HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0489.725 2018-2020 r
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From: Diane Koerner
To: Council Testimony
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Subject: Please Override the Mayor"s Veto of Bill 101
Date: Tuesday,January 07,2020 5:43:21 AM
Aloha Honorable Councilpersons,
I am writing to ask you to vote to override the Mayor's veto of Bill 101 and reduce
spraying of chemical herbicides by the county. I am encouraged by your last vote and
hope you support the Bill now and make it a law on the Big Island. Unfortunately,
Mayor Kim (like most of our politicians) are lobbied by corporate interests and think
only of short-term economics instead of the long-term welfare and even survival of
our 'aina, our keiki, ourselves. You know your local constituents and I think you know
you won't be voted in again if you do not override the Mayor's veto. His political
career, I believe, is over for this and other reasons.
I recently watched videos of the pilot programs done in the '90s of 5 oceanfront Hilo
parks and 20 miles of county roads on the Greener Hawaii website. Weed
management in these trials was done mechanically only where needed, letting grass
and weeds grow where they weren't a bother or hazard. And community volunteers
and prisoners and those who needed to work off community service were used in the
initial transition. Carol Burgess, who was the leader of the community group said:
"Many benefits were achieved by eliminating herbicides from the five Keaukaha
oceanfront parks in Hilo, offering children the opportunity to run barefoot on the grass
without their parents worrying that they're absorbing chemicals. The ponds are
clearer now that there's no erosion from herbicided banks. There are no more brown,
denuded areas around the trees, so there's more space, and you can sit in beautiful
green grass with your back up against a tree. In the beginning, more work had to be
done," conceded Burgess. "But no more county employees had to be hired.
Community assisted the staff with special projects."
I often travel to Hilo to visit family and love walking through Liliuokalani Gardens. But I
am shocked to see old-fashioned weed management techniques being used there -
dead foliage in large circles around the trees, around park benches, around the water
fountain by the rest rooms - where people are trying to enjoy the beauty of the park
with their children, while walking their dogs, while exercising, etc. Please stop
scarring parks with herbicide spraying in areas that are easily accessible with a weed
whacker.
My husband and I began a support group for the chemically injured in 2003. We did
not expect to receive calls from people who had just experienced injury or witnessed
injury to animals after our county sprayed Roundup Pro, but that's what happened.
There is a high rate of asthma among the children who live in Hawaii. Their lungs are
fragile. Damage to lungs opens up their little bodies to take in more poison. I
understand since my lungs have been injured by chemicals. No one can do their best
work when they are suffering. Why would we want to spray poison near those we
love? q 125
Comm. o
Ref. To:t( no l
Ref. Date JAN - 8 2020
Monsanto, in a letter to NCAP (Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides)
admits that "Isopropylamine salt of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup
herbicide, makes up 41% of the formulation. Excess isopropylamine is present at
about 0.5% of the Roundup formulation."
The MSDS on Isopropylamine says under acute effects, "Harmful if swallowed,
inhaled, or absorbed through skin. Material is extremely destructive to tissue of the
mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract, eyes and skin."
"The surfactant makes up 15.4 percent of the Roundup formulation." The surfactant is
polyethoxylated tallowamine (POEA). It causes eye burns, skin redness, swelling,
blistering, nausea, and diarrhea according to information gathered by the Journal of
Pesticide Reform, fall 1998 issue,VOL.19, No. 3.
I would be glad to scan and send supporting documents at your request.
Peter Soares worked for the Kauai County Parks spraying Roundup under the fence
lines. He knew it was very poisonous. He developed ALS. He and I were friends the
year before he died. He remembers feeling sick as he tried to continue doing what the
county had ordered him to do. He risked his life for his job. In the future, county
workers could sue their employers, as you can no longer deny knowledge of the
harmful effects of chemical herbicides.
It is time to think about what we are doing as a state. Rachael Carson knew this was
coming when she wrote "Silent Spring". Mankind needs to make wiser decisions for
the sake of our children. Please do the right thing and approve Bill 101 into law.
Very sincerely,
Peggy Kadey
President of Kauai Network for the Chemically Injured
Kapaa, HI 96746