JACQUELINE
RAYE TAXDAL
1906 42nd Street West ft10 Bradenton, Fl 34205 ft10 Phone: (941 )-748-5883
Email: LittleluluI23001@a01.com
November
22, 2002
The
Herald
Letters
to the Editor P.O. Box 921 Bradenton, FI 34206
Dear
Editor:
I am responding to the November 21, 2002, article titled, "Wares Creek
Cleans Up For Dredging Project." This article states how the residents
of Wares Creek are busy getting everything ready for the dredging project,
which will now take place in 2003.
I am a junior at Manatee High School and in my AP Environmental Science class, we are exploring the dangerous affects of dredging Wares
Creek. My teacher Patricia Zalo, an active environmentalist,
is going to be presenting my class's findings at the University of Florida
in February 2003. My part in this project is to see if any traces of the DDT
sprayed in the 1950s and 1960s will corne back with
the dredging. This pesticide like all other pesticides gets into the creek
by runoff from homes where it had been used in the past.
My class has visited Wares Creek many times this school year and I have collected
core samples of the muck there. After performing several experiments using
invertebrate assay, which is the process of using invertebrates to detect
toxins, there is enough evidence to support the possibility that DDT may be
reawakened when dredged. Also, by doing extensive research on this subject,
I have found past cases which confirms that when DDT was sprayed and then
dredged the DDT was reintroduced into the environment. This toxic pesticide
is a known carcinogen (causes cancer), neurotoxin (metabolic poisons that
specifically attack nerve cells), mutagen (damages or alters genetic material
in cells), ~d a teratogen (causing abnormalities
during embryonic growth and development)':\With DDT being revived, the residents
along Wares Creek may experience any of its deadly side effects. With this
new information, people might think twice about dredging Wares Creek due to
the lethal consequences that may occur.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline
R. Taxdal