During the summer of 2013 I lay in bed late one night, unable to sleep, when I heard the roar of the Collier Mosquito Control District (CMCD) turboprop airplanes 200 feet above my home. I knew during the eerie silence that followed a shower of pesticides was engulfing my property in an effort to kill the mosquitoes we all hate so much. I rolled over in bed and stared at my beautiful sleeping wife’s 6 month pregnant belly slowly rise and fall. I wondered to myself if these neurotoxic pesticides might have some negative effect on my wife and the baby I was so excited to finally meet in a few short months. I got up and began my research, not knowing that I was beginning a multi-year inquiry that has now culminated in me (David Chapman) and my colleague Andreas Roth running for Collier Mosquito Control Commissioner seats 4 and 5. We are running because while we understand the need to spray pesticides to control mosquitoes, we are concerned for the safety of the citizens of Collier County. Everyone deserves substantially greater transparency and communication from the CMCD.
My research determined that the CMCD utilizes two different families of pesticides that target adult mosquitoes. The pesticides are Zenivex (etofenprox) and Dibrom (naled). One of the first things I did was read the label for each. To my astonishment, I realized that the CMCD was not following the label for Zenivex and thus were in violation of federal law. Long story short, I filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and case # 14-0107 resulted in confirmation that the CMCD had indeed been spraying in violation of the label for years. I did all of this as a normal citizen of Collier County, if you elect me commissioner, I will work constantly to ensure the CMCD follows the law.
Concerned for my family and the people of Collier County, I also delved into information regarding the second adulticide the CMCD utilizes which is Naled (Dibrom). In the United States it is used to control mosquitoes and also widely utilized in agriculture. However, the thousands of independent scientists making up the Union of Concerned Scientists are worried about the potential neurotoxic effects of organophosphates like Naled on children and developing fetuses. Europe has already determined that Naled is far too toxic both for agricultural and mosquito control uses and has banned it.
The spokesman for the CMCD stated during an interview with the newspaper, the Ave Maria Herald that, “The chemical used in spraying is naled, an organophosphate that the EPA has determined to be extremely safe. Exposure might cause some eye irritation, but no other effects.”
Unfortunately, this statement is largely incorrect. In fact, Naled is so toxic that the EPA mandated in its re-registration document that anytime Naled is sprayed in agriculture fields, farm workers cannot reenter the area for 48 hours without protective gear. For example, it is a, “Toxicity Category 1” for eye irritation (the worst category) which means that Naled can cause eye irritation persisting for more than 21 days or in more severe cases, irreversible eye damage. The problem there is, the citizens of Collier County don’t get that 48 hour reentry interval like farm workers. In fact, children running around playing sports get sprayed directly.
A pesticide that can cause irreversible damage to your eyes is not safe. The EPA has never determined that it is, “Extremely safe”. In fact, you will never see the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refer to a pesticide as, “Safe”. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires the EPA to ensure that pesticides do not cause “unreasonable adverse effects on man or the environment”. FIFRA defines unreasonable adverse effects as “any unreasonable risk to man or the environment, taking into account the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of any pesticide.” In other words, pesticides pose some risk but the EPA weighs the benefits and feels the risk is worth it. They are NOT safe. But neither are some species of mosquitoes. As such, we do need to spray to control mosquitoes, but it is logical and imperative that we work to reduce the amount we have to spray via mosquito habitat reduction and alternative methodologies. We want to reduce the amount we need to spray not just to reduce the risk to our families, but to save the taxpayers of Collier County money as the CMCD spends almost $2,000,000 on pesticides annually. The CMCD needs commissioners like myself (David Chapman) and Andreas Roth to ensure the CMCD follows the law, is transparent about the pesticides they spray, and to work to vastly improve communication so that the citizens of Collier County can take proper precautions. Furthermore, it is imperative that we work with researchers to discover new and alternative methods of mosquito control so that the need to spray pesticides is reduced.
Unfortunately, the potential risks of Naled do not stop at “eye irritation” as the CMCD states. The the FAQ the manufacturer of Naled published states:
dibrom-faq-go-inside
Not once has the CMCD publicly suggested that the citizens of Collier County should go inside during a spray event. That, and much more, will change with the election of David Chapman and Andreas Roth.
Shortly after spraying, people have reported issues such as stinging eyes, headaches, and breathing difficulties. However, I am more concerned about the chronic, long term effects of these pesticides, especially for developing fetuses and young children. There are a host of studies on the potential chronic effects of these families of pesticides (organophosphates and synthetic pyrethroids). Long term exposure may cause impaired cognitive development in children, reduce intellectual development in children, lower IQ in children, increase ADHD prevalence, reduce gestational periods, and lower birth weights. As you can see, while we need to spray, you also need myself (David Chapman) and Andreas Roth as commissioners to ensure the CMCD is honest about the potential effects of these pesticides and greatly improves communication so that the citizens of Collier County can form educated decisions regarding the level of precaution they want to take during a spray event.
As a successful businessman who has founded and operated some of the largest online communities in the world, I have the knowledge necessary to not only greatly improve communication with the people of Collier County, but to develop software that will allow the community to unite so we can fight mosquitoes together. And make no mistake, it must be a community effort. For example, the mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) that spread Zika and other dangerous diseases are NOT controlled by the aerial spraying of pesticides. The most effective form of control is habitat reduction. These species of mosquitoes breed in containers around your home, therefore, it is up to the community to control them. My technological and community building expertise has allowed me to develop a comprehensive plan to improve the CMCD’s communication and transparency, reduce the amount of pesticides we need to spray over time, and properly control the mosquitoes that vector the Zika virus and other dangerous diseases.
The employees of the CMCD from the pilots to the inspectors are fantastic, hard working people. With leaders like David Chapman and Andreas Roth the health of our children and our grandchildren and all citizens of Collier County will come first. We need to control mosquitoes but it must be done according to the law, with utmost regard for ethics, transparently, and we must work to reduce the amount we spray over time. We are the right people for the job. Please vote for David Chapman and Andreas Roth.