Does A.G. Kawamura have a hard time telling the truth? What about other CDFA officials?

With the health and safety of millions of people at stake, these are an important questions. Concerned citizens want to know and have brought the following points to my attention.

Read the statements in question. Would A.G. Kawamura lie to you? You decide.

1. In a CBS Channel 5 report on April 16, 2008, Ag. Secretary A.G. Kawamura said that Dr. James Carey is not an entomologist.

Fact: Dr. Carey is a professor of entomology at UC Davis and is widely considered an expert in insect demography. He has written and edited several books on the subject.

2. In another CBS Channel 5 report on May 1, Secretary Kawamura said he is “absolutely certain” the inert ingredients in the sprays used to eradicate the light brown apple moth are safe.

Fact: How can he know this for sure, since there have been no inhalation studies and no long-term health studies? Also, OEHHA officials have said they cannot be certain, and Dr. Rich Kreutzer, chief of environmental health for the California Department of Public Health, said in a February 27 AP news report, “I will never be able to say there is nobody who would be affected.”

3. In the same CBS 5 report on May 1, Kawamura says that particles sized 10 microns do not reach a person’s lung tissue.

Fact: The American Lung Association says, “The ones of most concern are small enough to lodge deep in the lungs where they can do serious damage. They are measured in microns. The largest of concern are 10 microns in diameter (PM10). (Dangers from PM10 include) death from respiratory and cardiovascular causes, including strokes.”

4. A.G Kawamura and CDFA have repeatedly described the light brown apple moth as a dangerous pest that does damage to agriculture.

Fact: As was documented in Dr. Daniel Harder’s New Zealand report, the LBAM does nothing beyond cosmetic damage to leaves and populations are kept at good levels by natural predators.

5. A.G Kawamura has repeatedly stated the the light brown apple moth can be eradicated with pheromones.

Fact: Dr. James Carey and retired USDA expert Dr. Chambers have taken pains to explain that pheromones have no chance of eradicating the light brown apple moth.

6. A.G. Kawamura has repeatedly told local government officials, journalists and the public that the aerial spraying will effectively exterminate the moth.

Fact: Many of CDFA’s so-called ‘effective’ extermination programs have now been going on for 25 years. In other words, the bugs are still with us.

7. Kawamura and CDFA’s Steve Lyle have assured the public repeatedly that the pheromone will not harm anyone or anything, including the light brown apple moth.

Fact: There have been no long-term, comprehensive studies of subjecting humans or the environment to pheromones, so there are no grounds for these assurances being given to the public by CDFA. Additionally, statements like these from Kawamura and Lyle patently ignore the other components of the spray - the carcinogens, mutagens, endocrine disruptors and the PM10 pollution of the plastic microcapsules.

8. In an April 10 press release CDFA touts their aerial and ground spraying program as “the safest, most effective and environmentally friendly eradication program in our state’s history.”

Fact: CDFA does not explain to which of their other programs they are comparing their current one; DDT, malathion, methyl bromide? In stark contrast to CDFA’s claims of ’safest’, Drs. Larry Rose and Elisa Song have attested that:

“I reviewed the inerts (ingredients in Checkmate). They’re not just irritants. They’re also a real concern for hormone disruption - estrogenic activity which would affect the risk for many diseases. They also are mutagens which would attack your chromosomes, are genotoxic, and would affect your immune system and risk for cancer, and two of them are suspected carcinogens and cause cancer.” (Dr. Rose)

“We know children got sick during the spraying last fall, and one 12-month-old boy who nearly died from respiratory arrest and suffered a subsequent attack some weeks later. That boy was fortunate to receive prompt, excellent medical care. Children without health insurance in poor areas of our cities may not be so lucky. A public health system which is already severely strained in most counties will suffer from this increased burden. And the children in my practice, already suffering from asthma and chronic illnesses will be even more vulnerable to the effects of the airborne spray.” (Dr. Song)

In other words, CDFA is asserting that their LBAM spray program, which expert medical professionals attest will cause cancer, respiratory disease and death, is the safest program they have ever conducted. One cannot help but wonder about the safety of their previous programs considering that this one will cause death.

9. In an April 16 piece in the San Francisco Chronicle, A.G. Kawamura states:

“The Bay Area is no stranger to protests and political demonstrations, and we should all embrace such activities as vital to our public discourse. However, we should all collectively draw the line when misinformation is spread and causes unwarranted fear. I implore everyone to rely on sound science and to shut the door on false information.”

Fact: CDFA has repeatedly misrepresented the light brown apple moth as a threat to agriculture, while UC scientists and news sources like CBS have exposed that the only threat posed by the moth is to the profits of farmers and international traders due to quarantines. CDFA has threatened California with claims that the moth will devastate agriculture, native and ornamental plants.

Here is a selection of quotes regarding CDFAs lack of transparency and refusal to implement sound science, despite Kawamura’s own, ironic pleas that we close the door on misinformation:

“To say they’re going to do some toxicology studies and then it will be okay is ridiculous. They have to, they must, if they take any degree of responsibility at all, they must do follow-ups on all of the people who had reactions and it must be done in a systematic, formal epidemiologic fashion. All plans should be stopped until this is done. I don’t know who is making these decisions and why, but they are very suspect.” (Dr. Rose)

“It’s all about money. Big money. Rather than admit that LBAM is not the threat that’s been claimed and request that LBAM’s USDA classification be revised based on up-to-date science, Secretary Kawamura is willing to poison us and our environment. I am ashamed of Secretary Kawamura’s disgraceful public deception campaign to sell a hopeless, dangerous and likely unneeded “eradication” program to the people. He should immediately call an end to the plans to give us time to make rational decisions based on sustainable, Integrated Pest Management principles. Short of calling off the spray and undertaking sound pest management, he should resign.” (Robert Leiber, Mayor and Registered Nurse)

“All (CDFA’s) science is cherry-picked and brought in to support the decision rather than the decision being based on science. This is an experiment.” (Dr. James Carey)

10. CDFA declared California in a state of emergency, immediately exempting themselves from all need to adhere to the research and reporting that is required by the California Environmental Quality Act before action can be taken which may impact human or environmental health.

Fact: On April 24th, Superior Court Judge Paul Burdick ruled that CDFA had falsely declared an emergency, had violated CEQA and would not be permitted to spray Santa Cruz again before completing an Environmental Impact Report. CDFA was found guilty of breaking the law.

Would A.G. Kawamura lie to you? You decide.

Can you add to this Kawamura-watch list of deceitful statements?

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