Ministers, Environmental Health Managers,
Parks and Gardens Managers,
Mayors, Councillors and Chief Executive Officers,
Dear all,
The attached document contains 8 questions in regard to the use of pesticide(herbicides).
In response to criticism of my letter in the Western Suburbs Weekly in which I raised concerns about the spraying of herbicides in and around Lake Claremont, I'd like to make the following points:
Although tree planting programmes are a great idea, I have been openly critical for a long time about our street tree replacement policies and our state and national weed strategies that have led to the removal, poisoning and ring -barking of many thousands of trees on public land.
The chemical weeding methodology has been of concern to many people, this also over many years. There is strong resistance, however, from our environment and health managers, to stopping this source of environmental pollution and toxicity to public health. Councils such as Nedlands and Fremantle have made some very good changes to their practices and they are now using mainly steam for the treatment of weeds but progress is very slow on a state-wide basis.
I have been trying to stop tree removal since the mid 1990s when several trees in our street disappeared, and I first complained about pesticides in the mid 80s when our passion fruit vines and backyard grass died as a result of council authorized spraying along the back lane. This occurred when our children were little and were often playing in the backyard. For many years after the spraying incident our back fence had the words "NO SPRAY" painted in bright red paint that could clearly be seen by the spraying contractors.
I will continue to publicly oppose this senseless and harmful practice because of the risks to the environment, residents and the general public, and I know that there is a large network of people who share these concerns.
Many of the pesticides can cause chronic and acute adverse health effects.
The Material Safety Data Sheet for one of the products that Subiaco Council intends to use around Lake Jualbup,as reported in the Post Newspaper, page 21, states :
".. a high potential to bioaccumulate in aquatic species.." and
" ..animal tests indicated that repeated and prolonged exposure produced liver and kidney disorders and embryo/foetotoxic effects"
Furthermore, this herbicide that is commonly used in or near our bushland and lakes is a schedule 6 Poison.
The other common herbicide used like lollywater globally, in our lakes and in our bushland, was linked in 1999 by two Swedish oncologists to Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It also has adverse effects on the environment, including links to die-back.
In view of the many young people and pregnant mothers with toddlers who often use these recreational areas, why are we continuing to put at risk public health?
Many health problems have occurred over the years and many have been recorded. More recently I have been told that at least 11 residents have been affected, 4 children severely affected and 2 people hospitalized, due to the spraying of bushland in Bassendean. It is simply disgraceful that residents have to suffer ill health due to local or state government spraying practices and that the best that some authorities can do is to provide 300-500 metre exclusion zones around individual homes. Furthermore, who is speaking on behalf of any wildlife that may also be adversely affected? I can't imagine any frog, bird or insect that would be pleased to have its habitat sprayed with chemicals.
Please refer to the website and read the many complaints from residents about the pesticides that are being used on public land by our authorities.
Please also research the health and environmental effects of the many common pesticides. Also feel free to contact Jane Bremmer at the Alliance for a Clean Environment and the National Toxics Network. Jennifer Catalano and her group at Midland Frogs have been slowly and carefully weeding Blackadder Creek without any chemicals for over 10 years.
Industry best practice tells us that a Risk Assessment should be undertaken if our authorities wish to convince the public that the risks posed by the weeds are greater than the risks posed by the herbicides that are used to kill the weeds. I am not aware that any such Risk Assessment has ever been undertaken by any level of government. To continue such practices in the absence of a Risk Assessment, in my opinion, is reckless.
Regards,
Alex Jones
www.saveourtrees.net
PO Box 474 Nedlands,WA 6009
93896023
0409291398
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