Countywide : Malathion Spraying May Face Obstacles

Malathion-laden helicopters are scheduled to take to the air again tonight to spray parts of Garden Grove, Westminster and seven other cities in an effort to wipe out the Mediterranean fruit fly.

But pilots face two potential obstacles before their 9 p.m. takeoff: high winds and legal challenges.

Agriculture officials say winds of more than five m.p.h. could jeopardize the malathion application because of the possibility that the pesticide mixture could be blown beyond the target area.

Lawyers for the cities of Huntington Beach, Garden Grove and Westminster, meanwhile, are to return to Sacramento Superior Court in another bid to ground the helicopters. The attorneys failed in a similar challenge late last month but say they now have new evidence to make their case--including the disclosure in depositions from a helicopter pilot that the Crystal Cathedral was left out of the spray area last time around because of an outdoor event there.

This will be the second spraying for the 36-square-mile spray region following the discovery of two medflies in the area--one in Westminster on Dec. 7 and one in Garden Grove on Jan. 10. Malathion opponents plan another demonstration scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Garden Grove and Harbor boulevards.

Agricultural officials, under increasing pressure to halt aerial spraying of malathion, said Wednesday that tests will be conducted in spray areas to demonstrate that malathion is safe. Some monitoring will occur in Orange County spray areas, but officials were not sure whether the testing would begin there tonight.

In Stanton, the City Council voted 3 to 2 this week in favor of a resolution urging the state to halt malathion spraying until more research can be performed on the health effects of the pesticide. Similar resolutions have been passed by most of the 12 Orange County cities involved in the medfly campaign.

“In our last meeting, someone brought in a bottle of malathion,” Stanton Councilman David John Shawver said. “It says on the label, ‘do not inhale.’ Well, if that is the case, I can’t justify spraying it.”

A copy of the resolution will be sent to the cities of Garden Grove, Huntington Beach and Westminster.