Mosquito/Malaria Control (40)
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Thought you folks would find this informative as well as inter-
esting.
Bill Nesler
mailto:sdbc@hur.midco.net
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Air Force Reserve Sprays Mosquitos Over Louisiana
by Staff Sgt. Jennifer Gregoire
9/13/2005 - DUKE FIELD, Fla. (AFPN) -- The Air Force Reserve
continues to save lives in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath by con-
ducting the first of many aerial spray missions that began Sept.
12 over Louisiana in an attempt to reduce mosquito and filth fly
populations.
The Department of Defense's only fixed-wing aerial spray unit,
the 910th Airlift Wing, and its C-130 Hercules were requested by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention to spray until the threat of disease
subsides. FEMA officials are assessing how many acres need to be
sprayed as a result of Katrina.
"The elimination of disease-carrying insects is a vital part of
ensuring public health and safety in the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina," said Lt. Col. Steve Olson, a 910th AW medical ento-
mologist. "The targeted insects are capable of transmitting dis-
eases such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile virus and
malaria. If not controlled, the probability people will contract
these diseases, either in single incidents or in widespread out-
breaks, increases greatly."
The 910th AW from Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, is oper-
ating out of here because of its proximity to the spray area,
ability to handle C-130 aircraft and capability to support the
mission without conflicting with other relief efforts.
Each modified C-130 is equipped with a modular aerial spray sys-
tem. Dibrom is the chemical choice for the mosquito control op-
eration.
The chemical, sprayed in a fine mist, is dispersed in a ratio
similar to a few tablespoons over an entire football field. A
gallon of Dibrom is capable of treating 128 to 256 acres. At
this rate of application, it does not pose a hazard to humans or
the environment, Colonel Olson said.
"When the aircrew makes a swath across the spray area, people on
the ground will most likely only see the aircraft engine ex-
haust," said Lt. Col. Marty Davis, mission commander. "Within 10
to 15 seconds after the spray is released, it becomes virtually
invisible to the naked eye. In fact, the spray is so fine that
it's small enough to attach to the hair on a mosquito's legs."
Up to two C-130s will fly per day and are capable of spraying a
combined area of up to 200,000 acres. To be most effective,
spray operations will begin about two-and-a-half hours before
dusk when the mosquito population is most active.
During these low-level missions over the city and outlying ar-
eas, aircraft fly at about 150 feet.
"The reason for flying so low is to help maintain the chemical's
maximum effect in the designated spray area," Colonel Davis
said.
A second application is often sprayed to control additional mos-
quitoes that hatch after the first aerial spray.
The 910th AW is not new to this type of mission. The Air Force
Reserve Command unit has flown a variety of aerial spray mis-
sions since 1973. During aerial spray operations following Hur-
ricane Floyd in 1999, the unit sprayed about 1.7 million acres
over areas of Virginia and North Carolina.
The missions will not interfere with search-and-rescue opera-
tions still ongoing in Louisiana, said Maj. Tim Austin, deputy
mission commander for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort spray
mission and chief of spray operations for the 757th Airlift
Squadron.
"The air space over the spray area has been de-conflicted, but
if a search and rescue mission is needed, we can abort a swath
in seconds," he said. "The spray controllers on board the air-
craft will stop the spray and the pilot will initiate a climb
and turn out of the spray area."
Source: Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs