Media Advisory                      

For more information: 

Michael Andrews, Carolina PR/Marketing

704-374-9300; cell 704-517-1586

For Immediate Release, 9/26/02 

APGI BEGINS MOSQUITO CONTROL TREATMENT 

BADIN, NC, September 26, 2002 – After careful study and collaboration with state and local public health officials regarding the drought’s impact on mosquito populations along the Yadkin River, Alcoa Power Generating Inc. has hired Clarke Mosquito Control to treat approximately 35,000 acres in the vicinity of High Rock Reservoir, including portions of both Rowan and Davidson counties.  “With the continuing drought and lower than normal water levels, there has been increasing public concern about mosquito breeding,” said Gene Ellis, APGI’s environmental and natural resources manager. “We’re taking action to alleviate that concern.”  

Clarke Mosquito Control will spray Anvil®, an environmentally safe pesticide, beginning as soon as this Saturday and Sunday, September 28 & 29, between dusk and dawn, using a single, low-flying airplane.   If weather conditions prohibit the application on those dates, application will occur when conditions improve. With extremely low toxicity, Anvil® has been approved for use for outdoor mosquito control since 1982. Its active ingredient is used in flea and tick collars and medicated shampoos for people.

 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Joint Statement on Mosquito Control in the United States, “All insecticides used in the U.S. for public health use have been approved and registered by the EPA following the review of many scientific studies. The EPA has assessed these chemicals and found that, when used according to label directions, they do not pose unreasonable risk to public health and the environment.”

 Some facts about Anvil®:

§       Anvil® is applied in extremely low dosages – approximately 0.0036 pounds per acre. It is generally applied in a very fine mist of tiny drops – 5 millionths to 25 millionths of a meter in diameter – less than the size of a pinhead.

§       Anvil® poses no threat to the environment. It breaks down quickly in sunlight, disintegrating within one to two days into primarily carbon dioxide, which is harmless. It also breaks down into benzoic acid, which poses little or no risk to soil and plants if applied in recommended amounts.

§       For close to 20 years, Anvil® has proven to be extremely effective in killing mosquitoes. Actual “kill rates” vary, depending on weather conditions. Rain and wind will adversely impact its effectiveness – consequently reapplications are sometimes necessary.

Alcoa Power Generating Inc. owns the land below the waters and the water rights of High Rock, Tuckertown, Narrows and Falls reservoirs and much of their shorelines.  Yadkin is responsible for operating the Yadkin Project, including the four reservoirs, dams and powerhouses along a 38-mile stretch of the Yadkin River, that supports Alcoa’s Badin Works ingot casting plant in Badin, N.C.  The Yadkin Project, known as Yadkin Project No. 2197, is licensed by FERC under the Federal Power Act.