The rainy season is here and that means spraying for mosquitoes is getting underway. Aerial spraying is going on Tuesday night, weather permitting, in areas west of Military Trail, out to the Glades.
Chris Reisinger is an Environmental Analyst with Palm Beach County Mosquito Control. He tells us that residents have nothing to worry about when it comes to the chemical being used.
"Naled has been used for over 50 years and it's okayed by the CDC (Centers for Disease and Prevention), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the Florida Department of Ag(riculture), and they've done lots of experiments and tests on it for the past 60 years to get its registration."
A study purported to show that babies born to women in China who were exposed to Naled while pregnant developed slight problems with coordination, movement and other motor functions around nine months of age
Reisinger says how researchers came to the results isn't clear.
"With the women in China, we actually don't know how they were exposed to it. We have no idea what rates they were exposed at. Naled's not even for sale in China so we have no idea what happened there. That's what needs to be investigated here."
He says the chemical is badly needed in those western communities, where nuisance mosquitoes have been growing in population since last week's rains.
"At the applications we are spraying at, it's about an eighth of an ounce per acre, I don't believe there are any mal-effects for the residents of Palm Beach County. Our director has been given the authority to make the judgement call on what pesticide to use, when to use it and if you see the levels of mosquitoes out here in the western communities, you'd probably agree with him too."
We'll hear more from Reisinger as far as any concerns over Zika on Wednesday's Morning Rush.
Photo: AFP