leave in their wake a trail of destitution and hunger, conveying to an undernourished
population the major diseases, scourges of mankind.’’^81
An individual from California wrote to theNew Yorker, which originally serialized
her work in several articles: ‘‘Miss Rachel Carson’s reference to the selfishness of
insecticide manufacturers probably reflects her Communist sympathies, like a lot of
our writers these days. We can live without birds and animals, but, as the current
market slump shows, we cannot live without business. As for insects, isn’t it just like
a woman to be scared to death of a few little bugs! As long as we have the H-bomb
everything will be O.K. P.S. She’s probably a peace-nut, too.’’^82
Forty years later, in a somewhat more sophisticated vein, the executive director
of Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE) sent the following form
letter to thousands of school districts in the United States, urging them to use
pesticides:
‘‘Dear [School Administrator],
‘‘If it’s your responsibility to maintain a clean, safe, and healthy school environ-
ment, you know the important role pesticides play as part of your overall facility
management. Leading researchers, scientists, and even doctors like C. Everett Koop
[no mention is made of the fact that the former surgeon general was strongly sup-
ported by chemical companies] agree that pesticides pose no risk to the health of chil-
dren or adults when used according to label instructions.
‘‘I’m sure that you will agree that pesticides are a valuable tool in protecting the
health and safety of children on your school properties. At times, you may find it im-
portant to let others know pesticides protect children from the health and safety risks
posed by pests such as cockroaches, rodents, poison ivy, and lice. If or when a pesti-
cide issue arises in your school, we invite you to share these facts with parents, teach-
ers, and students:
- Without pesticides, pests pose a serious health and safety risk to children
and adults.Cockroaches, ants, flies, fleas, lice, mosquitoes, ticks, wasps, and
rodents are serious health concerns due to their bites, stings, and ability to
transmit diseases. - Pesticides are extensively tested and highly regulated.Every pesticide must
successfully complete as many as 120 government-mandated tests before the
Environmental Protection Agency considers label approval and product regis-
tration. The entire development and testing process takes eight to ten years at
a manufacturer’s cost of $35 to $50 million or more per product. On average,
only one in 20,000 potential products ever make it to the marketplace. - Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is best.To control pests, methods such
as sanitation, structural repair and maintenance, watering, mowing practices,
and judicious use of pesticides should be used. A balanced approach, which
included the use of pesticides such as necessary, is one that will assure health
and safety for children and adults. Pesticides should not be considered for
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