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NATIONAL
ALLIANCE FOR INFORMED MOSQUITO MANAGEMENT (AIMM)
I. PROBLEM
In this time of emerging mosquito-borne diseases and of greater understanding of the negative impacts of pesticides, we are dealing with two public health issues. One is the threat of mosquito-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus (WNV), and the other is the wide scale exposure of the public to hazardous pesticides used to combat mosquito-borne threats. In too many municipalities across the country, there are inadequate mosquito management policies in place. In some cases, a coherent management plan does not even exist. As a result, there is often a heavy reliance on mass spraying of pesticides to kill adult mosquitoes. This method of mosquito management is widely considered by experts to be the least effective and most risky response to this important public health concern. There is no credible evidence that spraying pesticides used to kill adult mosquitoes, also known as adulticides, reduce or prevent WNV incidents or illnesses. In fact, communities that do not generally use adulticides as part of their mosquito control often have lower cases of WNV than their neighbors that do. Pesticides used in the battle against mosquitoes have been linked to numerous adverse health effects including asthma and respiratory problems, dermatological reactions, endocrine disruption, chemical sensitivities, and cancer. Adulticides can also be harmful or fatal to non-target wildlife. There are much safer and more effective ways to manage mosquitoes and protect the public from mosquito-borne illnesses like WNV than the spraying of adulticides.
II. MISSION
The national Alliance for Informed Mosquito Management (AIMM) is a group of organizations and individuals working in their community to protect the public and the environment from unnecessary exposure to hazardous pesticides used in the attempt to control mosquito-borne diseases. By working with communities, experts, and public officials, the Alliance informs about the hazards of pesticides and calls for the adoption of safer, least-toxic methods of managing mosquitoes and the threats of mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus (WNV).
III. PLATFORM
Practice Effective Mosquito Management. AIMM insists on the adoption of effective, transparent mosquito management strategies that focus on public education, monitoring and surveillance, source reduction and least-toxic larval control. Targeting adult mosquitoes with pesticides kills only a negligible percentage of mosquitoes, does not affect mosquito-breeding habitat, can result in pesticide resistance, and is widely acknowledged as the least effective strategy to reduce mosquito populations.
Protect Human Health and the Environment. AIMM advocates for targeted mosquito management practices that cause the least amount of non-target exposure. Pesticides can affect much more than just the target pest. They are linked to adverse health effects including asthma, endocrine disruption, and cancer, and can be harmful or fatal to wildlife such as bees and other beneficial insects, fish, birds and aquatic ecosystems. Very little is known about long-term affects of low-dose, cumulative, combined, or synergistic exposure to pesticides.
Defend Vulnerable Groups. AIMM demands the protection of vulnerable populations unfairly endangered by the use of adulticidal pesticides. The elderly, children, fetuses, people with respiratory conditions, and those with immune deficiencies and chemical sensitivities have a greater risk of pesticide poisoning and suffer disproportionately from the spraying of adulticides. The welfare of endangered or susceptible wildlife, pets, and organic crops must also be protected.
Safeguard Human Rights. AIMM supports each person’s human right not to be exposed to pesticides unwillingly or without their knowledge and to protect his or her health and well-being by exercising a precautionary approach to pesticide exposure. Therefore, members of the community must be given the opportunity to exempt themselves from exposure to pesticide sprays and pesticide drift.
Ensure the Public’s Right-To-Know. AIMM insists that, if pesticides are to be used, decision makers involve and fully inform the public in advance and maintain accessible public spray records. The public has a right to know when and where spraying will occur, what pesticides will be used, the potential hazards of the pesticides, ways to avoid exposure, and whom to contact in case of illness from exposure.
This platform is based on the fundamental fact that there is no guarantee or consensus, either scientific or otherwise, that spraying adulticidal pesticides reduces the incidence of WNV nor that low-dose exposure to pesticides is safe from causing acute or chronic harm to human health and the environment.
IV. OVERARCHING GOALS
Adoption of Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM). Adopt local plans that protect the public from mosquito-borne disease and pesticide exposure by developing and implementing safe, effective, and least-toxic integrated mosquito management (IMM) strategies. Effective IMM strategies emphasize public education, monitoring and surveillance, source reduction and prevention, least-toxic larval treatments, biological and mechanical controls. Only after exhausting these strategies is it acceptable to consider the targeted use of adulticides.
Support for Sustainable Action. Empower communities, experts, and decision makers to work together to develop and implement a local WNV Response Plan that stipulates effective IMM methods and criteria. Quality response plans ensure that: (1) least-toxic and preventive methods are employed, (2) progressive steps with pre-specified actions and criteria are taken, and (3) the public is adequately notified, advised and/or involved. Effective response plans include consultation with a local task force that involves community representatives and experts alongside government, and mechanisms to monitor even subtle pesticide-related incidents to ensure that public health and environmental problems are not exacerbated.
Ensure the Public’s Right-To-Know. Ensure that people have a right to know the mosquito management practices in their community and the criteria that might trigger the spraying of adulticides. Should adulticides be used, members of the community must be notified of when, where and what pesticides may be used and how to avoid exposure prior to application and be given the opportunity to be exempt from being sprayed. The employment of buffer zones to protect from pesticidal drift is critical.
V. HOW THE ALLIANCE FUNCTIONS
The primary goal of working together is to share expertise, strategies, resources, and information and to foster pesticide reform in states and local communities across the country. Beyond Pesticides coordinates the Alliance but the members drive the needs and agenda of the group. Contact an AIMM group near you or Beyond Pesticides, Tel. (202) 543-5450, Email: info@beyondpesticides.org.
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AIMM Members:
Beyond Pesticides
701 E Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Tel. 202-543-5450
Fax 202-543-4791
info@beyondpesticides.org
www.beyondpesticides.org
Bring Urban
Recycling to Nashville Today (B.U.R.N.T.)
Joe Shedlock, Bruce Wood, and Eleanor Snyder (R.N.)
PO Box 128555
Nashville, TN 37212
Tel. 615-377-3649
burnt-tn@mindspring.com
www.burnt-tn.org
Californians
for Alternatives to Toxics
Patty Clary
315 P Street
Eureka, CA 95501
Tel: (707) 445-5100
Fax: (707) 445-5151
patty@alternatives2toxics.org
www.alternatives2toxics.org
Californians
for Pesticide Reform
David Chatfield
9 Powell St., Suite 530
San Francisco,
CA 94102
Tel: (415) 981-3939
Fax: (415) 981-2727
www.pesticidereform.org
Citizens Campaign
for the Environment
Adrienne Esposito and Dereth Glance
225A Main Street
Farmingdale, NY 11735
Tel. 516-390-7150
aesposito@citizenscampaign.org
www.citizenscampaign.org
Citizens for
Pesticide Reform
Betty
Ball
Rocky Mtn Peace & Justice Ctr
Boulder, CO
Tel. 303-444-6981
betty@rmpjc.org
Coalition Against
Pesticide Damages
Brenda Maggio
Grand Junction, CO 81504
Tel: 970-523-9437
Fax: 970-523-9439
sanctuarylink@aol.com
Colorado Pesticide
Network
Angela Medbery
2205 Meade Street
Denver, CO 80211-5055
Tel: (303) 433-2608
a.medbery@juno.com
Concerned
Citizens for Safer Mosquito Control
Jennifer Land
3905 Weeburn
Dallas, Texas 75229
Tel. 214-956-8857
schimmysham@yahoo.com
www.DalCAP.org
Families for
Natural Living
Lisa Reagan
P.O. Box 3653
Williamsburg, VA 23187
Tel. 1-888-FNL-GRPS
FNLemail@aol.com
www.familiesfornaturalliving.org
Gateway Green
Alliance
Don Fitz
720 Harvard
St. Louis, MO 63130
Tel. 314-727-8554
fitzdon@aol.com
www.gateway-greens.org
Informed Choices
Nancy Hirschfeld
1301 Howze Beach Road
Slidell, LA 70458
Tel. 985 649-6574
infchoice2@webtv.net
www.wtv-zone.com/infchoice/living.html
Jack B. Richman
Environmental Coalition
Marcella Richman and Dolores Pino
4545 W. Touhy St. Apt. 625
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
Tel. 773-534-7136
dcpino@yahoo.com
LocalMotion
Robin Heller
16824 Kercheval Avenue, Suite B100
Grosse Pointe, Michigan 48230
Tel. 313-881-2263
Fax 313-881-2293
rheller@local-motion.org
www.local-motion.org
Maine Environmental
Policy Institute
Will Sugg
220 Water Street
PO Box 347
Hallowell, Maine 04347
Tel. 207-622-9766
meepi@meepi.org
www.meepi.org
Maryland Pesticide
Network
Ruth Berlin
544 Epping Forest Road
Annapolis, MD 21401
Tel. 410-849-3805
berlinmpn@aol.com
www.mdpestnet.org
National Center
for Environmental Health Strategies
Mary Lamielle
1100 Rural Avenue
Voorhees, NJ 08043
Tel. 856-429-5358
ncehs@ncehs.org
www.ncehs.org
New Jersey
Environmental Federation
Jane Nogaki
223 Park Avenue
Marlton, NJ 08053
Tel. 856-767-1110
Fax 856-768-6662
janogaki@eticomm.net
www.cleanwateraction.org/njef
New York Public
Interest Research Group (PIRG)
Laura Haight
107 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12210
Tel. 518-436-0876 ext. 258
lhaight@nypirg.org
www.nypirg.org
Northwest
Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP)
Meghan Kemple
P.O. Box 1393
Eugene, OR 97440
Tel. 541-344-5044, ext 17
Fax 541-344-6923
polly@pesticide.org
www.pesticide.org
No Spray Coalition,
Nashville
Rachel Sumner and Carol Frazier
PO Box 128555
Nashville, TN 37212
Tel. 615-327-8515
nospraynashville@earthlink.net
www.nospraynashville.org
Ohio Coalition
Against the Misuse of Pesticides(OCAMP)
Barry Zucker
1303 Ranchland Drive
Mayfield Heights, OH 44124
Tel. 440-442-1818
Fax. 216-371-0722
ocamp@multiverse.com
Pennsylvania
Clean Water Action
Bob Wendelgass
33 East Abington Av.
Philadelphia, PA 19118
Tel. 215-640-8800 x204
bwendelgass@cleanwater.org
www.cleanwateraction.org/pa/index.htm
People Against
Chemical Contamination
Marian Listwak and Kim Lockard
North Branch, MI
Tel. 810-688-3192
listwak@usol.com
westonaprice@tir.com
Pesticide
Free Zone Campaign
Ginger Souders-Mason, Director
P.O. Box 824
Kentfield, CA 94914
Tel. 415-459-1391
ginger@seajay.org
www.pesticidefreezone.org
Safer Pest
Control Project
Rachel Rosenberg and John Q. Knight
25 E. Washington, Suite 1515
Chicago, IL 60602
Tel. 312-641-5575
Fax 312-641-5454
jknight@spcpweb.org
www.spcpweb.org
Sierra Club
Doris Cellarius
Sierra Club National Environmental Quality Strategy Team
connecticut.sierraclub.org
www.sierraclub.org
Stop the Pesticides
Campaign
Tom and Maria Hope
Please contact through:
c/o Bob du Rivage
411 Bay Berry Dr.
Wixom, MI 48393
Tel. 248-684-1077
bobdurivage@yahoo.com
Texans for
Alternatives to Pesticides
Charlotte Wells
3015 Richmond Ste 270
Houston, TX 77098
Tel. 713-523-2827
charlotte@nopesticides.org
www.nopesticides.org
Toxics Action
Center
Matthew Wilson
29 Temple Pl.
Boston, MA 02111
Tel. 617-292-4821
mwilson@toxicsaction.org
www.toxicsaction.org
Vermont Public
Interest Research Group (PIRG)
Ben Davis
141 Main Street
Montpelier, VT
Tel. 802-223-4097
ben@vpirg.org
www.vpirg.org
Washington
Toxics Coalition
Angela Storey
4649 Sunnyside Ave. N, # 5
Seattle, WA 98103
Tel. 206-632-1545 ex 11
astorey@watoxics.org
www.watoxics.org
Wyoming Outdoor
Council
Steve Jones, Watershed Protection Program Attorney
262 Lincoln St.
Lander, WY 82520
Tel. (307) 332-7031 ext. 18
Fax (307) 332-6899
steve@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
www.wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
The Xerces Society
for Invertebrate Conservation
Mace Vaughan, Entomologist/Educator and Conservation Director
4828 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97215
tel: 503-232-6639
fax: 503-233-6794
mace@xerces.org
www.xerces.org
Individuals
in:
Cave Creek,
Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
Bainbridge, Georgia
Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Berlin, Maryland
Shaker Heights, Ohio
Portland, Oregon
Ivyland, Pennsylvania
For more information or to join contact Beyond Pesticides 202-543-5450
See or Print the PDF version. Last Updated 2/23/05.