• Correction of pesticide column • Story on ‘Monte’ failed to state ancestry Correction of pesticide column Bennette Misalucha, executive director of the Hawaii Crop Association, correctly pointed out (TGI, Oct. 12) that there was amistake in my recent column (TGI, Oct.
• Correction of pesticide column • Story on ‘Monte’ failed to state ancestry
Correction of pesticide column
Bennette Misalucha, executive director of the Hawaii Crop Association, correctly pointed out (TGI, Oct. 12) that there was amistake in my recent column (TGI, Oct. 3) which reviewed two of Kauai’s pesticides. It was the United Kingdom that bannedspraying of Chlorpyrifos on all agricultural crops (but one) starting April 1, 2016 — not all the nations of the European Unionas I had stated. While the EU greatly reduced their tolerance levels, they did not ban it.
The actual purpose of my column was to report that the Environmental Protection Agency is expressing much greater concernabout Atrazine and Chlorpyrifos than they have in the past.
1. In October 2015, the EPA recommended a prohibition on the use of Chlorpyrifos on agricultural crops and the final decisionis pending. The reasons they gave for this recommendation included worker safety and the potential contamination of surfacewaters.
2. In April 2016, the EPA announced that Chlorpyrifos and Malathion are “likely to adversely” affect 97 percent of endangeredspecies based on their review of over 1400 studies.
3. Also in April 2016, the EPA reported that after reviewing hundreds of studies they had concluded that Atrazine at normallevels of spraying greatly exceeded safe levels of chronic exposure for land and sea animals.
My article also discussed the growing concern about environmental toxins and neurobehavioral disorders in children.
Reviewing the EPA literature about possible adverse effects is not “fear mongering.” As a physician, I have had to embrace thefact that the scientific literature is constantly evolving. And if the EPA says that after looking at hundreds of studies they havecome to certain conclusions, those conclusions should not be disregarded.
Lee A. Evslin, MD, Kapaa
Story on ‘Monte’ failed to state ancestry
The front-page leading article of The Garden Island (Oct. 7) about the impressive life of Kazuma “Monte” Nishiie was certainlya comprehensive and well-deserved account. However, one passage in the article was a real day-spoiler. It states Montejoined a battalion “… comprised of Japanese soldiers.”
A hypothetical parallel case may clarify my concern, such as: “Ikaika Steinlager graduated from Kauai High School in 1942 andjoined a battalion comprised of German soldiers. Such statements lack the necessary wording, “American soldiers of ___ancestry.”
In published materials of the Territorial Era (yes, I am old enough to remember!), the convenient acronym of AJA (American ofJapanese Ancestry) was in common usage. In this instance, it could have been appropriate and avoided a lot of discomfort.
Richard Coller, Kapaa
