City of Sedona Herbicide Spraying Statement
(Delivered to the Sedona City
Council by Carol Grohs, 5/1/06)
Thank
you for this opportunity to voice my concerns to the council. I have spoken previously to Dan Neimy, Charles Mosley and Ernie Strauch,
and would now like to make the following points in response to the
recommendations the Public Works Department will be making regarding the use of
herbicides in the city’s weed control program.
- The recommendations imply that only individuals
with disabling chemical sensitivities are adversely affected by exposure
to herbicides. However, herbicides
do not only harm disabled and health-challenged individuals. Herbicides also create them. Herbicides
also harm wildlife and damage the ecosystem.
- The three herbicides being used under the city’s
current contract are Pendulum Aqua Cap, Ranger Pro, and Mecamine D.
o Pendulum Aqua Cap: Pendimethalin,
N-Cl-Ethylpropyl)-3, 4-Dimethyl-2
6-Dinitrobenzenanine
Pendulum
Aqua Cap contains as its active ingredient Pendimethalin,
which, despite conspicuous gaps in the data, is known to be extremely toxic to
fish and other aquatic organisms. It has
also been found to cause central nervous system depression in mice and rats.
o Ranger Pro: glyphosate, isopropylamine salt
Ranger
Pro contains glyphosate, which is toxic to humans and
animals, and kills earthworms and fish. It has also been linked to cancer,
reproductive disorders and neurological conditions, among many other illnesses.
o Mecamine D: 2,4-D
(dimethylamine salt of 2,4 dichloro-phenoxyacetic
acid), dimethylamine salt of dicamba,
dimethylamine salt of 2-propionic acid
Mecamine
D contains 2,4-D,
a notorious endocrine disruptor which has been linked to breast cancer, birth
defects and central nervous system damage.
Both glyphosate and 2, 4-D are
known to bioaccumulate, which means that they affect
not only the individuals directly exposed, but their offspring as well.
- Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists (especially
those who travel with their windows open) and people who live or do
business near sprayed areas will be exposed to herbicides used for
roadside weed control. Public
notification, though essential to protect those of us with acute chemical
sensitivities, will not protect our basic right to use the road. Furthermore, it will not do enough to
protect the general public. Many
individuals are unaware of their own vulnerability to herbicides (and that
of their children) and therefore will be unlikely to make use of
notification services until they are already harmed.
- The creation of herbicide-free zones is simply
inadequate, in terms of both accommodation of the disabled and protection
of the general public.
- The statement that herbicides dry on the target
plant within three hours of application is highly misleading. Herbicides have been found to persist for
up to one year on soil surfaces, where they continue to volatize in
sunlight and can even be re-activated by rainfall.
- The statement that alternative methods of weed
control don’t “impact” the root of the target plant is also somewhat
misleading. Herbicide-free weed
control programs, once established, tend to emphasize prevention, making
this less and less of an issue.
Such programs also include mechanical methods, like pulling and
digging, which do indeed remove
the root, and are often performed by volunteers.
I respectfully request that
the council do all you can to fund an herbicide-free weed control program for
the City of Sedona. Such
programs are already in place in a growing number of progressive communities in
both the U.S. and Canada. As a Cornell University trained horticulturist I can confidently state that herbicides are
neither necessary nor desirable in any weed control program.
Finally, I urge you to bring
your best judgment and wisdom to bear on the Public Works Department’s
recommendation to, in quotes, “balance” the cost-effectiveness of herbicides
against the value of your own health and well-being, that of your fellows, and
that of future generations.
Thank you for your time.