Greenfield opts out of state’s aerial mosquito spraying
BERSHOF
Published: 5/5/2021 4:57:05 PM
GREENFIELD The City Council voted during an emergency meeting Tuesday to opt out of recent State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board legislation that would allow aerial spraying in certain situations.
Board of Health Chair Nancee Bershof said the legislation authorizes the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control Board, under the Department of Agricultural Resources, to “engage in preventative, management and eradication methods whenever the commission of public health determines an elevated risk of arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus) exists or may exist for the current or upcoming year.”
“The difficulty is when aerial spraying is the recommended choice,” Bershof said. “The chemical adulticide used is Anvil 10-10. Controversy exists about the safety and efficacy of this treatment and of the effectiveness in general of aerial spraying.”