To the Expositor:
On page 8 of the August 6 Expositor, a public notice was published advising that Manitoulin roadsides will be sprayed with chemical pesticides beginning on “August 11.”
I assume that date to be either August 11 or August 31.
August 11 would give the public five days notice, two of which were weekend days.
August 31 would give the public 25 days notice, eight of which are weekend days.
Details other than the name of the chemicals to be used were non-existent.
Seventy-six published references, some as recent as 2008, were utilized in a document (attached) entitled ‘Chemical Watch Factsheet 2,4-D,’ which classifies 2,4-D as follows: “Toxicity Rating – Toxic,” “Signal Words – caution, warning, danger,” “Health Effects – Sensitizer/Irritant, Carcinogenicity, Endocrine Disruption, Developmental and Reproduction, Neurotoxicity.”
I’m no chemist and I don’t wish to be “the boy who cried wolf,” but I feel that we need more lead time, together with the opportunity for public consultation prior to spraying.
Our family obtains our plentiful cold, clear, chemical-free water from a drilled well on our property.
Since the proponents have neither provided printed background information nor a public information opportunity, I intend to place “No Spray” signs on our property.
Mike Wilton Dominion Bay
