Question from SVE
Hi Debra,
I have tried to find out if companies spray their mail trucks – USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc., and I can’t get answers – no one seems to know.
Do you have any suggestions about how to find out if certain companies do this? I would like to find a domestic mail delivery service that does not spray or uses natural methods. I am very sensitive to insecticides and I believe spray residues are getting on packages that I receive.
I am also suspecting that big containers are being sprayed inside – the ones stacked on big ships and used to ship cargo internationally. I reacted to a large package that I know was shipped over to the US in one of those large containers (according to the mail order company).
Thanks so much, Debra. I LOVE your blog and website!
SVE
Debra’s Answer
I’m certain that one can assume international cargo is sprayed with pesticides.
oceanatlas.com has this to say about pesticides used on ships containing international cargo:
This may also be true for cargo transported in trucks, as the need to control pests would be similar. I remember a few years ago there was a short-lived television show called “Medical investigation” in which the characters (playing doctors from the National Institute of Health) had to solve the mystery of what was making people sick. In one episode, a number of teenage girls got very ill after wearing jeans that had been contaminated with pesticides during shipment in a truck. (That may be fiction, but may also be based in fact.)
Here is an article that states, “Workers may also be exposed to pesticides on treated grain being brought to the truck cargo facility in trucks or rail cars.” Grain, Grain Milling and Grain-based Consumer Products also says, “Pesticides are used in the grain and grain-processing industries to control insects, rodents, birds, mould and so on. Some of the more common pesticides are phosphine, organophosphates and pyrethrins. Potential health effects can include dermatitis, dizziness, nausea and long-term problems with liver, kidney and nervous system functions.” So pesticides are being applied to grains beyond those applied in the field.
Since many people are ordering organic and natural goods on the internet because they aren’t available locally, this bears further looking into, if contamination with toxic chemicals to these products could occur during shipping.
That said, I don’t want to single out delivery services. Pesticide spraying could be a problem with any shipping from manufacturer to retail outlet.
