In Santa Fe, It is Raining Pesticides on a Public Sidewalk
Pauline Kenny, July 2004
Summary: Coates Tree Service, 1075 Pen Rd, Santa Fe, NM (New Mexico)
Coates Tree Service, sprayed pesticides from a private yard onto a public sidewalk where we were walking and we were sprayed with the pesticides.
How it happened
On Friday July 23, around 9am, Steve and I were out for our usual morning walk through our neighborhood and then to Downtown Subscription for coffee and bagel. As we were walking along Garcia Street, near Downtown, we felt water or something falling on us. We were on the sidewalk, beside a 10 foot wall, with a tree hanging over us. I assumed it was someone watering.
Then I saw the Coates Tree Service truck. Then I saw the big container of pesticide on the truck. I called out as I approached the truck and the guy spraying the pesticides came out from the yard. I shouted "Did you just spray us with pesticide?" He screamed "It was not my fault, I didn't see you." More shouting with me pointing out this was a public sidewalk and he had sprayed us with chemicals. He got very belligerent, screaming at us, phoning his boss, following us down the sidewalk telling us to wait because his boss was coming over. All we wanted to do was get away from all the chemicals, wash off our arms and then deal with it.
We went to Downtown and scrubbed our arms. Didn't stay for coffee. Went home and threw away our hats and t-shirts. Had showers.
Then I called the Department of Agriculture and filed a complaint against the company. Called the City and talked to their IPM coordinator. All he could do was make a note of the call and if he gets more complaints against Coates, he will file a complaint with the Department of Ag. Steve called Coates Tree Service to find out what we were sprayed with.
It was a fruit tree being sprayed for mites. The company said the pesticide is harmless to humans. It was Malathion 57 and Sevin (active ingredient Carbaryl 4L). But anti-pesticide activists do not think this is a harmless pesticide. Malathion is the most commonly used insecticide in the US.
Here is some information about it from the Pesticide Action Network.
The irony here is that we never use pesticides in our yard, we keep our house as non-toxic as possible (no pressboard, no regular paint, non-toxic floor finish, no wall-to-wall carpeting, no cleaning chemicals, no pesticides, no fragrances), and we eat organically grown foods. I did two years of volunteer work with a local organization promoting non-toxic building (Healthy Housing Coalition). Many of the people I worked with are Environmentally Ill (MCS - Multiple Chemical Sensitivities). One person we met became ill when she was sprayed in the face in a situation similar to ours.
I feel fine. Steve is feeling sick. Steve is more affected by chemicals and fragrances than I am. We went to our chiropractor/acupuncturist that same day and both had treatments. I don't think this exposure will damage us in the long term, but it was frustrating that it happened. The guy working for Coates Tree Service was acting irresponsibly and he knew it. That was why he overreacted and kept screaming that it was not his fault.
We use too many chemicals here
Pesticides and lots of other chemicals are over used in this country. Fragrances, insecticides, herbicides, cleaning chemicals all create a chemical soup that we live in that is having profound affects on our health. Most public places are sprayed on a monthly basis. Airports and airplanes are sprayed regularly.
This is one of the things that I dislike about the US and Canada - the overuse of pesticides and other chemicals. Our houses are built cheaply and with very toxic things. At the first sign of a weed, we spray our yards. I think it is better in Europe, but it is not perfect their either. On our trip to Rome this winter, Steve went into a public restroom at the Roman Forum just after it had been cleaned and the strength of the cleaning chemical they had used made him feel sick for a day. Friends of ours with a country house in Lazio assumed the vegetables their neighbors give them were organically grown, but now they find out the neighbors use pesticides. In Germany, many years ago, many people became environmentally ill because of heavy chemicals on wood used to build houses.
But, I don't think they have the number of chemical trucks driving through neighborhoods to do spraying that we have in the US. Santa Fe is better than most places because people do not have regular lawns that have to be sprayed to be kept perfect and we have a wonderful "old hippy" population here that are active against use of chemicals. The city uses mostly IPM (integrated pest management) and only uses pesticides in extreme situations. And when they do, they are required by law to post signs. Private people are not required to post signs when spraying is going on.
The manager at Coates that Steve talked to said that if they post signs, the neighbors all get upset about the spraying and complain. So instead they don't post signs and just spray quickly before people notice. Some states and municipalities have laws that require everyone to post before spraying occurs, during the spraying and for a few days after. If we are going to continue dumping chemicals onto our trees and lawns, the least we can do is require notification so that people do not walk through the chemical mist or get sprayed.
Coates Tree Service, 1075 Pen Rd, Santa Fe, NM
Coates Tree Service in Santa Fe, New Mexico (NM) does not always do responsible application of pesticides. In the situation described above, the worker was spraying pesticides onto a public sidewalk without being able to see the sidewalk. The Department of Agriculture said that the company should have either had another worker on the sidewalk to warn people of the danger or the worker should have sprayed the part of the tree that hangs over the sidewalk from the sidewalk, not from inside the yard.
Resources
www.panna.org: Pesticide Action Network, advancing alternatives to pesticides worldwide