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http://Change.org/BanAerialSprayingofGlyphosate
The Midcoast Council has sprayed via helicopter a 160 ha area with glyphosate — a harmful sprays for bees, wildlife, plants and people. The herbicide was dispensed this week along a 38km stretch of the NSW coast, killing bees, marine wildlife and other native flora and fauna.
Glyphosate is a herbicide that isn’t meant to kill insects, but it does. Studies have shown that glyphosate may also be having devastating effect on the environment and be harmful to fish, crustaceans, and amphibians, as well as to beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms in soil and water. It also breaks down the bees immune systems and smoothers them. Other research shows the common herbicide increases the risk of cancer in humans. In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans”.
The damage caused by this single spraying event will have lasting effects on coastal and marine wildlife. No one should be swimming in this water for a very long time. The spray also threatens the lives of roughly 304+ indigenous bees that live in the area.
We’ve called the Midcoast Council 3 times today and have come away with three different answers — no one is being held accountable. One person said the sprays were happening today at Old Bar. Another council member said no sprays had happened at Old Bar but they had sprayed at Crowdy Head. What’s also concerning is that the council is saying they have alerted locals. We were told this information was accessible on their website but it isn’t there, and the residents of this area aren’t being informed on what is happening. Both the national parks and the council are involved.
Video footage taken by locals at Old Bar shows dead marine life washed up all along the beach. The toxic sprays have also drifted along the coastline, affecting many more animals and plants including 304 indigenous bee species that have been recorded in the area.
References and video footage:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CPtsecglQu3/?utm_medium=copy_link
Email - council@midcoast.nsw.gov.au