by Guest Writer Christiane Tourtet, B.A.In a letter dated May 26th 2010 to Leon County Board Commissioners Rackleff, Daily and Sauls, in Tallahassee, FL. Dr. Tom Termotto, National Coordinator for the Coalition Against Chemical Trespass, expressed his indignation in view of the 5 to 2 decision of the Leon County Board of Commissioners to revert to the previous Mosquito Control policy and implementation.
Commissioners Bob Rackleff, John Daily, and Jane Sauls voted to get rid of a fairly recent new policy that created a No-Spray zone of a quarter of a mile around the homes of the Leon County residents who had requested to not have any spraying near their homes and who were on the "No-Spray" list.
The previous Mosquito Control Policy allowed residents who did not want the spray near their homes to call the county and request a No-Spray zone. But instead of having a quarter-mile buffer of no-spray which was in the new policy, the driver of the mosquito truck was instructed to turn off the spray for a distance of approximately 150-200 feet, which would be the equivalent of about two houses on either side of the address on the No-Spray list.
This may seem trivial to many. But, it is not in view of the fact that seriously ill residents who had requested to have a No-Spray zone and had diligently alerted the county about their life-threatening illnesses/disabilities such as, but not limited to, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), have been unfortunately disregarded by Leon County Board Commissioners Rackleff, Daily, Sauls, and commissioners Deslodge and Proctor who voted to return to the previous spray policy.
Commissioners Cliff Thaell and Akin Akinyemi are the only ones who were concerned about extremely ill residents with life-threatening medical conditions and they voted against the return of the old policy.
The chemicals used for mosquito control spraying, contrary to public belief, are far from being safe. They are actually highly toxic, especially for children, people with pre-existing conditions, the sick, and the elderly.
People suffering from the environmental illness and disability known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) are particularly at risk of extremely severe reactions that could be fatal. For accurate information on MCS, please visit the award-winning site MCS Homepage
http://www.nettally.com/prusty/mcs.htm
and the outstanding site MCS America
http://www.mcs-america.org/
As a result of the decision of Commissioners, Bob Rackleff , John Daily, Jane Sauls, Bill Proctor, and Bryan Deslodge, to return to county´s previous spray policy, even though they knew that exposure to the toxic mosquito spray could greatly aggravate the medical and health condition of residents. Dr Termotto, in his letter of May 26th 2010, addressed to Commissioners Rackleff, Dailey, and Sauls wrote the following:
"For the record, we are putting the Leon County Commission and Administration on official notice: The County Commissioners and Staff who willfully and knowingly endanger the lives of those whose medical and health conditions put them at great medical risk, to include anaphylactic shock which can cause death in the absence of expeditious and competent medical intervention, will be held personally accountable for their actions, as well as inaction.
The government, be it city, county, state or federal, does not possess the legal right, statutory power or legitimate authority to poison citizens or property against their wishes. When it exercises such power, it is only because it has illegally arrogated it unto itself. And to do so, constitutes a criminal act, be it chemical assault or chemical trespass. Where death does occur, as a direct result of government policy and implementation in this regard, it is properly known as murder by the State, especially, when the appropriate government officials have been duly notified in advance of this potential consequence.
For the record, we will be adding to the following list of names those Leon County and State of Florida government authorities and employees who engage in conduct, either directly or indirectly, that contributes to the disease or death of any individual residing in this County due to the cavalier and unlawful administration of this program. For your information, we will hold the following Leon County Commissioners and State employee directly responsible for reckless endangerment, criminal negligence, malfeasance, chemical assault/trespass among other serious breaches of the law, should this program be re-instituted, as per last night´s vote.
1. Commissioner Bob Rackleff, Chairman
2. Commissioner John Daily, District 2
3. Commissioner Jane Sauls, Distric 3
4. Mike Page, Bureau Chief, FL Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control “
Termotto further added that on the civil side each successful plaintiff would be compensated for personal injury and damages up to a statutory limit of $100.000, and that a class action suit was also being considered as the Coalition Against Chemical Trespassing was meeting with more than 350 individuals currently on the "No Spray" list.
This letter was distributed to government officials, notably:
Dr. Termotto also contacted numerous newspaper editors and environmental organizations. Thank you Dr. Termotto for standing up for the rights of residents!
© 2010 Christiane Tourtet .
Editors Note:
For more background and information on these regulations, see:
Consideration of the Current "Mosquito Control No-Spray Program", Meeting of Tuesday, November 10, 2009
http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/agendas/attach/091110/A1608.pdf
This article originally appeared in the MCS America News, July 2010 Issue http://mcs-america.org/july2010.pdf. For more articles on this topic, see: MCSA News.
Key Words: multiple chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivities, MCS, EI, environmental illness, sick building syndrome, idiopathic environmental intolerance, fibromyalgia, chronic fatiuge, FM, CFS, mold illness, clinical ecology, alternative medicine, environmental medicine, neuropathy, encephalopathy, toxic, chemical
Commissioners Bob Rackleff, John Daily, and Jane Sauls voted to get rid of a fairly recent new policy that created a No-Spray zone of a quarter of a mile around the homes of the Leon County residents who had requested to not have any spraying near their homes and who were on the "No-Spray" list.
The previous Mosquito Control Policy allowed residents who did not want the spray near their homes to call the county and request a No-Spray zone. But instead of having a quarter-mile buffer of no-spray which was in the new policy, the driver of the mosquito truck was instructed to turn off the spray for a distance of approximately 150-200 feet, which would be the equivalent of about two houses on either side of the address on the No-Spray list.
This may seem trivial to many. But, it is not in view of the fact that seriously ill residents who had requested to have a No-Spray zone and had diligently alerted the county about their life-threatening illnesses/disabilities such as, but not limited to, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), have been unfortunately disregarded by Leon County Board Commissioners Rackleff, Daily, Sauls, and commissioners Deslodge and Proctor who voted to return to the previous spray policy.
Commissioners Cliff Thaell and Akin Akinyemi are the only ones who were concerned about extremely ill residents with life-threatening medical conditions and they voted against the return of the old policy.
The chemicals used for mosquito control spraying, contrary to public belief, are far from being safe. They are actually highly toxic, especially for children, people with pre-existing conditions, the sick, and the elderly.
People suffering from the environmental illness and disability known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) are particularly at risk of extremely severe reactions that could be fatal. For accurate information on MCS, please visit the award-winning site MCS Homepage
http://www.nettally.com/prusty/mcs.htm
and the outstanding site MCS America
http://www.mcs-america.org/
As a result of the decision of Commissioners, Bob Rackleff , John Daily, Jane Sauls, Bill Proctor, and Bryan Deslodge, to return to county´s previous spray policy, even though they knew that exposure to the toxic mosquito spray could greatly aggravate the medical and health condition of residents. Dr Termotto, in his letter of May 26th 2010, addressed to Commissioners Rackleff, Dailey, and Sauls wrote the following:
"For the record, we are putting the Leon County Commission and Administration on official notice: The County Commissioners and Staff who willfully and knowingly endanger the lives of those whose medical and health conditions put them at great medical risk, to include anaphylactic shock which can cause death in the absence of expeditious and competent medical intervention, will be held personally accountable for their actions, as well as inaction.
The government, be it city, county, state or federal, does not possess the legal right, statutory power or legitimate authority to poison citizens or property against their wishes. When it exercises such power, it is only because it has illegally arrogated it unto itself. And to do so, constitutes a criminal act, be it chemical assault or chemical trespass. Where death does occur, as a direct result of government policy and implementation in this regard, it is properly known as murder by the State, especially, when the appropriate government officials have been duly notified in advance of this potential consequence.
For the record, we will be adding to the following list of names those Leon County and State of Florida government authorities and employees who engage in conduct, either directly or indirectly, that contributes to the disease or death of any individual residing in this County due to the cavalier and unlawful administration of this program. For your information, we will hold the following Leon County Commissioners and State employee directly responsible for reckless endangerment, criminal negligence, malfeasance, chemical assault/trespass among other serious breaches of the law, should this program be re-instituted, as per last night´s vote.
1. Commissioner Bob Rackleff, Chairman
2. Commissioner John Daily, District 2
3. Commissioner Jane Sauls, Distric 3
4. Mike Page, Bureau Chief, FL Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control “
Termotto further added that on the civil side each successful plaintiff would be compensated for personal injury and damages up to a statutory limit of $100.000, and that a class action suit was also being considered as the Coalition Against Chemical Trespassing was meeting with more than 350 individuals currently on the "No Spray" list.
This letter was distributed to government officials, notably:
- The Honorable Bill Nelson,
- The Honorable Georges LeMieux,
- Governor Charlie Crist,
- Senator Jeff Atwater,
- Representative Larry Cretul,
- Jeff Kottkamp, Lieutenant Governor,
- Robert Wheeler, General Counsel,
- Kathy Mears, Deputy Chief of Staff,
- Melinda Miguel, Chief Inspector General,
- Pat Gleason, Special Counsel for Open Government,
- Warren Davis, Director of Citizens Services,
- Michael W. Sole, Secretary , Florida Department of Environmental Protection,
- Charles H. Bronson, Commissioner, Florida Department of Agriculture,
- Ana M.Viamonte Ross, State Surgeon General, Florida Department of Health.
Dr. Termotto also contacted numerous newspaper editors and environmental organizations. Thank you Dr. Termotto for standing up for the rights of residents!
© 2010 Christiane Tourtet .
Editors Note:
For more background and information on these regulations, see:
Consideration of the Current "Mosquito Control No-Spray Program", Meeting of Tuesday, November 10, 2009
http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/agendas/attach/091110/A1608.pdf
This article originally appeared in the MCS America News, July 2010 Issue http://mcs-america.org/july2010.pdf. For more articles on this topic, see: MCSA News.
Key Words: multiple chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivities, MCS, EI, environmental illness, sick building syndrome, idiopathic environmental intolerance, fibromyalgia, chronic fatiuge, FM, CFS, mold illness, clinical ecology, alternative medicine, environmental medicine, neuropathy, encephalopathy, toxic, chemical
