Orange County Vector Control District censoring Facebook comments showing truth about their pesticide spraying (Santa Ana: appointed, 2015)

[DChapman36]

As you may know, the Orange County Vector Control (Orange County Vector Control District) and https://www.facebook.com/OCVectorControl is spraying synthetic pyrethroids for mosquito control which you can read about here: Aerial spraying planned in six Orange County cities in battle to control West Nile virus; Vector Control says it's safe - The Orange County Register

I posted studies and papers from reputable sources such as the NIH, CDC, Rutgers, and more showcasing why this is such a terrible idea. As I know government agencies like OCVCD don't want an educated populace, I took screenshots of what I posted. And sure enough, they deleted them. Here are the screenshots. If you can't trust these people to let studies from reputable sources be posted, how can you trust them to spray neurotoxins over you?



and




and




All of these posts were deleted from their facebook page. You should be terrified that these people are spraying pesticides linked to a host of developmental issues in children and are censoring the sharing of this data. A couple of the studies I posted:

Common Pesticide May Increase Risk of ADHD | Media Relations
Pyrethroid insecticide exposure and cognitive developmental disabilities in children: The PELAGIE mother-child cohort. - PubMed - NCBI

[BayAreaHillbilly]

So what do you suggest? Just let the skeeters go?

Personally I will take my chances with the spraying (it's also done here in Central San Mateo County).

Sometimes you need to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

[DChapman36]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

So what do you suggest? Just let the skeeters go?

Personally I will take my chances with the spraying (it's also done here in Central San Mateo County).

Sometimes you need to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

I understand what you're saying. Believe me, I hate mosquitoes as much as the next guy. But these people are spraying neurotoxins shown to cause developmental neurotoxicity issues in children. These aren't eggs, they're our children. And they're censoring their facebook page so that peer reviewed, reputable studies and data from the NIH, Rutgers, CDC, etc aren't shared so that everyone can be educated on both sides of the issue. THAT is terrifying. When you begin censoring peer reviewed scientific data, something is VERY wrong.

[HarryKerryJr]

So, is what they are spraying prohibited by EPA or the law? A lot of substances are, why, presumably, not this one? Well, it is a tough call because West Nile Virus (carried by mosquitos) will kill children (and the elderly) a lot faster than what you suggest is at risk for people from the synthetic pyrethroids.

However, I don't think postings on Facebook would've been effective anyway. If you are truly concerned, you'll get further contacting your local, state, and federal representatives and organizing your neighbors to make your case. Frankly, Facebook is a pretty pathetic place to take this fight. It is more the gadfly's approach. It leads to a pissing match between you and OC Vector, and that accomplishes nothing. Of course your postings will be deleted. From OC Vector's point of view, you are "wrong" or don't understand all the data, and it would be irresponsible of them NOT to delete your posts--IF you are not correct--even with links to websites because some sources may be mouthpieces for one side or the other. Alert the local media. Perhaps they can giver you a far larger audience and platform from which to make your case and no one can "delete" what you've said.

[DChapman36]

Hi Harry,

The Union of Concerned Scientists (of which many EPA scientists and thousands of other scientists are members) has this to say about the EPA:

"Another scientist said that the agency "often ignored independent scientific studies that contradicted the industry-subsidized study." Especially in cases where chemicals' effects on health are poorly understood and studies disagree, said the scientist, the EPA should not automatically side with the pesticide industry. "If there is disagreement, doesn't that cry out for further research?" A report of the EPA Office of the Inspector General also suggested that the EPA had not done enough to protect children from pesticide exposure."

Source

Social Media is anything but a pathetic place to take this discussion as it is the primary means of dissemination of information (especially that goes against the status quo) in this day and age. Educating the populace so everyone can make their own decisions is paramount. The OC Vector District doesn't want an educated populace as they deleted posts linking to prestigious universities and institutions such as the NIH, CDC, Rutgers, etc. Very scary.

[Laura Perez]

Thank you so much for posting this! As a resident from a soon to be sprayed city, I am very disappointed in our city leaders! For one, no reports of infections have been reported out of Santa Ana yet the city is being sprayed during the hours that many of its residents are out in public either going home from work, or leaving their homes to go to work. Why aren't Mission Viejo or Newport Beach being sprayed? They are 2 out of 6 cities that have been directly affected, yet they will be untouched come next week. Save me the excuses of there being not enough time to notify the public. Mail within the OC takes one day of transit. The spraying can wait until after these notices go out.

[LuvSouthOC]

I'd also be concerned about the psuedo-estrogenizing effects of this pesticide. The impacts of such spraying are impacting children very negatively.

[Urban Planner]

Don't see why it's such a big deal.
It's done throughout the country all the time.

This reminds me of the whole Telecom causes cancer debate.

[DChapman36]

Originally Posted by Urban Planner

Don't see why it's such a big deal. It's done throughout the country all the time.

This reminds me of the whole Telecom causes cancer debate.

The difference is there are thousands of scientists calling on these pesticides to be banned. As an example, there is a pesticide called Naled which is an organophosphate that is sprayed in agriculture fields for various pests and over millions of people for mosquito control. When sprayed on agriculture fields, there is a 48 hour reentry interval where workers cannot reenter without protective gear (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregi.../naled_red.pdf). When it is sprayed over residential areas for mosquito control, there are no such protections; kids are out running around the same day. The thing is, when sprayed in agriculture fields, they use large droplets so it contacts the bugs. When sprayed for mosquitoes, they aerosolize it so it hangs in the air. The problem there is, the US military figured out in a study that aerosolized Naled is 21x more toxic and causes lung and liver necrosis (A comparison of oral and inhalation toxicities of four insecticides to mice and rats - Springer)

The Union of Concerned Scientsists which is made up of thousands of scientists want Organophosphates banned because study after study have implicated them in reduced IQ, reduced cognitive abilities, ADHD, and potentially even Autism, in children: Industry Pressure Trumps Sound Science in Pesticide Regulation | Union of Concerned Scientists -- but organophosphates have not been banned because of, "Politics". Studies showcasing the neurotoxic effects of these pesticides:

- Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and IQ in 7-year-old children. - PubMed - NCBI
- Prenatal exposure to organophosphates, paraoxonase 1, and cognitive development in childhood. - PubMed - NCBI
- EHP – Seven-Year Neurodevelopmental Scores and Prenatal Exposure to Chlorpyrifos, a Common Agricultural Pesticide
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Urinary Metabolites of Organophosphate Pesticides
- UC Davis MIND Institute study finds association between maternal exposure to agricultural pesticides, autism in offspring

In 2006 the EPA reviewed Naled to see if they would allow it to continue being used. On page 28 and 29 of this document: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregi.../naled_red.pdf you can see how they determined it was still, "Safe" for residential applications for mosquito control. You'll notice that they didn't take into account respiratory exposure. THE MOST toxic form of Naled exposure wasn't even taken into account and would have potentially resulted in its being banned.

If you think the scientists screwed up, think again. Not a big deal? Our society will one day look back on this period with great shame and wonder how we could be so stupid.

[Urban Planner]

Originally Posted by DChapman36

If you think the scientists screwed up, think again. Not a big deal? Our society will one day look back on this period with great shame and wonder how we could be so stupid.

Off topic but I was curious, do you believe in global warming? Serious question.