Frequently Asked Questions--FAQ

1. WHAT PRECAUTIONS SHOULD I TAKE BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER SPRAYING?

*Take children, animals and yourself inside

*Wait at least 30 minutes after spraying to go outside, greatly reducing your chances of breathing pesticides. These toxins have a pungent odor similar to the smell of mothballs. If you come home and smell this odor, get inside. Sun starts to break down this pesticide so it is best to avoid walking outside the night of the spraying. One expert from Vanderbilt suggests a 12-hour window. At the very least, take shoes off at the door.

*Make sure all window and doors are closed tightly

* Turn off air conditioners and cover outside units right before, during and as long afterward as possible

*Cover growing fruits, vegetables and herbs and all outside furniture

*Bring in all children’s toys and pet water and food bowls

If you come in direct contact with Anvil spray, protect your eyes. If you get it in your eyes, immediately rinse them with water.
Wash exposed skin; wash clothes that come in contact with spray separately from other laundry.
Consult health care provider if you experience health effects.
Contact BURNT to fill out Incident Report.

WARNING: Anvil is toxic to bees, fish and other aquatic life

2. I DON’T WANT MY PROPERTY SPRAYED, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Call: 340-5668, press 4, or call 340-5653 between the hours of 8am-4: 30pm, M-F

Ask to be put on the PERMANENT NO SPRAY list.

3. WHAT IF I WANT FURTHER INFO OR WANT TO BE INVOLVED?

Call 327-8515 or visit the BURNT website at http://www.burnt-tn.org/

More information is also available at http://www.nospraynashville.org

4. HOW DO I FIND OUT WHEN I AM GOING TO BE SPRAYED?

Visit www.healthweb.nashville.gov on Monday morning to find the week’s schedule

and links to zones and maps

5. WHAT IF I HAVE ADVERSE REACTIONS?

Seek medical care or call Poison Control Center at (615) 936-2034.

Contact BURNT (327-8515) for info on filling out an Incident Report or print an incident report out from http://www.nospraynashville.org and read about what to do in a spraying emergency.

6. ARE SOME PEOPLE MORE LIKELY THAN OTHERS TO EXPERIENCE SYMPTOMS DURING AND AFTER SPRAYING?

Yes, children, asthmatics, those with allergies (particularly ragweed),

and those who are immune-compromised.

7. WHAT CAN I PERSONALLY DO TO REDUCE THE MOSQUITO POPULATION?
**Make sure windows and screens are shut and in good repair

** Remove standing water from yard or use BTI dunks (larvicides) in water areas

** Keep alleyways and yards cleared of debris

**Use natural predators in yards: ex. Dragonflies (contact BURNT for more info)

** Apply natural insect repellents to skin

** Cover up (wear long sleeves and long pants) when going out at times when mosquitoes are most likely to be active (dawn/dusk)

No Spray Nashville/BURNT Coalition

(615) 327-8515; http://www.burnt-tn.org/

What’s Wrong With Pesticide Spraying for Preventing West Nile Virus?

Pesticides are listed as “toxins.” Toxins are POISONS (Webster’s).

That’s why they kill things. One of the components in Anvil Spray is SUMETHRIN, listed by the EPA as a suspected neurotoxicant, and another component, PIPERONYL BUTOXIDE is ranked by two out of three ranking systems used by the EPA as more hazardous than most chemicals. One of the “inert” ingredients, POLYETHYLBENZENE (PEB) is #2 on a list of 64 substances that EPA believes to be “potentially toxic to respiratory (allergies/asthma) and reproductive functions and should be assessed for effects of concern.” Pesticides are known immune suppressors. Contrary to popular belief, EPA does not test these products until years after they are introduced. They accept manufacturers’ testing as well as standards. These pesticide/poisons are supposed to be used as a last resort, such as an epidemic of WNV. We don’t take this illness lightly, but one case in Old Hickory that is in the stages of recovery does not constitute an epidemic.

Mosquito spraying does not eliminate the risk of contracting WNV.

Not even according to the Board of Health’s information. Adding more toxic chemicals to our already polluted air (Nashville is consistently ranked at about 20 on a listing of cities with the worst air) is not the best way to serve the public’s health. Asthma and allergy problems are also some of our top health problems. Other cities, including Ft. Worth, TX, Lyndhurst, OH and Washington, D.C., have implemented “No Spray” public health policies, believing the risks of spraying far outweigh the benefits.

            Brian B. Rogers D. O., MPH, City of Fort Worth Office of the Health Authority:

“Spraying a mosquito population that is less than 1% infected with a rare virus that infects humans 1% of the time, does not seem to validate the risks involved with massive spraying. As the City Health Authority of Fort Worth, I am sure that spraying will result in risks to citizens far in excess of 1%. Those with respiratory disease will certainly have to change their lives or risk a flare-up of their disease.”

       Lyndhurst Ohio City Council Ordinance banning pesticide spraying: “the risk/benefit analysis conducted by experts clearly indicates that the dangers of WNV are minimal and affect a very small segment of the population and that the long-term health and environmental risks of spraying with synthetic pesticides poses a much greater risk.”

            Even the EPA’s 2001Revised Guideline for Surveillance, Prevention, Control for WNV (West Nile Virus) states that spraying adulticides (pesticides for adult mosquitoes) is usually the least effective control measure. That’s because research shows that airborne pesticides only kill the adult mosquitoes it happens to catch in flight at that moment. But it also makes contact with plants and other wildlife, including bees, fish, and birds and bats that feed on mosquitoes. Spraying may kill some, but the next generation will come back stronger and more numerous because you have taken away natural predators and made many mosquitoes immune from the poison itself.

We are calling for a change in the Metro Board of Health’s Policy based on the following:

1) Public Education re: Prevention Methods;
2) Source Reduction;
3) Natural Predators;

4) The effective use of larvicides;
5) Cessation of hysteria about a disease one is as likely to catch as being struck by lightning!

We are also calling for Nashville to implement a policy that would allow spraying only in an emergency.

Mosquitoes are not the problem. West Nile Virus is not the problem.

Mass airborne spraying of toxins into our environment is the problem!