

The Sierra Club’s announcement came on the same day that the Los Angeles City Council’s Arts, Health and Humanities Committee began the first of two public hearings on aerial malathion spraying.

Councilman Joel Wachs, chairman of the committee, said he convened the meeting to hear from state officials, scientists and residents about whether aerial spraying is safe. About 175 spectators and witnesses attended.

Wachs said he was disturbed that the state has proceeded with spraying without what he believes is conclusive scientific proof of the pesticide’s safety.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of recertifying the use of malathion for agricultural and home use. The agency’s review of the pesticide is expected to be completed by 1992.

Wachs asked state Department of Food and Agriculture Assistant Director Isi Siddiqui if the state would be willing to halt spraying until more conclusive studies were done.

“The area involved is so big,” Siddiqui said. “I’m not prepared to give you that hope.”

Councilwoman Gloria Molina said she also was concerned about what she perceived as an attitude by the state of “thumbing its nose at us.”

“I think we are entitled to know how long this is going to go on for and when are you going to give up,” Molina said. “We need assurances from government that if the spraying has not eradicated the fly by mid-March or mid-April that they will stop.”

Wachs said the committee will hold the second hearing in a few weeks and will make a recommendation for action to the full council.

The current infestation covers 372 square miles in Los Angeles and Orange counties--the largest in Southern California’s history.

The cities of Garden Grove, Huntington Beach and Westminster filed suit seeking a court order to stop aerial spraying within their boundaries, but it was rejected by a Sacramento judge.

In Pomona, immature male and female Medflies were captured over the weekend on the Cal Poly campus, prompting “a saturation of trapping” to get more information before deciding the next move, county agriculture commissioner’s spokeswoman Anita Brown said Monday evening.

“Traditionally, this would trigger a (spraying),” she said. “We’re looking for evidence of a breeding population. But in light of the fact that there are so many eradication activities going on, we’re trying to take a closer look. We expect to make a call, one way or the other, in the not-too-distant future.”

MEDFLY SPRAYING MAP: B2.