Airborne Pesticides

Re Times coverage of the recently released report by CalPIRG & CPR, “Poisoning the Air: Airborne Pesticides in California.”

Of course the Department of Pesticide Regulation, Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner and Farm Bureau will continue to try to convince the general public that pesticides are necessary and are not a danger to us.

Their comments that this report is using scare tactics and that the scientific information lacks foundation is what they want us to believe. They probably believe it themselves, because the chemical companies have such lobbying power and subsidize the use of pesticides. They have convinced farmers that they cannot farm without pesticides and that pesticides are safe.

When will we learn? For so many years the tobacco industry told us that there was no danger in smoking tobacco and that the scientific tests were not conclusive. The same was said for lead; we were told that certain levels would not be toxic. As time went on it was learned that tobacco is harmful to human health and that no amount of lead is safe for people.

How many children will we allow to be poisoned because their school happens to sit amid agricultural fields? When teachers and students complain of illness they aren’t taken seriously, and teachers risk being ostracized or losing their job if they pursue looking into pesticide-induced illnesses.

If you want to see exactly which pesticides and what amounts are being used near the school your children attend, you can search the Environmental Working Group’s Web page at www.ewg.org. Most schools in Ventura County are affected.

Another report that is important to look at is the health study on Lompoc, an agricultural area very much like ours. It can be found at www.calepa.cahwnet.gov/oehha/docs/lompocrnr.htm.

I am not giving this information as a scare tactic. I want to give this information to other parents, like myself, who are concerned for their children’s future. If you want more information you may also contact CCAAPP--Community & Children’s Advocates Against Pesticide Poisoning--at 654-4186.

LYNDA UVARI, Ventura