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Health, Leases, and Toxicity in Paradise - Part 3
 Terra Mar - PVNN
August 31, 2010
Chlorpyrifosis an organo-phosphate insecticide, an agricultural spray that managed to make its way into our homes. The product information contains dire warnings for plants and wild life. As for humans, if ingested, it would take between a teaspoon and an ounce to kill you dead.
Another point that caught my attention was that absent rain, which most of us won't have indoors, the effects can be expected to linger for up to a year. Well, that's what the company says; the EPA found a different story.
The EPA banned Chlorpyrifos for indoor use almost 10 years ago. It is also banned in South Africa, the EU, India, Canada and elsewhere. Still, in an EPA study of floor wipe samples from 500 homes across the U.S., a whopping 78 percent of them had traces of Chlorpyrifos. Talk about long-lasting!
Of course the Empire strikes back. Our exterminator claimed never to have had problems or complaints - not even one - and sent marketing material from the producers of Termidel, extolling its virtues.
No surprise there.
For a more considered overview and introduction to this topic, I recommend this article: "Chemical Toxicity: A Matter of Massive Miscalculation" by Jay H. Lehr, PhD. It is a thoughtful piece in which the author questions much of the certainty and science of the young discipline of toxicology:
"We have been taught that science produces certainty. As a result, the public is impatient with scientists who express uncertainty, and tend to believe scientists who express their views without reservations. In toxicology, the certainty most of us seek is that a particular chemical is safe. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an absolutely safe chemical: all chemicals can cause toxic effects in large enough amounts.
When faced with this reality, most people look for a different certainty: a "safe" amount. They want to know the exact level at which a chemical changes from nontoxic to toxic. Again, this is not a scientifically realistic goal. Human individuals vary tremendously in their responses to their environment, including the chemicals in it, so what is "safe" for one person may not be "safe" for another."
The Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) has information on Chlorpyrifos from the International Chemical Safety Cards Index. It is filled with warnings such as - and I'm quoting caps and all: "NOTE! STRICT HYGIENE! AVOID EXPOSURE OF ADOLESCENTS AND CHILDREN!" I have included other information and resources as end notes.
That way we can finish the story and consider some solutions. By the way, the real story here is not mine. It is one that often lacks human interest until we hear of a class action suit from agricultural workers or read of a sick, deformed or dying child. But just to dot i's and cross t's, here's what happened in my case.
The landlord sensed we were not going to roll over and agreed to let us out of the remainder of the lease but refused to give us back our deposit, claiming that he had expenses. Adding the deposit to the meals and nights out, we lost close to $2000 USD on the deal and needed several days for the symptoms to go away. The rental agency, while sympathetic, could do nothing to help us because both sides were clients - the owner as well as us, the renters.
My husbands and I are both in the natural healing arts, so forced to choose between our health and money it was an easy, though financially painful decision. On the bright side, we found a less expensive, very green and comfortable place in Versalles where the owners never do massive fumigations because they love their place and keep up with it. This landlord uses Termidel in small amounts and instead of diluting it 10:1 as the manufacturer recommends, he dilutes it 20 - 40:1. No termites here by the way.
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