California Resumes Air War Against Invading Fruit Fly, Stirring Debate
By ALEXANDRA SMITH, Special to The New York Times
Published: December 10, 1989
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9— For the second time in this decade, California has undertaken vast aerial spraying of a pesticide over residential areas here in an effort to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly, fueling a renewed debate that pits protection of agriculture against environmental concerns.
Since a single fly was trapped near Dodger Stadium in August, helicopters have sprayed the pesticide malathion over 250 square miles of neighborhoods in Los Angeles County and Orange County.
The Mediterranean fruit fly is the most stubborn of several fruit flies that have threatened California crops in recent decades. An infestation of Oriental fruit flies was quickly supressed in 1974, as was a Mexican fruit fly invasion in 1984.
As the work on the current infestation goes on, two questions arise: Is the pesticide dangerous to humans, and can the produce industry in California survive both the fly and the spraying? State Produce Could Be Barred
State officials say they hope to eradicate the pest before it spreads to the San Joaquin Valley and threatens the $16.6 billion agricultural industry. The fly lays its eggs in 250 kinds of fruits and vegetables, rendering them unfit for sale. California's produce could be barred by other states and nations.
The spraying, which will cost about $12 million, has been challenged by residents and politicians.
''We still don't know if malathion is completely safe,'' said Richard Alatorre, a City Councilman whose district has been sprayed. ''We were told that DDT was safe, that Agent Orange and asbestos were safe, but the facts about malathion's long-term effects won't be known for another generation.''
A toxicologist, Brian P. Dolan, argued that even though malathion was a ''reasonably safe'' pesticide, it was still a toxic chemical that had not been fully studied and therefore should not be sprayed over dense urban populations until proven safe.
''Its toxicity still has not been well worked out, and now the E.P.A. is saying some of their research was flawed,'' said Dr. Dolan, a private internist in occupational medicine who is an expert on chemicals and how they affect humans. He has worked with California farm workers for the past ten years.
''My concerns are that with repeated sprayings, you increase exposure, which raises the risk of birth defects and cancer,'' he said. ''Nobody wants the Medfly to wipe out our economy, but there are still so many questions about the chemical being used.'' Officials Cite Small Doses
State agriculture officials insist that malathion does not hurt humans, especially not in the small doses used in aerial spraying. But people are advised to cover their cars with tarpaulins to protect the paint.
''This stuff has been around for 40 years and study after study has shown it doesn't harm people,'' said Gera Curry, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. ''Homeowners use it in their backyards. In Europe doctors apply it on the heads of children for head lice.''
In some areas, sterile Mediterranean fruit flies, bred in laboratories, are being released to breed with the invader; the mating will not take. But elsewhere a shortage of the sterile flies has caught officials off guard. Spraying Goes On for Now
Until a new laboratory to breed sterile fruit flies is completed in Hawaii, California will rely on aerial spraying, Ms. Curry said. The pest is rife in Hawaii, but farmers escape extensive damage because the major commercial crops, pineapples and sugar cane, are immune to the fruit fly, Malathion was first used in California in 1981, after a year of debate in which the Governor, Edmund G. Brown Jr., delayed the spraying. That allowed a small infestation in Northern California to spread statewide. Farmers lost $100 million.
And the Governor's decision was believed to have been a factor in his losing a United States Senate race to Pete Wilson in 1982.
Since the 1981 sprayings, the Department of Health Services has conducted studies on the effects of malathion on humans, said Veda Federighi of the Department of Food and Agriculture. ''They concluded that malathion posed no adverse health effects to the public,'' she said, ''and we were dealing with a much larger area then.'' In 1981, about 1,400 square miles were sprayed. Environmentalist Is Suspicious
Randall Toler, who heads the United States Green Party, an environmental group, said some studies indicated that the pesticide was harmful to humans.
''Studies in central Japan showed that malathion affected the liver enzymes and destroyed nervous responses in children and agricultural workers,'' said Mr. Toler. State officials argue that even if it was toxic, only one-third of an ounce of the pesticide is sprayed over an area of 60 by 100 feet.
Ms. Curry said, ''The dosage is the important thing and the amount we use is so small it's almost infinitesimal,'' adding, ''If you have a sick shrub in your backyard, you're going to use a lot more on that than we use on an entire city lot.''
Environmentalists say state officials did not give enough notice that neighborhoods would be sprayed.
''The officials know they can announce it and then spray a few days later and a community can't really get organized in that time to put out loud opposition,'' said David Bunn, a research director for Pesticide Watch. ''The state has learned that the faster they can reduce the notification time, the less likely people will protest.''
In an odd twist, Mayor Tom Bradley, agricultural officials and the press recently received a letter from a group called ''Breeders'' taking responsibility for the spread of the fruit fly and condemning the spraying.
The letter - officials say it may be a hoax - threatened to continue breeding and spreading Mediterranean fruit flies until the spraying becomes ''politically and financially intolerable.''
Drawings and specifications of the Mediterranean fruit fly and the common house fly (Source: ''Insects'', by Dr.Jiri, Zahradnik, illustrated by Frantisek Severa)