Bill Murawski
for
Public Advocate

The Poison Page

WE spend all our time keeping our children away from many forms of contamination:  Dangerous household cleaners, matches, pornography, criminals etc.  Still, the Center for Disease Control (CDC)  found many toxic substances in the blood and urine of all Americans!  The National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals lists concentrations of toxic metals, pesticides and pthalates found in our bodies.  This new bio-monitoring effort is important but still inadequate when you realize that we are required  to provide the burden of proof that lugging around significant amounts of toxic materials in our bloodstreams is not safe. So, the government agencies just total up what we are carrying and hope we don't exceed current limits. Go to the CDC site to read the report.

As mentioned above, the CDC found many chemicals in our bodies which apparently leach into our systems through products always thought to be completely innocuous:  COSMETICS! Lest we think toxic ingredients in personal care products are limited to women's cosmetics, let us view the many toxic and inadequately tested ingredients which go into fragrances used for men, women, children and our homes. 

One of the most frightening studies I saw was one in which over 90% of children and 80% of adults had a pesticide called Dursban in their urine - and these were not people living on farms!  Read about Dursban on the National Resources Defense Council website. 

Since I have been following the West Nile Virus issue when it began in New York City in 1999, I was already familiar with the facts and fiction of using poisonous chemical pesticides.  Therefore,  as an advocate for the public health it seemed that pesticides were the logical starting point for my research.  This journey took me to many stories of death and disabling illness from contacts with these deadly poisons routinely used in homes and on lawns.  And thanks to one of the leading activists in the fight against the use of pesticides, Steve Tvedten (pronounced Tweeden), I learned how unnecessary they really are in our day-to-day lives with the many safe alternatives available.  Steve was a pesticide applicator whose routine contacts with pesticides wound up poisoning him and costing the lives of people dear to him as well.  Still a pest control expert, Steve no longer uses poisons to get the job done!

The following are some of the questions I asked when beginning the research regarding the use of dangerous chemicals, and the websites where valuable information was found -- information of which YOU should be aware!

As a prime example of a battle that Mr. Tvedten is waging in this war against toxins, I am also including some of his writings on the subject of  aerial spraying of pesticides in the table below. This is an issue that came to the forefront of his fight against using "registered poisons" since September 11, 2001.  It is interesting to note that our elected and appointed officials only recently recognized this form of "poison" application that can be used by terrorists. The environment, and people,  have been sprayed by this method for some time now by "licensed applicators" - an example of "friendly fire" no doubt.  See the table below regarding these important issues.  In my role as Public Advocate, I pledge to tackle the poisoning of our society for profit and falsely advertised benefits. Having learned about the dangers of pesticides, I decided to join the fight with Steve against some of the "roadblocks" to our health and safety.  These so-called roadblocks are appointed officials who are "anointed" by those who are elected to public office by We the People! 

Quite often, as I discovered in my role as a community leader and an all around activist,  government agency employees - paid or unpaid - are appointed by the officials we "elect".  These appointed officials are often used as the first level of defense against complaints from the public - hence the term "roadblock".  When the public finally protests the damage done through the enforcement of bad laws or the non-enforcement of good laws, as we see happening in  the environmental arena,  public scrutiny is brought to bear on these issues. The elected officials can then hide behind the first line of defense:  the appointed "roadblock" who quotes statutes and codes in lieu of administering justice and attempting to change the laws for the betterment of people.  The "roadblock" in this case is Mr. Paul Helliker, who is the Director of California's Department of Pesticide Regulation.  Steve regularly publishes his correspondence with questions posed to Mr. Helliker that to my knowledge, go unanswered.  Therefore . . . . . . 

I sent an email to Mr. Helliker. I wanted to find out for myself whether or not he would respond to it or the 5 emails that covered "east-to-answer" topics regarding pesticides that were sent to him by Steve in the past.  Although I live in NYC and Mr. Helliker is in California, one of my sisters and nephews lives there.  Therefore, I have a vested interest in the health and welfare of members of  my family as well as my friends who live in that state. You can read about it in the table below.  

We all owe our thanks to Mr. Steve Tvedten.  Because of my brief conversations with him over the course of a week a few months ago,  I quickly recognized that the most important  issue affecting all of us is the use of dangerous man-made chemical poisons, whether it be pesticides registered such as the ones used in our homes, at work or in schools -- or other chemical products such as prescription drugs like Ritalin, Lithium and Prozac, to name just a few.
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Shortly after the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in NYC and the Pentagon in Washington DC, fears began to arise about terrorists using crop-dusters against us here in the states.  

All of a sudden?  Our elected officials woke up and began to worry about crop-dusters being used because of the public outcry and awareness of the potential dangers of aerial spraying? 

Since pesticides are used in "crop-dusting", who else but Steve Tvedten would coincidentally get into a "discussion" with crop-dusters shortly after the issue came to light!  Listed to the right are some of the emails between  Steve and the crop-dusters  regarding this very serious matter.  

The terrorist attack on Sept 11, 2001  was a wake-up for many Americans..  In fact, the FBI finally realized that information on websites can be used by terrorists and therefore asked it to be removed.  Please link to the Safe2Use site to read about the information of which the FBI requested removal.

Perhaps our elected officials in Washington will come to realize that it is time to stop registering poisons for use in pest management unless  independent scientists perform the safety  testing instead of relying on data provided by manufacturers only; the entire formulation is assessed and not the active ingredient only; ALL ingredients are listed on the label instead of hiding the inert materials in the formula; and finally, clear instructions are provided for application in the most common languages in which people using them will need to understand the dangers.

And perhaps We the People will then not have to rely on the judicial system to attempt to right the wrongs with the blessings of our elected, and most often "anointed" officials.  Link to the story of how we just won the right to learn exactly what is in the cigarettes some people are smoking.  Perhaps we can have that right extended to other industries such as foods, pesticides and  household furnishings to name a few.

Steve Tvedten demonstrates his tenacity in his role as an activist in the fight against using poisonous pesticides in his discussions with the crop-dusters. The "discussion" will give you important insight to the problem.

In Crop-dusting . . . . . .  A Point of View Part 1, Steve explains in detail about the dangers to the environment and people.  The crop-duster in turn tells Steve for him to get his facts straight.

In Crop-dusting . . . . . .  A Point of View Part 2, a Texas farmer asks Steve to give him guidance in a problem resulting from crop-dusting using malathion.  The crop-duster replies with a canned answer to the farmer's plight and says the farmer should get a lawyer. 

In Crop-dusting . . . . . .  A Point of View Part 3, the crop-duster gets defensive after Steve provides him with further proof about pesticides.  He told Steve that good reporters get their stories straight so Steve turned around and provided the crop-duster with articles written and published in two newspapers. 

Steve appears to have the last word on the matter when he sends the crop-duster information published by a PhD on the subject.  Read all about it in Crop-dusting . . . . . .  A Point of View Part 4!

Read other articles about "Crop-Dusting" in New York City, New Zealand and the one in Columbia where a U.S. Senator and other officials were sprayed, to get a better understanding of some of the dangers using this method of poisoning. 

And if you want to follow the entire and ongoing battle between Steve Tvedten and the crop-dusters you can link to Steve's site and read the whole story. By the way, it appears that the crop-dusters like to be called by a fancier name - aerial sprayers.  Personally, there are many more  "to-the-point" names that I can think of - how about you? 

As of October 18, 2001, Mr. Helliker has not responded to the email  I sent him sent him on September 10, 2001 that references the emails listed to the right of this paragraph.  It certainly appears to me that Mr. Helliker is yet another example of those officials who are appointed to protect the health and safety of residents through the implementation of existing laws, without ever examining those laws to see if they DO protect the citizenry!  In NYC we have NYC's Department of Health Director Neil Cohen, who in my opinion has been irresponsible and short-sighted in issues such as the West Nile Virus, not to mention his part in telling us that the air is safe to breathe in the early part of the aftermath of September 11, 2001.  When will they learn?

The Fly Swatter - An Alternative to Chemical Pesticides

What are Safe Alternatives that can be used in schools?

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

From the Classrooms to the Fields

The Classrooms, the Fields and NOW the Homes?

Find out who your Congressional representatives are and e-mail them. Demand that they create and pass legislation to stop the use of dangerous poisons.  If you know your Zip code, you can find them at: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.html 

Help elect me as your public advocate.  I will continue to fight for the way life should be in New York City because I am the only candidate who knows and cares about how good it can be!

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