Pardon me for being a pest, but...? On your website, you advise passengers to ask for an exemption from the onboard pesticide spraying when they encounter it on a flight. I just called the medical desk at United Airlines and was told that I will be sprayed with pesticide next week on my flight to Hawaii -- that this is "a law if the plane is flying over water." Oh, yes, and it's "about a half hour before landing" and "a real light spray," they said. I've read on your website how you suggest passengers fully cover themselves with a blanket while the authorities spray the inside of the plane with pesticide. Okay, I'll try not to panic. I've really never been trapped before with pesticides and my health is fragile to start with. Do you also recommend that I order therapeutic oxygen ($100) for the flight? -Julie

DIANA RESPONDS

Dear Julie

Thank you very much for your question. FYI, questions from my readers are never a pest for me. I love hearing from readers. This is what I live for. And it's especially good to hear that you are taking my advice, but you're off track here a little bit -- so here's my answer to your question.

"Disinsection" (the airline euphemism for trying to kill insects by spraying pesticide on passengers) stopped on all flights to Hawaii way back in 1979. Please see that Hawaii is not on my list of places where passengers will get sprayed with pesticide. Even though Hawaii is definitely an "over water" destination, I'm 99.9 percent sure that you will not get sprayed with pesticide on that flight because it only happens now on international flights. The person at United's medical desk whom you spoke with must have been mixed up, possibly jetlagged.

I distinctly remember when this pesticide requirement on flights to Hawaii was dropped because I was flying to Hawaii nearly every month at that time. Until that day, we had been spraying passengers and ourselves with DDT at the end of every flight to Hawaii. When it stopped, we were told that the U.S. government discontinued the aircraft disinsection requirement due to lack of evidence that it played a significant role in disease control -- after all, bugs inside suitcases and onboard meal carts obviously couldn't be controlled anyway.

For anyone who is concerned about the possibility of pesticide spraying on a flight, here's what I suggest you do so you will feel confident and safe.

• After the plane has passed the halfway point, ask the flight attendant in your section if you may please speak to the purser. Important: Don't speak up before takeoff. The crew might actually refuse to let you fly, so wait until the plane has passed the halfway point.

• Calmly tell the purser that you are asthmatic, and ask her/him if the crew will be spraying pesticide in the cabin before or after landing. If she says "yes," tell her you would like to have a therapeutic oxygen bottle brought to your seat to use during the spraying. In this instance, the oxygen will be free and it will definitely help you to breathe better and feel better during the disinsection.

• Of course, make every effort to cover yourself with a blanket before the spraying commences.

Please let me know what happens on your flight.

With loving regards,
Diana Fairechild

WHAT TO DO?

If you encounter pesticide spray on your flights:

• Write to the country which requires disinsection and ask them to stop this practice.

• Email copies of your letters to post on this page so that we can continue to update this list of offenders/polluters/abusers.

• Particpate in this advocacy.

DEAR DIANA

"I am an international airline pilot. We do a weekly trip to country where the plane is sprayed with pesticide after landing with everyone on board. After undergoing this poisoning ritual for a few months I asked the girl that comes on the plane and does the spraying to show me the can of pesticide, so I could research what they were killing us with. My search led me to your web page. I am gathering information now to present to the officials at this airport concerning the poisoning of crew, passengers, and the poor lady who religiously boards the aircraft unprotected to spray this stuff. I believe by educating them there could be hope that they will finally stop it. How can they imagine that they protect the environment by poisoning people? If you have any advise on my approaching the officials about this, PLEASE let me know. Every flight to this country I get nauseated, then have a bad headache. Afterwards, I have to fly two hours to my next airport, all the while feeling sick and miserable. At least as a pilot I have the perk of opening the window and sticking my head out of the airplane during the spraying." --Joe

HI JOE

I think I know exactly what you are going through trying to educate people about the hazards of insect spray -- it's become my lifelong mission. And I remember airline disinsections all too well -- so miserable each time someone aimed the pesticide spray can in my direction. Worse still, when I had to do the spraying -- I used to empty the cans of pesticide in the bathroom (where the air is not recirculated back into the cabin) to spare the passengers. What a hell!

Then, after 18 years of this, I managed to get an exemption by bringing a note from my doctor. It said that I was "allergic to pesticide" and it would be best if I could "get off the aircraft prior to the spraying." This note, in fact, got me permission from the local authorities in New Zealand and Australia to exit the aircraft before they started the spraying. (This strategy is no longer possible in these countries because most planes to those destinations are now saturated with pesticide before the passengers board.See: Disinsection Type 4.)

My peers took notice and eventually other flight attendants got their own doctors' notes. Then, one flight, at least five of us got off with our doctors' notes. Unfortunately, the airline felt the passengers were abandoned, and even though flight attendants don't get paid to be on the aircraft after landing, the airline threatened us, and no crew were permitted from that point on to disembark before disinsection or before the passengers. This was an internal Pan Am decision, so you might try getting a note from your doctor, and see what your airline and the local authorites will do with it. I know this may be touchy with a pilot because if you don't project 100 percent good health, they may not allow you to fly.

Honestly, it may be best for you to be grounded at this time anyway. Here's why. Once our bodies sustain enough injuries from the poisoning, as you describe "nauseated" and "headaches," then even if you miss the direct spraying, you'll still get exposures when coming back into the aircraft because the seat cushions, carpeting, everything has been soaked with pesticide. When I had my exemption, even while saying good-bye to the passengers as the end of the jetway, the smell of pesticide in their clothes still made me very sick because I had already become sensitized.

You are now at a crossroads that will affect the rest of your life. When I was at this very same crossroad, I made a bad mistake: I continued to fly to places where I got sprayed with pesticide and my health went rapidly downhill.

I recommend that you do not make this same mistake.

• I definitely would not continue to get sprayed, if I were you.

• Take a leave of absence (medical or personal) as soon as you can, and give yourself time to recoup the health you have lost.

The fact that pesticides poison humans as well as pests is now a well-accepted fact. And reactiveness to pesticide toxins can quickly spread to other toxins, such as jet fuel. Eventually sensitivity can progress to everyday products such as fabric softener, printers' inks, lawncare products, and personal hygiene lotions and perfumes. This is a fact. I urge you to avoid getting sprayed again at all cost, even if this means that you stop flying now.

Losing your job is not the worst thing that could happen to you. I was medically grounded for this exact reason. And you may not lose your job if you take time out now to recoup. After a leave of absence, you may recover sufficiently to fly other routes. I waited too long and had lost too much health to ever work on airplanes again.

If you feel like staying in touch, I am most interested in hearing what you decide to do.

With best wishes,
Diana Fairechild