HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0489.590 2018-2020 From: Donald Rudny [mailto:mkea13800@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2019 8:39 AM li ri PLIV y ire i'2; €0 3L
To: Poindexter,Valerie <Valerie.Poindexter@hawaiicounty.gov>; Richards,Tim
<Tim.Richards@hawaiicounty.gov>;Villegas, Rebecca <Rebecca.Villegas@hawaiicounty.gov>; David,
Maile<Maile.David@hawaiicounty.gov>; Chung, Aaron <Aaron.Chung@hawaiicounty.gov>; Kanealii-
Kleinfelder, Matt<Matt.Kanealii-Kleinfelder@hawaiicounty.gov>; Eoff, Karen
<Karen.Eoff@hawaiicounty.gov>; Lee Loy,Sue<Sue.LeeLoy@hawaiicounty.gov>; Kierkiewicz, Ashley
<Ashley.Kierkiewicz@hawaiicounty.gov>; Kim, Harry<Harry.Kim@hawaiicounty.gov>; Clerk-Council
<clerk-council@hawaiicounty.gov>
Cc:Yamamoto, David<David.Yamamoto@hawaiicounty.gov>;Waltjen, Roxcie
<Roxcie.Waltjenc hawaiicounty.gov>
Subject: Herbicide Bill 101
Aloha Honorable County Council Members,
Val Poindexter responded to my previous email and suggested I watch the video of the
November 6th meeting regarding Bill 101. I did that over the weekend and have some additional
comments to add to my original testimony.
1. I want to make it clear that I have no connection to any herbicide manufacturer or
_ distributor. I am retired and am writing only as a concerned citizen and constituent. My wife
and I have lived happily on our small farm in Pepeekeo for ten years now. I use the product
RoundUp regularly and we, as well as our pets, have seen no ill affects from it.
2. I understand Mr. Richards' concern about this being a step to ban total use of herbicides in the
County including the private sector. I believe there was an attempt a few years ago to ban GMO
products here County wide by the Council. My online connections with the local community
suggest that herbicide opponents will push to take the next steps toward total ban. As Mr.
Richards indicated, banning of private use will have dire consequences for agriculture and
private property maintenance.
3. I sensed that the DPW and Parks heads are concerned about moving forward with this effort.
The costs are uncertain, and although there are options to controlling vegetation growth, there
will be additional costs associated with most of them. It's easy to say that this should be done
within budget, but actually doing it will be an ominous task. I believe Ms. Kierkiewicz had a
good question about the strategy to implement the Bill. I still believe giving some flexibility in
limited useof herbicides would be a better approach.
4. Although the WHO has determined that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen, it made a
clarification in 2016 that it is not with regard to diet. This is an excerpt from the JOINT ,
FAO/WHO MEETING ON PESTICIDE RESIDUES, Geneva, 9-13 May 2016:
In view of the absence of carcinogenic potential in rodents at human-relevant doses and the
absence of genotoxicity by the oral route in mammals, and considering the epidemiological
evidence from occupational exposures, the Meeting concluded that glyphosate,is unlikely to pose
a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet. o
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Any risk to humans would be through the application process. Proper safeguards such as
protective gear and procedures, as I outlined in my original testimony, can be implemented to
eliminate that risk. There is still much disagreement regarding whether there is any risk at all.
5. Use of herbicides on our highway system improves the safety of both DPW workers and the
public by reducing time spent on the highway. Cutting operations require more workers for both
the cutting operation and traffic control. Cutting is required more frequently as well and will
cost much more. I support the reduction of herbicide use and try to use less on my own property,
but I believe we should trust our DPW, as I wrote in my original testimony, and allow them the
flexibility to use it safely and sparingly. They have done that over the past few years and
presently use far less.
Mahalo for your consideration.
Don
Don Rudny
P.O. Box 106
Pepeekeo, HI 96783-0106
312-209-5870