When questioned about the health effects of the chemical aerial spraying of California for the light brown apple moth, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Public Health Department have said: health effects could not be predicted because the Bay Area’s population includes sensitive groups such as children, the elderly, and people with chronic disease.

This article attempts to offer a rough prediction of chemical exposure based on U.S. Census Bureau population statistics for the SF Bay Area and the Monterey Bay Area. We need to make it clear that we are private citizens, not professional statisticians. This is our attempt to understand the health math of the aerial spraying of California by the California Department of Agriculture. We welcome corrections and suggestions.

In 2007, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties were sprayed with a combination of known carcinogens, mutagens, and other toxins encapsulated in particulate plastic. Here are some stats:

Total Population of These 2 Counties = 659,911
Total Number of Children in These 2 Counties = 170,790
Total Number of Women in These 2 Counties = 321,500
Total Number of Seniors in These 2 Counties = 66,739

Following the spraying, approximately 650 people reported illnesses which are slated as documented effects of the chemicals which were sprayed on them. We emphasize the word reported because experts suggest that reported illnesses only represent a very small portion of the population that was actually sickened. Many citizens, because of lack of health care or other issues, likely failed to seek medical help or to report symptoms.

The numbers say that, of the total population of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties (659,911), .1% of the population registered sickness from the spraying (approximately 650 people).

Applying These Numbers to the Total Population Scheduled to be Sprayed in 2008
Here are the population statistics for the seven counties CDFA intends to spray beginning in the summer of 2008, every 30 days for an undisclosed number of years.

Alameda County:
Total Population: 1,457,426
Women: 737,457
Children: 355,611
Seniors: 154,487

Contra Costa County:
Total Population: 1,024,319
Women: 521,378
Children: 255,055
Seniors: 117,796

Marin County:
Total Population: 248,742
Women: 124,868
Children: 49,250
Seniors: 37,062

Monterey County:
Total Population: 410,206
Women: 196,898
Children: 114,857
Seniors: 41,020

San Francisco County:
Total Population: 744,041
Women: 424,847
Children: 110,118
Seniors: 110,118

San Mateo County:
Total Population: 705,499
Women: 354,865
Children: 163,675
Seniors: 81,132

Santa Cruz County:
Total Population: 249,705
Women: 124,602
Children: 55,933
Seniors: 25,719

It is the intention of the CDFA to spray the above at-risk populations with their toxic chemical compound. Because of the documented drift of aerially-sprayed pesticides, it is logical to expect that the total population of the San Francisco Bay Area will be affected – a population totaling approximately 7 million people. (See more information on pesticide drift.)

Who is at Risk?

Women
The women of the Monterey Bay Area were sprayed with 2-hydroxy-4-n-octyloxybenzothenone. This is a xenochemical known to cause breast cancer. This means that the CDFA exposed 321,500 women to a known breast cancer causing substance. The SF Bay Area has an approximate population of 7 million people. There are approximately 3,500,000 women living in the area set to be sprayed in 2008. This means that, unless CDFA is stopped, 3,500,000 women will be exposed to a substance known to cause breast cancer.

Children
Of the total population of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, 170,790 are children. The substance sprayed in 2007 on the children contained known carcinogens, tumorigens and mutagens – substances known to cause cell mutation and cancer. It is disastrous, healthwise, for growing children to be exposed to substances that cause growth mutations. Of the 7 million people living in the SF Bay Area, 1,100,000 are children. This means that the CDFA intends to expose more than a million children to known cancer-causing substances.

Seniors
Of the total populations of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, 66,739 are seniors over the age of 65. As we age, our bodies’ abilities to fight off illnesses lessens because our immune systems are also aging. CDFA exposed 66,739 seniors to particulate plastic, carcinogens and other toxins in these two counties in 2007, doubtless decreasing health and life expectancy. Of the 7 million people living in the SF Bay Area, 800,000 are seniors. This means that CDFA intends to spray 800,000 elders with substances that cause respiratory failure and cancer.

Chemically Sensitive & AutoImmune Deficient Citizens
Unfortunately, this group of at-risk citizens is, perhaps, the most poorly documented and understood of all of the groups. We were unable to find reliable numbers for how many Monterey Bay Area and SF Bay Area people are currently suffering from conditions such as:

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Endometriosis
Lung Disease
Cancer
Asthma

Common sense says that combined populations for these conditions must total in the thousands, possibly millions, and exposure to the chemicals and particulate plastic contained in the aerial spray compound may cause serious injury or fatality to these especially vulnerable citizens.

Tourists and Commuters
In addition to actual residents of the spray zones are the millions of tourists who visit the coastal regions of California annually, as well as all of the commuters who will be working in the sprayed counties five days a week during normal business hours. All of these people will be exposed to the spray as it hangs in the air and pollutes the water and soil for years to come.

What These Numbers Mean To Citizens and Health Care Professionals

Returning to the figure of .1% reported illnesses in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties following the 2007 spraying, we can apply this ratio to the SF Bay Area with its population of 7 million people.

If .1% of the population report immediate health damage from the spraying in 2008, this will be an estimated total of 7000 reports of symptoms of pesticide poisoning including:

  • Respiratory difficulty or failure
  • Skin rashes
  • Eye and skin irritation
  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Disorientation
  • Psychotic and violent behaviors
  • Vomiting and Gastrointestinal disorders
  • Listlessness and Fatigue
  • Sinus ailments and nosebleeds
  • Sore throats
  • Swollen glands
  • Primary asthma attacks
  • Recommencement of menstruation in menopausal women

Because the CDFA has not disclosed the complete list of ingredients in the biochemical compound they intend to spray on the 7 million people of the SF Bay Area, predictions for other immediate health damages can not be made at this time. The above symptoms are the documented effects known to be caused by the chemicals that were sprayed in 2007. The ingredients perfectly match the symptoms experienced in the Monterey region following the spray.

Bay Area doctors will know better than we do whether our clinics and hospitals are prepared to treat 7,000 cases of pesticide poisoning in August of 2008. We are unaware of what services are in place to meet a public health epidemic of these proportions.

It is also vital to note that the above data relates to immediate health damage only. The long term effects of repeat, chronic exposure to carcinogens over an undisclosed number of years will logically cause unprecedented rates of cancer and other fatal illnesses in the coming decades.

* Please, again note that the above figures relate to reported illnesses, and do not accurately reflect the number of humans who will actually be sickened by the spray. It is impossible to accurately predict the drop in school and work attendance that will follow the 2008 spraying due to unreported ill health. It is also impossible for us to predict the burden that will be put on the shoulders of the emergency medical practitioners, fire department, police force, and other public service agencies after the airplanes begin spewing toxins over the areas set to be sprayed beginning in June of 2008. It is logical to predict that many of our public servants will also be sick and unable to go to work, creating an unthinkable situation of disaster.

In Summary
Unless they are halted, the California Department of Agriculture, at the invitation of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, intends to cause the following harms to the people of California:

3,500,000 women will be exposed to substances known to cause breast cancer.

1,100,000 growing children will be exposed to endocrine disrupters, particulate plastic, and carcinogens.

800,000 seniors will be exposed to known mutagens and tumorigens.

An undisclosed number of citizens attempting to survive multiple chemical sensitivities, auto immune diseases, and cancers will be exposed to multiple substances known to cause harm to human beings.

This is the health math that we have been able to do regarding CDFA’s plans to subject millions of U.S. citizens to chronic pesticide exposure. Civic government officials and private citizens are citing the actions of Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Department of Food and Agriculture as being in violation of the California Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, and the Nuremberg Code, which was created after World War II to protect humans from ever being experimented on again without their consent. Four bills and one measure calling for the cancellation of the plans to aerially spray the people of California are being presented to the Senate and numerous lawsuits against the State are in place.

Third party scientists and doctors are speaking in strong opposition to this completely unnecessary exposure of the public to known carcinogens. Please join us in placing priority on public health over international trade profit. Please act to protect California’s children, men, women, wildlife, and environment. Fight the spray.