Computer engineering student fascinated for science, nature, and health. I Also love to read and produce creative thoughts and share them with people.

Jul 11, 2016

Why Naled Should Not Be an Option for Puerto Rico?

I first notice about the fact that Puerto Rico was going to be sprayed around 2 weeks ago, through the social networks, with an insecticide called Naled. It was through the following post:

which briefly stated the following “Do not spray us! The CDC of the U.S. and Puerto Rico’s government plan to spray the Puerto Rican people with airplanes with a poison called Naled. This chemical affects the nervous system of human beings and insects. The agriculture, apiculture (beekeeping), and health. Don’t let it happen.”

What is Naled?

Now I’ve been doing some research on Naled and here I’ll state some of the points I’ve concluded on after doing said research.

What is Naled? Naled is an organophosphate insecticide , which means it is an organic compound bonded with phosphate, in this case, it is to make it less soluble in water (If you took organic chemistry you would understand a little bit more of that). In this context, the use of this insecticide is to eliminate the Zika virus which is spread through mosquitoes, therefore, killing them with the spray. Hence the plan is to spray the island with airplanes with Naled.

If we dig deeper into what Naled is we will find that it is classified by EPA at a toxicity level or “category” 1 for being highly toxic and irritant. Throughout its “lifespan”, which I’ll give details of it later on, it decomposes and produces another chemical called dichlorvos. Dichlorvos is another organophosphate which from its interaction with DNA it is considered mutagenic and possibly carcinogenic. Also, some state that it may affect the fertility of the population.

What are the consequences?

So what effects can this chemical produce to Puerto Rico in general? Here are some of the major concerns we have about Naled.

Although it does kill the mosquitoes, it also kills other insects, it does this by producing very tiny aerosol drops and it creates a colloidal suspension that remains in the air for a long time. That effect that Naled has on mosquitoes and other insects is the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase which is a necessary substance for the correct functioning of insects nervous system. What exactly that means? Well, acetylcholinesterase is an enzyme that catalyzes (speed up) the breakdown of acetylcholine, which is a neurotransmitter found in insects, animals, and humans. Now the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase is the effect of a molecule that connects or binds to the enzyme and limits its function which leads to the failing of the breakdown of acetylcholine and hence the lack of neurotransmission, which may cause Alzheimer. That results in obviously the death of the insect in this case. Some also state that it has been known that it provokes respiratory paralysis.

One of the concerns is that since it can kill mosquitoes it can also kill bees and that is a very big deal to Puerto Ricans since it will notoriously lower the beekeeping industry and for those of who make that and the selling of honey for a living will be affected. Also not just in that perspective but also seeing from a nature perspective it will kill a very important insect which is involved in so many aspects of other living organisms such as pollination for flowers, fruits, and vegetables. These are just a few of the many functions of bees and the importance of them in our planet.

Another relevant issue is its lifespan. It has a half-life of approximately 8 in the ground and 25 hours in aqueous or watery mediums. since it is planned to be sprayed to all Puerto Rico this is a very serious concern because of its lifespan on the ambient, and not forget to mention that the toxicity is greater when the product is inhaled, which is the situation of this case. Which should be a NO-NO for the spraying of Naled without even trying to rationalize it as an option.

On the other hand, Naled has already been tested in U.S. and studies point out the fact that after a few days, around 4 to 10, a number of mosquitoes in the area revert to the original amount before the spraying. not to mention two facts:

First of all, mosquitoes population are in the millions and they reproduce rapidly since they have a fairly short lifespan (male: 10 days, females:42–56 days).
The second fact is that mosquitoes may become resistant (in a way immune) to insecticides.

Since Naled is planned to be sprayed at a very low altitude it will be suspended on plants, flower, and fruits. After it is sprayed it will resemble as a cloudy fog in the environment for some time. Other than the insects, animals, and humans inhaling or absorbing Naled, the plants will also absorb the insecticide.

The real “emergency” factor is that this option is being proposed without first evaluating the possible effects on the people and environment, which is a very outrageous and drastic measure to take for the attempt to eliminate the Zika virus in Puerto Rico. Researchers suggest that it be best to let this be the last option for this problem.

Ways to avoid it?

Through the news when they were talking about this topic they interviewed some doctors and they asked them what can some average civilian do to protect themselves from the spraying and evade it. His suggestions were:

First, try to leave the area. For example, if they were going to spray in the west of the island, go to the east! Or vice versa.
Second, if you could not leave the area, stay at your home and close the windows which it will reduce the fog and spray to enter your house and therefore breathe it, but I emphatically suggest leaving the area of the spraying.