Winnipeg Free Press, July 14, 2010
By: Josh Brandon and Anne Lindsey
On matters of health and
environmental safety, citizens expect decisions to be informed by solid
science and reasoned public input. Unfortunately, this balance has not
been achieved so far on the issue of mosquito control. Winnipeg city
council, in a last-minute motion, voted last month to ask the city
administration to develop plans for what would amount to an overhaul of
the city's insect management policy including: changing or removing
registered buffer zones, adjusting when adult mosquito fogging takes
place, and examining alternative pesticides.
The insect control
department is to report back on all these issues within 30 days, before
city council breaks for summer on July 21.
There is good reason
to consider revamping our mosquito control policy. Mosquitoes are
potentially deadly vectors of diseases like West Nile virus, and some
individuals have serious allergic reactions to their bites.
Our
current control program uses toxic chemicals like malathion. Many
residents have concerns about the long-term effects of this chemical,
and some report having immediate nausea and respiratory reactions.
Statistics
Canada reports almost 650,000 Canadians suffer from multiple chemical
sensitivities. These citizens may be most at risk. The Canadian
Association of Physicians for the Environment has urged the city to
find non-toxic alternatives. All Winnipeggers can share the goals for a
balanced insect control policy that effectively limits pests while
maintaining maximum safety for humans and the environment.
Good
policy should be guided by peer-reviewed research, with time and
opportunity for public comment. Recognizing that new or expanded uses
of pesticides may be costly, damaging to the environment, and harmful
to human health, a wide range of alternatives should be examined and
evaluated for their effects and effectiveness. Since each of us is in
the best position to decide for ourselves our willingness to balance
the risks posed by chemicals and by mosquitoes, space must be allowed
for personal choice.
City council seems to be rushing towards
increased fogging. Fogging is a popular alternative for politicians
because it is highly visible. However, the most visible solution is not
always the best. Expanding fogging will reduce the funds available for
other options that may be more effective and environmentally benign.
The city has repeatedly failed to fund an expanded biological larvicide
program it approved in 2005. Increased fogging could further delay its
implementation.
In 2004, Winnipeg Free Press reporter
Helen Fallding was unable to conclude from evidence available to her
that adult mosquito fogging is an effective method of mosquito control.
She found trap counts fell equally in areas sprayed with malathion and
those not sprayed. "One explanation -- and obviously the most obvious
-- would be that the fogging didn't work," Joe Conlon, entomologist
with the American Mosquito Control Association told Fallding at the
time.
More research needs to be done on this matter before adopting fogging as a solution.
Some
of the research that led to our current mosquito control program has
not been updated for 20 years or more. In 1991, Winnipeg city council
conducted a public review of its pesticide program. A committee sought
input from stakeholders across the city. Former city entomologist, R.A.
Ellis submitted a series of instructive reports as part of that
process. In a 44-page report on malathion, reviewing hundreds of
scientific papers, Ellis found that malathion has a very low level of
toxicity for most humans, but that there were causes for concern.
It
is highly toxic to beneficial insects like bees and to aquatic
organisms. Ellis also found that the effective swath of malathion is
about 100 metres, which is the distance given for buffer zones in
Winnipeg. Updating this 20-year-old research is needed to ensure
Winnipeg has the best practices for insect control.
In conducting
this review, our current council should adopt the practice of its
predecessors by ensuring there is adequate opportunity for public
comment, that it seeks a thorough review of the relevant science, and
fills in gaps with new Winnipeg-focused research. Meanwhile, we should
begin with a measure of realism. We live in a clay-lined flood plain.
No insect control policy is likely to achieve the result many
Winnipeggers might hope for -- a mosquito-free summer.
Josh Brandon is living green co-ordinator with Resource Conservation Manitoba;
Anne Lindsey is executive director of Manitoba Eco-Network.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 14, 2010 A13
Winnipeg City Council has voted to approve changes to Winnipeg's pesticide bylaws that would see buffer zones reduced, a reduction in warning time before adult mosquito fogging occurs and increased frequency of fogging. The Province of Manitoba has indicated it will accept these changes despite no consultation with citizens, no evidence that these changes will improve the effectiveness of Winnipeg's mosquito control program, and serious concerns about the safety of malathion, the chemical being used for mosquito fogging. 
