Malathion Concerns
When I read the article “Malathion Opponents Smell a Rat” (April 27), I couldn’t help wondering how the state Department of Agriculture can justify spraying malathion over densely populated regions of Southern California. There is concern that the kangaroo rat, as an endangered species, would be in jeopardy of becoming extinct as a result of being sprayed directly or by eating plants and seeds that have been sprayed.
If malathion bait may not be safe for rodents, I wonder how the state can maintain that it is safe for humans. Homo sapiens probably won’t be an endangered species in the near future; perhaps that’s why elimination via potential chromosomal damage and future cancers is not an immediate concern. I smell some big rats, and I think their names are George Deukmejian, John Van de Kamp and Henry Voss.
MARY KELLY
Huntington Beach
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