Doctors Criticize Call for Halt to Spraying : Medfly: A proposed resolution by the California Medical Assn. would needlessly alarm the public, some say.

A proposed California Medical Assn. resolution calling for the immediate halt to malathion spraying was criticized by doctors Saturday, some of whom said the measure would cause needless public alarm and “paranoia” over a pesticide they insist has been proven safe.

The comments from nearly a dozen doctors attending the CMA’s annual meeting in Anaheim at the Disneyland Hotel mark the first public opposition by members of the association to the resolution.

The measure will likely go before CMA delegates for a full vote Tuesday, the day after a 26-square-mile section of Orange and Los Angeles counties is scheduled to be sprayed.

The resolution, which alleges that the state has not proven the safety of the pesticide used in Mediterranean fruit fly eradication, was supported by two doctors at the CMA reference committee hearing.

However, one by one, doctors from Orange County and around the state spoke out against the resolution, saying the chemical mixture used in the sprayings does not pose a health risk.

“The malathion is extremely weak,” said Kenneth Hayes, an association member from San Jose. “The CMA should not (get involved) in this mass hysteria.”

Several doctors noted that a series of studies found no long-term or short-term health hazards associated with normal exposure to the malathion mixture, which amounts to about 2.8 ounces of the pesticide per acre. The chemical can be toxic to some insects and fish, but state officials say it is not harmful to humans.

“This issue has been discussed and decided,” CMA member Roger Kennedy said.

If the CMA wants to get involved in the issue, one doctor suggested, it should try to ease the public’s fears about malathion by going on record as saying that the spraying doesn’t pose a health risk.

A similar approach was taken in 1981 in Santa Clara County when a local medical association cooperated with state officials in attempting to allay residents’ fears about Medfly spraying.

The CMA does not have a formal position on malathion. When Santa Clara County faced spraying, the association decided the issue was a “matter best addressed” by local doctors, according to a CMA staff report.

“If the CMA takes action on this . . . it says the doctors of California believe (malathion) is unsafe,” said Alvin Markovitz, a member of the committee that heard the testimony. “. . . It sends the message that malathion is dangerous and a poison.”

Supporters of the resolution have said the spraying should be stopped until malathion’s effects can be assessed.

“It’s not our burden to show that it’s not safe,” said H. Rex Greene, the Pasadena doctor who introduced the resolution. “The state must prove that it’s safe.”

Greene was joined by Jerome Marmorstein, chairman of the CMA’s Committee on Environmental and Occupational Health.

“I’m not comfortable with it,” Marmorstein said. “It’s a flagrant violation of human rights to be (sprayed) when (people) don’t want it.”

Some doctors agreed that even if the spraying is a social issue, the medical association should not try to halt the practice if a health risk can not be proven.

The committee that heard testimony Saturday will likely recommend acceptance or rejection of the resolution when the measure is voted on by the 440-member House of Delegates later this week. The committee can also make changes in the statement, which calls on the 38,000 members of the association to write letters to state officials and lawmakers calling for a halt to spraying.

On Friday, a top committee of CMA leaders agreed to let the resolution be discussed at the annual meeting. Officials believe the resolution is the first in the country to deal with malathion spraying.

The resolution controversy comes on the eve of another round of spraying in portions of Brea, La Habra and Fullerton.

Helicopters are scheduled to fly over the area for the sixth time starting at 9 p.m. Monday, said Frank Parsons of the Orange County agriculture office.

A 36-mile area around Garden Grove and Westminster is scheduled to be sprayed for the third time Thursday.

In Los Angeles County, spraying is scheduled Monday in the Irwindale, Glendora and Duarte areas, Tuesday in the Downey area, Wednesday in the South Gate area and Thursday in the Pomona area.