I refer to your article, To spray or not? Paarl Post 7 October 2010.
I never used to suffer from sinusitis or hay fever (and many more serious debilitations) until such time that I moved to Paarl nine years ago.
Since the vineyard (50 metres from my house) was removed, I can vouch for enjoying overall better health and a feeling of well-being compared to previous years. Over the years I have religiously diarised each and every time I was ill in bed.
(I work from home and am therefore constantly exposed). My debilitation was always during the ‘spray-season’ and therefore could definitely not have been ‘psychosomatic’ because I had no prior knowledge of the spray program (that was of course, during the time the farmers and municipalities could do as they please and before us ‘alarmists’ started making noise about these unlawful practices).
Make no mistake – these products are harmful to humans – hence the clear warnings on the statutory Product Labels as to the side effects.
Concerned Resident Paarl