DEARSIR: I cannot support the viewpoint expressed by Parke C. Brinkley (ES&T, May 1970, p. 369) that “pesticides are important as antipollutants.” I t is indeed disheartening that such a leading figure as Mr. Parke C. Brinkley should advocate the indiscriminate and loose application of the word “pollution” to such things as mice and rats, insects, weeds, etc., and to foodborne Salmonella, when the more appropriate terms are “infestation” and “contamination.” I d o not dispute that pesticides have a continuing role in the control of pests and disease vectors. But to go to the extent of calling pesticides “antipollutants” is clearly a step backward in your efforts to support the management of environmental quality. I am disappointed that ES&T has found it acceptable not only to publish Mr. Brinkley’s article but also, by doing so, to imply that his viewpoint should be promoted.
Garden City Fans for air pollution control systems
S. K. Krishnaswami Department o f National Health and Welfare Ottawa 3, Ontario Rebuttal on a reevaluation
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DEARSIR: A letter to the Editor in your June issue, p. 453. “Air pollution sources reevaluated,’’ closes with the thought that the new methods discussed “are not the final answer to this delicate problem.” This is reassuring. since the methods leave a lot to be desired from the standpoints of plausibility and general application. We agree with the statement that “simple statistics often used d o not really present a true picture.” But we feel strongly that the authors (Robert F. Sawyer and Laurence S. Caretto of the University of California) have fallen into the trap of using a very simplified weighting procedure to try to put a complicated picture into perspective. They also are guilty of using ancient data (1965) and, worse, zeroing in on specific regions to use national figures which are not nowand never were-applicable in those regions. For example. the authors conclude that “A Southern California Edison Co. statement that only 1% of the Los Angeles area air pollution comes from power plants is grossly understated.” This is a serious misquote.
