Electrostatic
trap
Electrostatic fly traps could be the
pollution-reducing answer to crop pests such as fruit flies and the diamond-back
moth. According to Philip Howse of Southampton University, the electrostatic
traps operate in the same way as a sexually transmitted disease. The males are
attracted by pheromones to a bait station containing an inert electrostatically
charged powder laced with a slow-acting or biological insecticide. But before
they die, they infect any females they come into sexual or social contact with.
As opposite charges attract, the powder sticks to the insect by electrostatic
forces and cannot be cleaned off by normal grooming.
The Guardian, 20/2/97.
Poisoning ad
in Hong Kong
A recent government television advertisement in Hong
Kong warned of the dangers of pesticide poisoning. Viewers were urged to see a
doctor if they thought they were suffering from food poisoning: "because
the problem may be due to levels of pesticide residues in vegetables," the
announcer said.
Leafy vegetables, popular in Chinese cooking, are liable to
contain high levels of organophosphate insecticides because of uncontrolled use
on the Chinese mainland.
Pearl TV 13/12/96.
Cotton hazard
The Californian Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA)
has taken action to suspend the aerial application licence of a Kern County
pilot who is accused of making 1,100 workers sick in a vineyard next to the
field where he was applying pesticides. A suit against Joseph Smith and his
company manager, James Josephson, of San Joaquin Helicopters alleges several
violations of state pesticide laws and regulations over the past several years,
subject to fines of US$25,000 per violation.
The main incident, which occurred on 4 September 1996 and
involved Curacron 8E (profenofos), Lorsban 4E (chlorpyrifos) and Danitol 2.4EC (fenpropathrin).
California EPA DPR press release 20 December 1996
Top cats
The Pesticides Trust [now PAN UK] has been overwhelmed with
information request letters following a recent article in Your Cat
magazine on the dangers of using pesticides to control cat fleas. We often get
letters from concerned individuals after media coverage, in the national press
or TV, but this breaks all records. It just goes to show that the British are
indeed a nation of cat-lovers.
Pesticides Trust, 28/2/97.
[This
article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 35,
March 1997, page 21]