Dr. Moench weighs in on pesticides in Millcreek
Pesticides are a pervasive and insidious threat to human health, undermining the very safety of our food, water, and environment. These toxic chemicals, aggressively marketed by agrochemical giants, permeate our daily lives, exposing us to a host of serious health risks.
KSL asked UPHE to weigh in on the Department of Natural Resources spraying herbicides (including Roundup) in Millcreek and Parley’s Canyons and the East Bench foothills.
“These chemicals are biologically toxic, not just to vegetation, but to mammals, to wildlife and to humans,” UPHE president and cofounder Dr. Brian Moench told KSL.
“No one would say that cigarettes are safe to smoke. Yet the FDA has approved the sale of cigarettes. The EPA has approved the sale of these pesticides. That doesn’t mean that they’re safe to use and it doesn’t mean they’re safe to use in this kind of context from drones and in an area that’s fairly heavily populated.”
A spokesperson for the division cited EPA approval of the pesticides being sprayed as a rationalization for their “safety.” We strongly disagree with the notion that these chemicals are safe to residents, as does independent medical research.
Millcreek is a popular hiking canyon for local residents. Pesticides have well documented human health risks.
Pesticides in Utah are a widespread issue. The particular spraying being done in Millcreek Canyon is to target an invasive plant called myrtle spurge. Manual pulling of myrtle spurge was being done but the division is now conducting spraying through drones. “The idea that we just have to get rid of myrtle spurge at any cost and it’s worth spraying this kind of biologic toxic chemical throughout the community in order to achieve that. We think that’s a terribly misplaced priority,” Dr. Moench said to KSL.