Official Says Least Safe Thing About Malathion Is the Copter Spraying It

State Health Director Kenneth W. Kizer, trying to quiet fears in Southern California neighborhoods sprayed with malathion, said Tuesday that the risk of a helicopter crash is greater than any hazard from the pesticide.

Kizer said studies have shown repeatedly that the chemical being sprayed from the air to halt a Mediterranean fruit fly infestation does not pose a human health hazard.

“It is not viewed as having significant untoward health effects at the dose that is being used currently,” Kizer said. “The greatest acute health hazard that might be related to the spraying program is the risk of a helicopter crash that might occur--and not the chemical that is being used.”

In a separate effort to allay public concerns, Food and Agriculture Director Henry Voss promised to release the names of 16 heretofore-secret ingredients that make up 5% of the malathion potion used by the state. By late afternoon, however, the list had not been made public. These chemicals are in addition to the corn syrup bait used in the spraying program to attract the insects and had not been previously disclosed because they are trade secrets.

The comments from Voss and Kizer came at an unusual forum called to answer questions from legislators whose constituents have grown increasingly upset over the aerial spraying.

Democratic Assemblyman Richard Katz, whose home in Sylmar was sprayed Monday night, protested that residents are not given adequate notice of the spraying schedule and that a hot line to keep residents informed is usually busy.

And Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) questioned whether aerial spraying is needed in his district and whether the state could instead use sterile fruit flies.

Isi Siddiqui, assistant director of the Department of Food and Agriculture, said the department would prefer using sterile fruit flies after the first bombardment with malathion. But the Southern California infestation has become so large that the state cannot produce enough sterile insects for the entire area.

At the moment, he said, a laboratory in Hawaii is producing 100 million sterile fruit flies each week that are being released in parts of Los Angeles and at a separate infestation in Santa Cruz County. Shipments of up to 40 million more insects have arrived from Mexico.

But until another lab is completed in Hawaii this spring, there will not be enough flies for all of the infested regions, he said.

In a later interview, Siddiqui said a 36-mile spray area around Garden Grove and Westminster in Orange County would be “an excellent candidate” for replacing spraying with sterile Medflies once the new flies are ready. Just two fertile flies have been found in that area--and none in more than a month.

Siddiqui said he expects that the state can double its supply of sterile flies by “early May” and then quickly eliminate spraying for certain areas. Officials had previously said they planned to spray all the current Southland zones up to a dozen times, probably through June or July.

Kizer said: “Public anxiety . . . is being fueled by some inaccurate reports that sometimes border on being inflammatory in the public media. It is not viewed as a carcinogen or a teratogen--something that causes birth defects. The issue has been looked at and relooked at and relooked at. My staff feel very comfortable with regard to the safety of the product.”