FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 16, 2002

Statement Concerning Public Policy on West Nile Disease Prevention

Resource Conservation Manitoba believes that the following principles should be central to any plan that may be developed in response to West Nile virus in Manitoba.

1. SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLE: The approach to preventing West Nile disease in Manitoba must take into account the cumulative, longer-term impacts of the combined measures adopted. In short, the approach must be ecologically sustainable. While RCM recognizes that decision-makers may feel pressed to take immediate and dramatic action, we need to ask ourselves as a community about the environmental impacts of the steps proposed. For example:

* Is it realistic to rely on malathion fogging as a standard means of mosquito control and West Nile virus prevention in Winnipeg? What does this actually do to human and ecosystem health?

* Can the application of malathion be done without harmful effect, year after year, at a scale and intensity necessary to maintain mosquito populations at a level low enough to prevent transmission of the illness to humans?

* What are the cumulative effects of repeated exposures to synthetic chemical pesticides on children? RCM notes that there is increasing evidence that use of pesticides is associated with a range of health effects including respiratory diseases, immune system disorders, endocrine system disruption, and various developmental disorders. Is placing the health of children continually at risk by using synthetic chemical pesticides an approach with which our community feels comfortable?

* And not incidentally, what happens when we are confronted with malathion-resistant populations of mosquitoes? Are we confident that we are not already in that position? Do we then resort to ever more dangerous and powerful chemical agents?

* What monitoring and research are planned to identify, document and analyze the intended and unintended effects of malathion fogging at the scale proposed?

* RCM is concerned that the Province of Manitoba is embarking on a highly interventionist course of action for which no environmental assessment has yet been carried out or even planned.

2. PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE: Where the consequences of interventions in ecosystems are unknown or uncertain, the Precautionary Principle holds that decisions and actions should reflect conservative assumptions about their possible impacts. Before intervening, program proponents need to be in a position to anticipate and prevent adverse environmental impacts. The widespread use of synthetic chemical pesticides falls under this principle. As noted, evidence increasingly points to a number of serious health risks for children, in particular.

How will Manitobans be better off if the continuing and expanded use of pesticides leaves them with a higher incidence of illness (caused by pesticides) than that associated with West Nile virus? It is notable that the response plan last year in Ontario (where West Nile was identified in both bird and mosquito populations) incorporated three main components: public education, source reduction, and larviciding. There is no mention of adulticiding with malathion or any other agent.

Manitoba is at an early stage in its experience with West Nile virus. RCM emphasizes the need for thoughtful, measured responses by decision-makers based on a commitment to sustainability and to the precautionary principle. As a community, we need to ensure that the results of the West Nile virus protection program will not be worse than the virus itself.