Brian Moench and Courtney Henley, of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, write that the habit of spraying poisons to fight mosquitoes is dangerous and counterproductive.
Opponents want all spraying to stop, arguing it can do more harm than good.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Mosquitoes at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District s facility in February. The district is backing away from plans to use a C-130 plane to spray for mosquitoes.
| April 24, 2021, 11:38 a.m.
Faced with intense opposition from environmental and community groups, Salt Lake City mosquito-control officials have abandoned their proposal to use military aircraft to spray chemical insecticide.
The controversy, however, has hardly abated.
The city’s mosquito abatement district hoped to save thousands of dollars by enlisting the U.S. Air Force, which would provide a C-130 Hercules transport plane and pilots at no cost, to apply adulticide chemicals over the city’s largely uninhabited northwest quadrant, where these soggy lands meet the Great Salt Lake. While officials remain confident the project would have been appropriate and safe, they cited a preferenc
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Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Some physicians want all mosquito spraying stopped in Utah, claiming alleged harm to residents, but state officials reaffirm their methods of application are safe.
Members of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment spoke out this week about dangers insecticides used against adult mosquitoes pose to Utahns’ health, publishing a report that lists the downsides of being downwind from mosquito-spraying areas.
The activists listed three major concerns:
Neurological problems, including autism, in adults, children and developing fetuses.
Decreased fertility in men and women.
Utah’s overall air quality.
However, the Salt Lake County Mosquito Abatement District countered that efforts to control mosquito populations protect Utahns from illnesses such as West Nile virus.
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Published April 14, 2021 at 6:30 PM MDT Listen • 5:08 Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wants to make it easier to obtain devices that make firearms quieter. This story and more in Wednesday evening s news brief.
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