Phoenixville Expresses Concern Over Chemicals In West Nile Spraying

Phoenixville is getting sprayed Thursday night for West Nile Virus, and a lot of residents aren’t happy about it.

Starting at about 8:45 p.m. and continuing until midnight, residents can expect to see trucks mounted with spray equipment dispensing Permanone RTU, a permethrin insecticide product.

The chemical will be dispensed at a rate of 1.5 ounces per acre.

The treated area runs from Pickering Creek and roughly along 2nd Avenue, bounded by Whitehorse Road and Anderson Avenue.

“All residents in areas where virus activity has been identified are at risk of getting West Nile encephalitis,” health officials said.

But some residents worry if the minute risk of West Nile Virus - which affects less than one percent of victims in a serious way, according to the MayoClinic - warrants such spraying.

“These are neurotoxins that kill other living creatures that are meant to be part of our ecosystem, just so we don’t have the annoyance of something buzzing around our heads,” said Richard Wescoat on Facebook.

Permanone has a very low toxicity profile to mammals, according to the Chester County health department, and it is safe for the environment when used in accordance with prescribed application methods.

Others still expressed distrust in the chemical companies producing the toxins.

“The people running these pesticide companies are being as truthful with you as the tobacco companies were being for all those years,” said Isaac Brown.

However, there is no evidence that such small doses of Permanone are harmful to the environment or anything beyond mosquitos.

Permanone and the version of it used as a repellent can be extremely toxic to fish and aquatic life, according to the EPA.

The spray zone stops short of the Schuylkill River and Pickering Creek, and does not cross any waterways.

There have been two confirmed samples of West Nile Virus in Chester County in 2015, and both of them have been in Phoenixville.

Both mosquitos were found in “mosquito pools” at unspecified locations in Phoenixville.

Traps are placed by Chester County’s Department of Environmental Protection across several towns as part of routine surveillance measures.