Bur$atil alerted us to this story. I googled it and this is what I came up with. It seems they sprayed Checkmate OLR-F over the area prior to testing it for potential harmful effects to humans. Later tested, they claim it is harmless to humans, although many people reported respiratory problems. Who do you believe. Let’s see…..I’ll believe the people who got sick.

From the 9/6/07Mcweekly.com:

Mr. Unpopularity: State Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura got an earful at last week’s meeting about unpopular plans to spray pheromones over the Peninsula.

Under pressure from three mayors, an Assemblyman, local nonprofits and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS), the State has postponed plans to aerially spray the Peninsula with a synthetic pheromone designed to disrupt the light brown apple moth’s mating pattern - but only for four days. The spray, originally scheduled for Sept. 5-7, has been moved to Sept. 9-11.

On Aug. 29, California Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura and members of his staff presented their case to more than 200 residents at the Monterey Conference Center. They emphasized the need to eradicate the invasive moth, which can damage more than 250 plant varieties, before it spreads.

During public comment, about 50 speakers questioned the health impacts of coating the area with pheromone products. Members of Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment cited a federal designation of the products as “moderately toxic” to marine invertebrates.

From a 10/25/07 article: An 11 month old child nearly died from breathing difficulties. A six year old child developed asthma as a result of the aerial spraying. Over one hundred people signed affidavits stating that they got sick from the spraying. Hundreds of people had symptoms like; shortness of breath, headaches, dizziness, burning lungs, nausea, and muscle aches.

Allen Roland claims he experienced respiratory problems while visiting the area, and after investigating, found out the spraying was the cause.

From a 10/25/07 article, some people left town for fear of respiratory problems.

From an 11/2//07 article: The Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors sued the California Department of Food and Agriculture to stop the treatmentsI, to no avail.

From an 11/3/07 article: It seems they went ahead, and OVERSPRAYED.

From an 11/4/07 article: They are now going to spray North County, where residents are quieter about it.