HEALTH DEPARTMENT SPRAYS PESTICIDES ON NORTH NASHVILLE CHILDREN

On Monday July 31, 2006, citizen Karl Meyer followed a caravan of trucks from the Metro Public Health Department as they sprayed pesticides around the streets of his busy urban neighborhood in North Nashville. He watched from the safety of his car as pedestrians (including several children) were sprayed with pesticide while they were in plain view of the truck drivers.

"I saw a family of eight people with several small children gathered at lawn chairs on their front yard, near the corner of 23rd and Osage, immediately after seeing the active spray truck pass north on the street," Meyer stated in his affidavit. He also noted seeing seven kids on bikes, men on the sidewalk with their shirts over their noses, three N.E.S. workers, and a man in a wheelchair on a sidewalk. The driver left the spray running. Meyer said, "I saw twelve youths were playing basketball in th court at Fisk Park, immediately after seeing the active truck go down Burchs Street, which borders the Park to the south.&wquot;

As one man from Fisk Park said, "I don't think they'd get way with spraying the children in Belle Meade like they did in our neighborhood."

The Health Department says that their policy is to shut off the spray if people or pets are present. However, citizens know from 4 years of experience, what they say and what they do are two different things. The Health Department instructs citizens to stay inside during spraying for a minimum of 30 minutes. E-mail notices from the Health Department claim, "The Health Department's caravan approach is in place as an added precaution to keep from administering the spray where people or pets are present in the front of any property." The Health Department began the caravan approach in 2005 after two citizens filed a lawsuit for serious medical problems they experienced after being sprayed at close range by a driver.

This is not the first time Meyer has seen people getting sprayed by the drivers in his neighborhood. In 2003, Meyer followed a spray truck with a friend. They observed a number of people on the sidewalks. The drivers left the spray running. Reporter Anne Paine of the Tennessean interviewed Dr. Brent Hager of the Metro Public Health Department after Meyer contacted her. The August 25, 2003 article said, "Hager said he was not aware of the incident but would look into it and make sure this is not the practice."

Meyer wanted to see if the new caravan approach would make any difference in the actions of drivers. This time, he brought a tablet and took detailed notes. Afterward, he presented Dr. Brent Hager and the Board of Health with a four-page affivadit that included a chart documenting the time, location, and a count of 96 people visible on the street while the trucks "were actively spraying." Health officials have not responded until recently. This spring supervisors of the Pest Management Department began to say that the driver (and we assume both of the caravan drivers) denies that he failed to shut of the spray.

Larry Cole of the Health Department claims that they shut off the spray even when they pass other vehicles. (We've taken reports from three citizens who have been sprayed through an open vehicle window.) On June 19, 2007, a Metro Council member asked Cole directly if drivers spray pedestrians, he laughed and replied, "No. People applaud when they see us." We've taken quite a few reports from upset Nashville citizens who did not applaud as drivers drove by them leaving them in a cloud of pesticide.

To date, there have been three permanent injuries to people who were sprayed while in plain view of the drivers and over 27 other reports from citizens who were sickened by the spray. Two lawsuits have been filed against the city by local citizens. In researching the Health Department's past records under the Tennessee Open Records Act, volunteers from No Spray Nashville have uncovered complaints from a number of people who contacted the Health Department about being sprayed while in plain view of the drivers. One claimed that she welcomed spraying but she was not happy when the driver sprayed her, her dogs, and a jogger.

Meyer does not know if any of the victims he saw suffered adverse effects. Children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with asthma are some of the people who are at higher risk for adverse effects from the spray. Volunteers from the environmental group BURNT are asking anyone who has been sprayed or has seen people getting sprayed by the Health Department's spray trucks, on that evening or at any time, to call 327-8515. Leave your name and number and a volunteer will return your call.

The fact that people are still being sprayed is disheartening considering that it has been 4 years that we've been attempting to improve spraying policies to prevent more injuries to citizens. The lack of respect for the pesticide's potential to harm people is demonstrated from the toxicologist Dr. Areola at the Health Department who claims that the pesticide is "safe and harmless."

In an interview with Channel 5+ in 2004, the news host asked Dr. Areola, "...If you were to have a sprayer right now and spray me is it going to make me sick?" Areola replied, "It's not going to make you sick."

When a citizen volunteer spoke with an EPA representative in Washington DC about Areola's statements he commented, "People can die from eating peanuts. He shouldn't be running off at the mouth like that."

Areola influences the attitudes of the spray truck drivers and others at the Health Department. Health Department officials have refused to stop making these false claims of safety even though a Health Board member (physician, Dr. Henry Foster, Jr.), a state representative and at least one EPA official has asked Health Department officials to stop making blanket claims of safety. Local scientists have commented both off and on the record that they are shocked by the cavalier attitude and display of lack of current knowledge about pesticides displayed by these officials.

One of these scientists is Wallace M. LeStourgeon Ph.D.
(Professor of Molecular Biology, teaches advanced classes in environmental toxicology, and cancer researcher) at the Department of Biological Sciences of Vanderbilt University. After his presentation to the Metro Council's Health and Hospital committe he stated, "...From my perspective, listening to his (Areola's) diatribe, I thought I was listening to a representative from the pesticide industry. Now, I know those guys go to seminars and symposia and meetings that are held by these companies but it was a bit of a shock to me to have that kind of a confrontation using old data and old ways of thinking."

We warn citizens to check our website every Thursday night one spraying begins to see where and when the Health Department is spraying. Avoid these areas! If you are sprayed, report it! See our listing on this website about what to do in a spraying emergency.

The Health Department's e-mail notices about spraying say this, "Each spray team is made up of a three vehicle caravan: The lead vehicle is in place to provide any last minute notification to drivers or anyone outside that the spray truck is in operation. (When necessary, the person in the lead vehicle will radio to alert the person in the spray vehicle to turn off the spray unit before exposure occurs.) The second vehicle in the caravan is the truck with the spray unit. Each spray truck is equipped with yellow flashing lights. It is important to know the spray unit sounds similar to a chainsaw and that the compressor continues to operate even when the spray has been turned off. The third vehicle in the caravan with street signage stays well behind the spray unit and alerts vehicles or children on bicycles that they are approaching the spray unit while in operation....The Health Department's caravan approach is in place as an added precaution to keep from administering the spray where people or pets are present in the front of any property."