SOQUEL, Calif. (AP) - As the state prepares
to spray the San Francisco Bay Area with pesticides to fight an invasive moth,
local officials are worrying not only about the potential impact on human
health, but on local commerce as well.
State environmental health experts announced last week that illnesses
reported by hundreds of residents after the first round of aerial spraying on
California's central coast couldn't conclusively be linked to the pest
eradication effort.
Still, public uncertainty alone could slow summer tourism, drive residents
out of town and cause real estate agents to ask clients if they want to buy
property in the proposed spray zone, local officials say.
"If there's spray residue on the grass, are people going to feel safe going
to Golden Gate Park?" asked Mark Westlund, a spokesman for San Francisco's
Department of the Environment. "Tourism is what keeps this city floating, and if
people are worried about coming here because they could get sprayed on, that
could have an impact."
Last fall, state agriculture officials sent up planes that dropped a
chemical mist on Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, where the light brown apple
moth population was quickly multiplying.
The campaign was meant to safeguard valuable crops and to help infested
plant nurseries in Soquel and neighboring towns, which were losing millions of
dollars after being quarantined.
After the first round of spraying, at least 487 people reported feeling
symptoms ranging from itchy eyes to breathing trouble.
Despite the state's assurances that the symptoms can't be firmly linked to
the spray -- a low dose of a synthetic pheromone mixture approved for use on
organically grown crops -- residents and officials farther north are getting
nervous.
In Marin County, real estate agents are considering amending their
disclosure forms to tell future home buyers about the aerial sprays scheduled in
the Bay Area this summer and advising them to consult a doctor for more
information before closing a deal, said Levi Swift, president of the Marin
Association of Realtors.
Though analysts say the spray is unlikely to have any lasting effects on
properties in the spray zone or on the real estate market, attorneys say it is
wise to notify buyers to ward off potential lawsuits.
"If my real estate agent had knowledge of the spraying activity and didn't
tell me, I could certainly sue for misrepresentation," said Lewis Feldman, a
senior partner with Goodwin Procter in Los Angeles. "The fact that the
government says something isn't harmful doesn't prevent people from filing
suit."
In Santa Cruz, Mayor Ryan Coonerty said he was hoping businesses wouldn't
take a hit if a rush of people left town or if tourists stayed away in June,
when the city is scheduled for a second aerial treatment.
Sunita Chethik, who lived in Santa Cruz for 30 years, said pheromone
droplets drifted into her bedroom during spraying in November, causing her
immune system to collapse. She recently moved to Santa Fe, N.M., to avoid
further exposure, and activists with the California Alliance to Stop the Spray
say dozens more people are considering similar relocations.
"The plane was making a pass, and (the spray) came in through an open window
and landed directly on us. It smelled like Raid," recalled Chethik, who had a
pre-existing case of chronic fatigue. "They're poisoning people, and the only
choice they're giving us is to leave."
So far, the moth has had the most palpable effect on those who can't leave:
farmers.
The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau estimates that wholesale and retail
nurseries lost $2.8 million in forgone sales and investments toward fighting the
moth from April to December 2007.
Chris Pavlos manages a nursery in Soquel, where seven larvae were found
rolled into tiny sacs nestled in individual plant leaves.
The moths didn't visibly damage the plants. But the discovery led to a
two-day shutdown of the nursery, which caused a $50,000 loss in sales.
Pavlos said he's spent a similar amount hiring moth hunters to scour Soquel
Nursery Growers' 14 acres, looking for larvae and treating shrubs with
insecticides.
"It's very difficult to get any real rest when they're inspecting you every
two weeks," he said. "Even so, we're just not seeing the kind of damages to
plants they keep talking about."
According to the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture, the Australian
insect threatens more than 2,000 varieties of California plants and crops and
could destroy up to $560 million worth of fruits and vegetables in a year.
Spraying is to occur only in areas that can't be treated through
ground-based strategies.
State Secretary of Food and Agriculture A. G. Kawamura said the effort was
necessary not only to protect agriculture industry, but to save landmarks such
as Golden Gate Park, home to many species the USDA considers host plants.
"One side says it's a voracious pest and the other side says it isn't," said
Ken Corbishley, agriculture commissioner in Santa Cruz County. "The one thing
that is true is that local folks are being impacted."
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