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Jun 17, 2008 10:56 am US/Pacific

California Senate Voting On Moth Spray Ban

SACRAMENTO (CBS 5 / KCBS) ― The state Senate was set to vote Tuesday on a bill to halt aerial spraying agriculture officials hope will eradicate a pest they say threatens hundreds of California crops.

Agriculture officials have proposed spraying for the light brown apple moth in a dozen counties. They say the pesticide, actually a synthetic pheromone that disrupts the pest's mating cycle, does not pose a threat to humans.

"It's not something we want to do. Unfortunately the populations are big enough in these areas, it's the one tool that allows us to do an eradication," California Agriculture Secretary AG Kawamura told reporter Tim Ryan.

But the pheromone in question has not been tested for long-term effects, critics say. Hundreds claim they were sickened last year when the same chemical was sprayed over two counties, Santa Cruz and Monterey.

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