arrived to pick up her daughter that afternoon, she was horrified to smell the chemi-
cal odor, and appalled to realize that she had brought Emily into contact with the
chemical while she was in a weakened and vulnerable condition. Sadly, the girl’s lym-
phoma returned within the month. She died before summer’s end that year. Having
failed to identify any other known risk factors relevant to their daughter’s illness,
Emily’s family believes that exposure to 2,4-D-containing weed killers which were
used at her school may well have caused or contributed to her initial illness, her
relapse, and her eventual death.^52
December 1992, Ashtabula County, Ohio.Maintenance staff at a school for mul-
tiply handicapped children used an old bottle of the insecticide malathion, spreading
it around the perimeter of a small shed in an effort to control rodents. They applied
the chemical on a Wednesday night after school was out. The next morning the
insecticide vaporized, and winds carried the fumes into a room where students and
parents had gathered for a holiday play. Many people noticed the odor, and several
staff members complained of nausea and sore throats. By noon, complaints and
‘‘strange maladies’’ increased, including excessive salivation, tearing, nausea, fatigue,
and headaches. Part of the school was evacuated, but vapors then entered other areas
of the building via windows and heating intake ducts. At least two people went to
private physicians because of health complaints associated with the exposure, and
their physicians validated their conditions. The Ashtabula County Health Depart-
ment later concluded that the symptoms experienced were most likely related to ex-
posure to the malathion’s petroleum distillate base.
The school was closed the next day while air testing and cleanup began. That
Monday the shed and the contaminated soil around it were removed; they still car-
ried an overpowering stench from the pesticide. Air samples taken in the school on
Monday morning showed no traces of the insecticide, and school officials planned to
reopen the school, but state health department officials suggested that workers wash
every surface in the school three times to ensure that no traces of the chemical or its
petroleum base remained. Ultimately, the school was closed for more than a week,
and cleanup and waste removal cost more than $15,000.^53
December 7, 1992, St. Paul, Minnesota.Four students and three adults from
Woodbury High School were treated at anearbyemergencyroomaftertheywere
exposed to the insecticide malathion. Emergency room personnel examined an additional
twenty-seven students. The students reported light-headedness and a teacher reported a
headache. The incident occurred when a student mixing a spray for use on plants in the
school’s greenhouse spilled about half a cup of it. He used his bare hands to wipe up the
spill. However, the solution evaporated andfumes quickly spread into an adjacent class-
room and hallway. Students were immediately evacuated, and the fire department was
called. The state health department does not have the file on this case.^54
October 26, 1992, Eastchester, New York.Children, teachers, and other staff of
Eastchester High School noticed a strong odor and experienced headaches, nausea,
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