HOUSTON SPRAYING BANNED TOXIN TO FIGHT MOSQUITOS. CITIZENS WARNED BY NEWS TO WEAR GAS MASKS FOR PENDING NEUROTOXIN FUME EVENTS.

NALED Organophosphate Poisoning Pesticide was sprayed by air from military aircraft over the Houston area. This was done previously over Miami and Puerto Rico in the past with devastating health results. Naled is a controversial pesticide banned in Europe, which has been linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in infants. Naled has been registered for use in the U.S. since 1959 and is sold under the brand name Dibrom. AMVAC Chemical Corporation has been the major manufacturer of NALED since 1998.

About one million pounds are used annually in the U.S. Like all organophosphates, naled is toxic to the nervous system. Symptoms of Exposure include headaches, nausea, and diarrhea. Naled is more toxic when exposure occurs by breathing contaminated air than through other kinds of exposure. In laboratory tests, naled exposure caused increased aggressiveness and a deterioration of memory and learning. Naled’s breakdown product DICHLORVOS (another organophosphate insecticide) interferes with prenatal brain development. In laboratory animals, exposure for just 3 days during pregnancy when the brain is growing quickly reduced brain size 15 percent.

DICHLORVOS also causes cancer, according to the International Agency for Research on Carcinogens. In laboratory tests, it caused leukemia and pancreatic cancer. Two independent studies have shown that children exposed to household “no-pest” strips containing dichlorvos have a higher incidence of brain cancer than unexposed children. Aerial applications of naled can drift up to one-half mile. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, naled is moderate to highly toxic to birds and fish. It also reduced egg production and hatching success in tests with birds and reduced growth in tests with juvenile fish. convulsions, paralysis, and death. Exposure to naled has multiple effects on behavior. In a study conducted by naled’s manufacturer, naled caused reduced muscle strength, slow responses to stimulation, and reduced activity in rats.

Symptoms of Exposure

Symptoms of exposure to naled and all organophosphate insecticides include headaches, muscle twitching, nausea, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, naled kills insects by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme involved in the transmission of nerve impulses from one nerve cell to another. This causes a “jam” in the transmission system, resulting in restlessness, depression, seizures, and loss of consciousness.

Toxicity to the Nervous System:  A symptom of exposure to naled that occurs at low doses (whether by breathing, through the skin, or orally) is inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). In studies conducted by naled manufacturers, exposure of rats to naled in air at a dose of 0.3 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg) per day for three weeks, skin exposures of 20 mg/kg per day for 4 weeks, and oral exposure of 10 mg/ kg per day for 4 weeks caused inhibition of AChE. Long-term exposure also caused AChE inhibition; reduced AChE activity occurred in dogs exposed orally to 2 mg/kg per day for 1 year and in rats exposed orally to the same dose for 2 years. In addition, the long-term study with dogs found that doses of 2 mg/kg per day also caused mineralization of the spinal cord.

Naled’s breakdown product dichlorvos inhibits the activity in rats of a nervous system enzyme called neuropathy target esterase. In experiments conducted by biochemists at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (India), doses of 6 mg/kg per day reduced the enzyme’s activity by about 40 percent. Inhibition of this enzyme causes partial paralysis of the hind legs followed by incoordination. Toxicity Caused by Breathing Fumes:  Naled is more potent when exposure occurs through breathing than when exposure occurs through eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. Toxicologists at the University of California found that inhalation was 20 times more toxic to rats than oral dosing (dosing through the mouth) of naled. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came to a similar conclusion based on tests submitted to the agency by naled’s manufacturer: the dose required to cause cholinesterase inhibition through inhalation exposure was less than 1/6 of the lowest oral dose causing the same effect. An additional study by the University of California researchers mentioned above found that small droplets of naled (the size produced by ultra-low volume sprayers often used in mosquito spraying) were about four times more acutely toxic than larger droplets. This solvent contains two aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthalene and 1,2,4- trimethylbenzene. Dibrom 8 Emulsive (EPA Registration No. 5481-479) contains naphthalene. Dibrom 8 Miscible (EPA Registration No. 34704-351) contains solvents4 whose ingredients can include naphthalene and trimethylbenzene. Naphthalene has been classified by EPA as a possible human carcinogen because it caused lung tumors in mice following inhalation. Naphthalene exposure also causes headaches, restlessness, lethargy, nausea, diarrhea, and anemia.

Effects on the Circulatory System:  In a long-term feeding study conducted by naled’s manufacturer, naled caused anemia in dogs at all but the lowest dose level tested. Exposures of 2 mg/kg per day reduced the number of red blood cells and the amount of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying pigment) in the blood.20 Effects on Reproduction: Dichlorvos, naled’s breakdown product, interfere with prenatal brain development. Ability to Cause Genetic Damage (Mutagenicity): Naled damaged bacteria’s genetic material in laboratory tests conducted by geneticists at Monash University (Australia)24 as well as biologists at Texas Tech University. Naled’s breakdown product DICHLORVOS also causes genetic damage. A team of Greek and Dutch scientists found that injections of dichlorvos at weekly intervals in mice caused a 3-fold increase in the number of mutations in liver cells.

Ability to Cause Cancer (Carcinogenicity):  EPA classifies naled as a “Group E” chemical. Group E chemicals have demonstrated “evidence of non-carcinogenicity” in laboratory tests. Naled’s breakdown product DICHLORVOS, however, is classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” with “sufficient evidence in experimental animals” for its carcinogenicity by the International Agency for Research on Carcinogens. The agency gave dichlorvos this classification because it caused forestomach tumors, leukemia, and pancreatic tumors in laboratory tests with rats and mice.

If you are thinking that all this sounds very familiar, then it should.  These are the exact same symptoms of injury that those of us in the Aviation community have been dealing with and fighting for going on over 60 years now. This is exactly what it feels like to be an Aerotoxic Syndrome, Organophosphate Poisoned, Fume Event victim. Now is the time to take a stand once and for all to demand legislative policy change against these toxic chemicals on planes and in pesticide to be banned worldwide. You can start by signing the petition on Change.org and stay informed on future public demonstration, grassroots mobilization events on the Passengers and Crew for Cabin Air Quality online forum.

Knowledge is Power

Links:

NALED Insecticide Fact Sheet

Houston Politics and Government

Tricresyl Phosphate Aerotoxic Association

Aviation Travel Writer: The Flight Times Blog

FUME EVENT “Aviation’s Biggest Lie”

Cabin Air Safety Act

Cabin Air Petition: Change.org

Passengers and Crew for Cabin Air Quality