Smoke and Minors

Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim filed a lawsuit against a company deemed hazardous to children and which he likened to "dope dealers on a street corner". Nerheim filed the suit against the mosquito extermination company, Clarke. The suit seeks punitive damages against Clarke for spraying Lake County with chlorpyrifos, an insecticide that causes brain damage in children.

The suit alleges that those who are exposed to the chemical chlorpyrifos ...

have no idea they are ingesting "huge amounts of a highly addictive chemical and carcinogens," Nerheim said.
Lake County suing Juul over "predatory" marketing to teens

The suit calls the practice of spraying the chemical chlorpyrifos from pickup trucks and ...

other efforts a "smokescreen."
Lake County state’s attorney sues e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, accusing it of 'creating a public health crisis'

The suit exposes industry marketing and branding strategies that distract the public from the dangers of the indiscriminate use of outdoor insecticide foggers:

"You look at this new product, Mr Fog"
Lake County state’s attorney sues e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, accusing it of 'creating a public health crisis'

Regarding the true peril posed by insects, the suit says Clarke ...

"succeeded in creating a public health crisis in order to line their pockets with cash," Nerheim said a news conference Tuesday afternoon
Lake County state’s attorney sues e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, accusing it of 'creating a public health crisis'

Does a lawsuit against an extermination company with financial ties to Lake County expose the motives of a lone-wolf State's Attorney with ants in his pants to go to court in a big way? You decide:

Nerheim said he decided to move ahead without area counties because he didn't want to wait any longer.
Lake County state’s attorney sues e-cigarette maker Juul Labs, accusing it of 'creating a public health crisis'

Haha, j/k.

Michael Nerheim is not suing Clarke. The suit has been filed against e-cigarette manufacturer, Juul Labs.

2020 is an election year. 'Nuff Said!

My Last Brain Cell

Lake County will not have to wait for recreational marijuana to find out if it has brain damage:

In a move environmentalists denounced as yet another case of the Trump administration putting industry profits over public health, the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Thursday that it will not ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide linked to brain damage in children.
'A Total Disgrace': Outrage as Trump EPA Says It Won't Ban Pesticide Linked to Brain Damage in Children

As you read this, Lake County is breathing chlorpyrifos:

Clarke Mosquitomist™ Adulticide

Clarke uses the insecticide to kill mosquitoes:

Mosquitomist Two U.L.V.

One industry honcho advised your LakeCountyEye to move along, there is nothing to see here: "If chlorpyrifos was toxic then the drivers would all have brain damage and they would be driving their trucks into trees. You don't see that happening, do you?"

Lake County Sheriff's Office said 75 gallons of a pesticide spilled onto the ground in North Barrington Tuesday after a mosquito abatement company vehicle hauling the liquid crashed into a tree.
Truck Crash Causes Pesticide Spill In North Barrington

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

What's Your Poison?

The exploding Clarke mosquito truck failed to explode in Barrington this weekend. Instead, the village was exposed to a chlorine leak:

A "small" chlorine leak at a Barrington water treatment facility drew a large response over the weekend, with about 50 fire and police personnel from 24 agencies helping to find and fix the leak with no injuries to residents or fire personnel.
Barrington chlorine leak brings large hazardous materials response over weekend

Last month a Clarke mosquito truck hit a tree in North Barrington and dumped 75 gallons of insecticides. For the record, this insecticide spill failed to draw a large response, with about zero fire and police personnel from zero agencies helping to find and fix the leak.


ANVIL® 10+10 ULV

Your LakeCountyEye will keep you apprised when further developments warrant.

On a Clarke Day You Can See Nada

If Lake County had a new motto, that would likely be:

Nothing to See Here

No, really, there is nothing to see here. The 2019 quality of air in Lake County is cause for concern:

The Chicago area's "milky white" sky is caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires blowing over the upper Midwest, which could contribute to worsening air quality in the region today.
Why the sky has been so hazy

There is nothing to see in Beach Park:

Beach Park ammonia spill: Lake County Sheriff's Office releases body camera image of toxic cloud

And there is nothing to see in Gurnee:

'We don't want EtO': Residents target ethylene oxide emissions at Gurnee, Waukegan meetings

And there even is nothing to see in North Barrington:

Lake County Sheriff's Office said 75 gallons of a pesticide spilled onto the ground in North Barrington Tuesday after a mosquito abatement company vehicle hauling the liquid crashed into a tree. The sheriff's office said a preliminary investigation shows an Alsip man driving the company's 2007 Ford truck left the road and crashed after he fell asleep while driving.
Truck Crash Causes Pesticide Spill In North Barrington

Despite dumping 75 gallons of insecticides in North Barrington, that same mosquito abatement company -- Clarke --is still trusted to be spraying insecticides all over North Barrington.

Village of North Barrington

Move along. Nothing to see here.

Hard to Swallow

Be thankful that you weren't a fly on the wall in Lake County when that mosquito abatement truck crashed into a tree. Because if you were a fly on the wall where 75 gallons of insecticides spilled, you would be dead:

Lake County Sheriff's Office said 75 gallons of a pesticide spilled onto the ground in North Barrington Tuesday after a mosquito abatement company vehicle hauling the liquid crashed into a tree. The sheriff's office said a preliminary investigation shows an Alsip man driving the company's 2007 Ford truck left the road and crashed after he fell asleep while driving.
Truck Crash Causes Pesticide Spill In North Barrington

Informed sources say that unnamed "mosquito abatement company" is: Clarke

Clarke is an extermination company.  Don't bother looking for Clarke's Wikipedia page, there isn't one.

If Clarke has e-mail, your LakeCountyEye couldn't find any. They do list phone numbers:

• Phone
  630.326.4633
  888-593-1628
• International Phone
  +1.888.593.1628
• Fax
  630-443-3070

Their only web presence is a corporate website:

Doing the Right Thing, Even When It's Hard
Honesty and integrity drive our everyday actions and are reflected in our common belief to do what's best for our industry, and the people and communities we serve.
Aquatic & Mosquito Control Services & Products | Clarke

Some questions for Clarke, when you call:

• Why was a guy from Alsip driving around a Lake County community?
  
  
• Why was he driving a 12 year old Ford pickup around a Lake County community?
  
  
• Why was he driving while asleep around a Lake County community?
  
  
• Why did he drive into a Lake County tree?
  
  
• Why did he drive into a Lake County tree and dump 75 gallons of insecticides?
  
  

Do the right thing even when it's hard?

Permethrin Ejection

Lake County is a patchwork of farmland, forest preserves and golf courses, built on marsh and wetlands. And until all of that greenspace gets eliminated, Lake County will also be a patchwork of at least one irritating insect, the mosquito. And while great strides are being made toward paving over that mosquito-producing greenspace ...

Lake County officials celebrate start of road construction season

it is not happening fast enough for some municipalities. Waukegan recently awarded Clarke Environmental a $64,000 contract to spray that city for mosquitoes. According to the News-Sun ...

pesticides used by the company for adult mosquitoes include such brand names as Anvil, AquaHalt and Duet. One such product, Biomist, contains an active ingredient called permethrin and is said to be virtually odorless when applied in residential areas.
Waukegan alderman questions mosquito spraying plan

Odorless is one thing. Poisonous is something else entirely. The EPA classifies permethrin as ...

"Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans" by the oral route. This classification was based on two reproducible benign tumor types (lung and liver) in the mouse, equivocal evidence of carcinogenicity in Long-Evans rats, and supporting structural activity relationship information.
Permethrin Facts
(Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) Fact Sheet)

Exposure to permethrin can manifest itself in a variety of symptoms:

Skin irritation, redness, swelling and rashes are the early signs and symptoms of poisoning with permethrin. Other signs include irritability to sound and touch, cough, numbness, sensation of pricking, diarrhea, burning sensation, dizziness, fatigue, excessive salivation, muscle twitching, fluid in the lungs, nausea and seizures.
What Are the Dangers of Permethrin?

Clarke Environmental Mosquito Management, Inc. is the largest privately owned mosquito surveillance and control company in the USA. They are based locally in St. Charles and recently moved into a new climate controlled headquarters:

The building boasts a number of green features, including the removal of existing carpeting then grinding and polishing the concrete floor beneath creating a terrazzo-like effect; 100 percent recyclable Interface Flor tiles in workspaces; integrated daylight harvesting lighting that senses the amount of light needed to amplify natural light in the building; water-conserving plumbing; and open-office design to improve air flow and minimize HVAC needs.
Clarke moves into environmentally friendly HQ

The next time a mosquito spray truck passes you on the street, don't forget to call Clarke Environmental ...

800-323-5727

and ask them if they smell the permethrin over in their new environmentally friendly headquarters.