Guest Column: Dibrom is dangerous; treat it that way

Guest Column: Dibrom is dangerous; treat it that way By CECILE-MARIE SASTRE St. Augustine Publication Date: 10/10/04
The Oct. 4 aerial spraying of Dibrom, an organophosphate pesticide, should concern us all.
Our federal government (FEMA), at the behest of the Anastasia Mosquito Control, is exposing the residents of St. Johns County to a toxic compound which happens to be in the same class of chemical compounds as the chemical weapons Saddam Hussein used to gas his own people.Organophosphates were developed before World War II and used during it as nerve agents and chemical weapons.
After the war, they began to be used as pesticides.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Organophosphates such as Dibrom, Malathion, Chlorpyrifos disrupt the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme metabolism of insects, mammals and other animals, resulting in a buildup in the system of an enzyme whose balance is crucial for the proper functioning of the nervous system and the brain.
In effect, Dibrom and other organophosphates are poisonous to the nervous system and the brain.
Over 15 percent of the population of the U.S. has some form of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS): some do not know they have the condition.
Those who do know it are partially or completely disabled by it.
There is no cure for MCS, except avoidance of offending substances.
The majority of people with MCS developed the illness after acute or chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, particularly organophosphates.
Many developed the illness after the cumulative effects of chemical exposures became impossible for the body to withstand.
But MCS is not the only consequence of exposure to pesticides and other toxic chemicals (which include perfumes, a completely unregulated industry).
Parkinson's Disease, Lupus, Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS), Multiple Sclerosis, Asthma, Autism, learning disabilities, cancer and a host of other diseases have been tied to exposure to pesticides and other toxic chemicals.Most susceptible are fetuses, infants and children because their brains and nervous systems are still developing.
People with compromised immune systems such as those with HIV/AIDS, liver and kidney disease, cancer, etc. are also particularly vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals.
Women are also at risk because numerous toxic chemicals, including many found in pesticide compounds, are estrogen mimics.
That is, they behave like estrogen in the body and disrupt women's hormonal system.
Uterine and ovarian cancer, fibroids, endometriosis and breast cancer result from the disruption of estrogens, in large part.
Why are we fighting the war on terror around the world when our own government agencies are dousing us with the very class of chemicals used by terrorists?
There are safe, natural and effective alternatives to toxic pesticides.
Many municipalities and school districts throughout the U.S. and Canada have banned the use of toxic pesticides.It is high time we, in Florida, demand the same.I believe this is a civil and property rights issue as well as a health issue.
I did not consent to being doused with a neurotoxic compound or to be used as a guinea pig by the CDC.
I did not give anyone the right to invade my home, car and body with a poisonous pesticide.
If I were to put the same pesticide in someone's food, I would go to jail for murder or attempted murder.
If Dibrom is as safe and extensively tested as it is claimed, why is the CDC collecting urine samples?
And what a coincidence that FEMA and the CDC were ready to spray and collect urine right after the hurricanes, as if maybe they were already looking for a vulnerable population to expose in order to finish their test (which started by testing folks in Mississippi and North Carolina)?
I urge every resident of St. Johns County to join me in demanding that the Anastasia Mosquito Control stop any further spraying of toxic pesticides and find safe, alternative solutions.
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