Indian River County in Florida has a new Mosquito Control Director, Sherry Burroughs.
March 11, 2021
Dear S. Burroughs Director of I.R.C.M.C,
Please pass this down the chain of command to the person who returned my frantic call on Tuesday afternoon February 23rd 2021 out of pure concern for myself and all of us living in the community of V.L.E.!
I would like to thank you for your kind words, saying I would be spared from the consequences of the fog truck. But the reality of it all, your words were what they were, just empty words! I was not spared one bit from the consequences that transpired after all fogging events.
My blood pressure shot up close to twenty points, my sinuses are burning and extremely irritated, a measurable difficulty in breathing, with a burning sensation in my lungs, eyes, nose and throat, muscle cramps that include my heart muscles (it is like multiple mini heart attacks that surely over the years of exposure has weakened the overall function of my heart), hence my concern of eventually having one last big fatal heart cramp!
My fibromyalgia pain is over the top, feeling nauseous, dealing with restless leg syndrome at night keeps me from a much needed good nights sleep! All because of your fog truck and Permanone 30-30, and no the symptoms are not from Covid-19!
On Wednesday February 24th, I woke up to a calm predawn morning and went outside to properly greet the new day. Only to be engulfed in the acrid bitter chemical smells left behind by your fog truck. With no rain in the forecast, I left town so I could gain some sort of relief from the effects of toxic fumes assaulting me in our community!
I returned in the late afternoon on March 6th 2021 only to be assaulted for the second time by the lingering toxic fumes spewed from your fog truck, almost two weeks prior!! We are still looking at several more weeks of suffering that so many are experiencing, (very few people can identifying with the source of their discomfort) only to be repeated (upon your whim) when you choose to send out the fog truck, yet again!
Your fogging operation on Tuesday evening on February 23rd 2021 has been by far the worst fogging event to date! We have been told the operation is computer controlled, but computers cannot compensate for dumb ass human error, anywhere along the way in preparing the full formulation or programing the computer!
Your number one go to reason for sending out the fog truck has been an avian virus that RARELY infects a human, only a few that have an already weakened and compromised immune system, are at a slight risk!
The health risks associated with the insecticides you use are well documented in published unbiased peer-reviewed data!
I send to you a copy of an alert about the intent to Aerially spray for mosquitoes. What is posted at the bottom of the page is paramount, because it explains how to protect YOURSELF from biting mosquitoes if you are afraid of the one in a million chance, if ever in your life time of getting sick from a mosquito bite!!
This data needs to be integrated into becoming the greater part of your effort in controlling mosquitoes instead of fumigating our entire community/county!
This data is paramount in educating all residents (and the swarm of newcomers) in our county! What is detailed in the contents of the data is far more preferable than dealing with the certainty of the health risks associated with the use of insecticides!! Because I am, to date, living in the midst of a nightmarish reality concerning many of those health risks!
Dr. V. Beth Simon will gladly volunteer to guide a representative from your office, with her recommendations in selecting the safest product and where to spray to better control pesky biting mosquitoes, out here in VLE!
Thank you for your time.
[FloridaVet63]
April 16, 2021
Dear S. Burroughs Director of I.R.C.M.C.,
One can sometime only assume (with a great deal of hope) that with a change in directorship, could the change possibly lead to a more prudent and more knowledgeable approach in your methodology while carrying out the duty of controlling mosquitoes! Not the total annihilation of them as we have seen in the past along with many other indigenous species!
The biased material supporting the insecticides you use is massive compared to the published peer-reviewed data that contains the truth. Most of the products you use are approved with results that are tagged with the statement of needing more research, or is below the EPA’s health risk criteria, or falls into the protected trade secrets and inert categories of non-disclosure for ingredients! Supported by this too often repeated statement there are no acceptable levels of exposure to any man-made chemical formulation!
I send to you the data (mentioned in my previous e-mail) that explains what I personally endure for weeks after the fog truck passes anywhere close to my home out here in V.L.E.
I am trying to get you to understand what this one insecticide’s formulation is capable of and is doing to all community members from the youngest to the oldest! Sadly most are ignorant of these facts, therefore most are not able to associate the connection with insecticides being the cause of their discomfort, including medical professionals!!
As of now, I am dealing with prostate cancer, here is data showing your product Permanone 30-30 used in our community. Because it is a pyrethroid class insecticide makes it highly suspect in, if not the leading cause for my diagnosis! I have been informed that I have an eighty five percent chance of testing positive for prostate cancer!
THE MOST important data is the fact sheet on PBO Piperonyl Butoxide! Because of the health risks associated with this one ingredient places it in the must-read category for all personnel!
The data describes word for word what symptoms I am now experiencing because of repeated long term chronic low dose exposures to Permanone 30-30!!
Because of chronic low dose exposure, which sad to say we are all dealing with daily, it is my most grievous concern considering the possible multiple health risks.
We have not even begun to review the damage to us all from the many neurological effects from the full formulation, from any of the products used for controlling mosquitoes!
Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic your ulv fogging of Permanone 30-30 into any community is simply the worst case scenario for everyone!
The health risks we face (daily) from all the different insecticide formulations used in your effort in controlling biting mosquitoes is by far the greater risk to us humans and our environment!
Remember this, percentages, everything is related to percentages and we humans are now losing!
Via e-mail I would be more then happy to share with you my ideas for better practices for controlling mosquitoes in VLE and throughout the county!
Please understand my concern is for everyone!
Thank you for listening to my words, please to not follow the path of your predecessor by being silent!
[FloridaVet63]
(response requested)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412021001148?via%3Dihub
April 26, 2021
Sorry for the delay in my response. I have reviewed the materials you provided and am willing to hear your ideas you referenced in the email below.
Sincerely,
Sherry
Feb 23, 2021
Hello Sherry-
Thanks for taking the time to listen to my concerns. Below are links to the studies I mentioned on the phone.
Association between permethrin exposure and cardiovascular mortality:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2757789
Association between pregnant mothers’ exposure to airborne levels of piperonyl butoxide and lower neurodevelopment test scores of infants:
Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Piperonyl Butoxide and Permethrin on 36-Month Neurodevelopment
In Vero Lake Estates, there is often standing water in the drainage grates where the swales connect. It’s possible that this is the source of many of the mosquitoes in the area, and if so, they could be spot-sprayed with Bti to avoid spraying the rest of the neighborhood with permethrin.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Val Simon
The Bitter Truth 