Light brown apple moth controversy

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The Light brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana, often abbreviated to LBAM) is a leafroller moth belonging to the lepidopteran family Tortricidae. The insect is highly polyphagous and the larvae attack numerous horticultural crops in Australia and New Zealand. The species has been classified as a noxious insect in the United States and Canada, leading to restrictions on produce from counties with substantial populations. In 2007 the moth was found in mainland United States, principally along the West Coast. Quarantine measures and aerial spraying of cities with untested pesticides were imposed to help eradicate the moth, leading to substantial public controversy.

Eradication measures in California

Though the first LBAM confirmed in California by DNA analysis was found in February 2007, University of California, Davis invasion biology experts said that because it is so widespread, from Los Angeles to north of San Francisco, LBAM has likely lived in California for years and possibly decades[1]. Following the DNA confirmation of LBAM, officials initiated an emergency eradication program, including domestic and international quarantines and inspection programs. In 2007 and 2008, an aerial eradication program, involving the dissemination (aerial spraying) of a pesticide containing E. postvittana sex pheromones over sixty square miles near the Pacific coast between Monterey and Santa Cruz was begun.[2] US-EPA has authorized the aerial spraying of the Checkmate pesticide every 30 days until 2010.

The group 'Helping Our Peninsula's Environment'[3], opponents of the spraying concerned over the potential impacts to humans and the environment, obtained a court injunction in October 2007 that postponed the pheromone pesticide spraying for two weeks. The injunction was lifted because it was impossible to prove that "inert" ingredients cause harm when the manufacturer and the government agencies refused to disclose the names and concentrations of the ingredients. After the spraying in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in the Fall of 2007, over 600 complaints were adverse health effects were reported[4]. The California Department of Food and Agriculture received 330 reports of complaints such as eye irritation, coughing, wheezing, and muscle aches. A local environmental group also reported that they received more than 300 complaints.

Critics state that no published efficacy reports on the pesticide formulations used aerially against LBAM exist[5], raising questions about the validity of the eradication effort. Additionally, University of California scientists and other independent experts recommend containment measures in urban areas, but that full-scale airplane spraying should be saved for crop areas that agricultural departments are trying to protect in the Central Valley.[6] Oakland city council member Jane Brunner questioned the location of the sprayings in interviews and in her resolution against the efforts, stating, "A very curious issue for me is that they're spraying in Richmond, Berkeley and Oakland, but they are not spraying in Danville, Walnut Creek and out in the valley."[7]

Some critics believe that the products used for the aerial spray, Checkmate OLR-F and Checkmate LBAM-F, contain polypropylene polybenzyl isocyanate, or PPI. PPI is an isocyanate which is listed as a "hazardous agent" by the National Institutes of Health because it irritates skin and breathing passages at high concentrations.[8] The EPA, which knows the full, confidential formula, claims that PPI is not used, but the manufacturer's refusal to publish the trade secret formulation has led many critics to believe that the EPA is covering up the truth.[9]

The group 'Helping Our Peninsula's Environment' proposes controlling the moth with targeted pheromone-baited sticky traps. These are the same traps used for population size measuring purposes. They have caught and killed almost all the 16,500 LBAM moths found so far in California.[10] This would employ four additional traps for every LBAM caught and consumes far less resources in traps and staff than applying 160,000 twist ties per square mile (250 per acre).

Other critics of the aerial spray plan, such as The California Nevada Regional Conservation Committee of the Sierra Club[11], propose that twist ties be impregnated with the pheromone and hung on trees and other structures across the area. They say they prefer least-toxic, environmentally sensitive control methods to spraying.[12] The California Department of Food and Agriculture has determined that more than nine million twist ties would be required to cover the infested area. Because the twist ties need to be placed at optimal distances from each other, one trained employee can correctly place 30 to 40 twist ties in a single day.[13] Twist ties become ineffective after about three months and then need to be removed, disposed of, and replaced four times a year. As a result, using twist ties as the primary measure to control the moth has been ruled out.[14] In early February of 2008, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that treatment using pheromone-infused twist ties was scheduled for LBAM eradication in some lightly infested areas. A USDA official has stated that they are still considering whether to treat San Francisco and the East Bay Area through ground or aerial application.[15]

Several city councils including Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, Santa Cruz, Albany and Berkeley and Santa Cruz County passed resolutions against the spraying, and more lawsuits were filed.[16] In February 2008, several legislative bills based on citizen concerns about aerial spraying in urban areas and the ability of state agencies to declare a state of emergency were drafted by state legislators.[17], [18]

In order to conduct the spraying, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (not the state agency) was able to obtain an "emergency exemption from registration" from the U.S. EPA. Representatives of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation say that because of that exemption, the spraying program is not subject to state approval.[19]

External links

• EPA Quarantine Exemptions for Light Brown Apple Moth Pheromones
• EPA Lepidopteran Pheromones Fact Sheet

Spray Opponent Links

• Helping Our Peninsula's Environment - the organization which filed the first lawsuit and stopped the spraying for two weeks (www.1hope.org/checkmate)
• LBAMSPRAY - Defending the Central Coast against the Aerial BioChemical Pesticide Spray
• Stop the Spray
• East Bay Pesticide Alert
• California Alliance to Stop the Spray
• Hope For Truth