CBS Channel 11 reporter Ginger Allen interviewed SMU chemist Brian Zoltowski for the station’s Aug. 15 report on aerial spraying over Dallas County to kill mosquitos that may be carrying West Nile Virus.
The report comes in the wake of a decision by Dallas County to address the spread of West Nile Virus with aerial spraying of a pesticide called Duet.
Zoltowski, an SMU assistant professor of chemistry, was asked about the possible impact of the pesticide on human health.
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Reporting: Ginger Allen
CBS Channel 11 DFW
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) – West Niles poses a serious health risk, but now with aerial spraying, there is a new concern. What could soon rain down over Dallas County may flood doctors’ offices with questions.Doctor Elizabeth Stevenson is an OB/GYN who says, “Unfortunately, right now, we don’t have a whole lot of information.”
Although Doctor Stevenson has delivered more than 4,000 babies, she, like the rest of us, is waiting to hear what the chemicals that kill mosquitoes could do to at risk patients like infants and pregnant women.
“We are going under the assumption that this will not be harmful to mother or unborn child,” says Doctor Stevenson.
CBS 11 has learned Dallas County will be using Clarke, an Illinois company to spray the pesticide called Duet. Duet contains sumithrin and pralletrin.
“If you ever take Raid and spray on a bug, they basically drop to the ground. That is what they are designed to do. They basically stop their ability to move,” explains Southern Methodist University Associate Professor Brian Zoltowski.
Zoltowski says these are chemicals that the pest control companies have being spraying on yards for years. He says the amounts that will be sprayed will kill mosquitoes, bees and fish. They do not have the protective enzymes to degrade the molecules that people and pets do. [...]
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