Jangchub wrote:
On Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:05:43 -0400, "Paul J. Dudley"
wrote:

Yes. But I was hoping that a 6 week duration might be long enough for
the dust to break down in toxicity. My neighbor puts the stuff on all her
greens ( collard, cabbage, turnip etc ). She pounces it on with an old
nylon stocking. In fact, she does the same with her corn (at the silk
end of the ear just as soon as soon as silk appears).

I know one thing. I'll never use Sevin on my grapes again. I used to
use a Pyrethrin based pesticide ( Tiger Brand ) but haven't seen it at
the store this year. It breaks down rather quickly and most veggies can
be ingested within a week after it's use. The Sevin was given to me
and I tried it. I made a mistake. All I want to know now is ( and I
thought that was clear ) has enough time passed to degrade the dust
enough or would it still be hazardous ( ... and would washing them be
of any use ) .

In two weeks I will pick said grapes. I will attempt to wash the bunches
by hand. Depending of that outcome, I will either prepare them for wine
or if washing doesn't seem to remove the residue I will trash those
bunches that won't wash clean.

= Paul =

There is no telling how long the active particles which entered the
cells will persist. It's not a matter of washing off what you can see
as dust or powder on the grapes themselves. Sevin can enter cells and
if it were me, which it wouldn't be due to the nature of my no
pesticides at all, I would not eat or use the grapes for anything.

A little story:

My neighbor had breast cancer and was a nine year survivor. She
planted some Mountain Laurels and bag worms appeared. If she asked me
first I'd have told her to use a simple pathogen called Bt. No harm
to anything but the worms.

However, her other neighbor who is an "agronimist" gave her Sevin in a
pump up sprayer. She read no label, and had no idea about what she
was spraying. She did not have her legs or arms covered and she
started to burn terribly and she jumped into my pool to get rid of
the stinging. Not one year later she relapsed and is now in stage
four, metasticized breast cancer, spread to her sternum and the lining
of her lungs. She goes to M.D. Anderson in Houston for treatment. She
hangs on by a thread. Did the Sevin do it? I don't know. However, I
will never use it. I'd give up the grapes and put them in the trash
so not even animals can eat them.

Your story about the neighbor getting burned has nothing to do with this
issue. Your neighbor did not take the proper precautions to cover
herself, and use a breathing mask.

The issue here is one of retention of the chemical. You have given no
evidence of your theory that Sevin penetrates the skin of the grape. I
don't believe that. Waiting several weeks after application should
elimanate the danger. The Sun and rain will burn and wash off the
chemical, plus it will naturally lose it's toxicity. He should check
with the manufacturers for confirmation, but I think he is ok with
Sevin. He can wash the fruit as he said to be extra sure.

Sherwin