They're sterile, so presumably the most that will happen is a temporary boost in the lizard and bird populations and a reduction in fruit fly populations over the next few weeks / into the winter. Highly unlikely this will trigger some runaway scenario. Smart to do this as things cool down.
>Strict procedures are now in place to prevent another accidental release of fertile flies, Dr. Leathers said.
From the article. Not exactly a completely unfounded concern.
Meh, our instinct is to assume that there is no free lunch but technological breakthroughs are full of free lunches.
The irradiation could cause random weird DNA permutations instead of just making the male fruit flies infertile?
knowing nothing about fruit flies I also have similar concerns.