space were analyzed only for petroleum distillates, not for the active ingredients of
the pesticide products used. The inspector noted that there were no established air
standards for the active ingredients of the products used, pyrethrin or resmethrin.
The sample from the crawl space tested positive for petroleum hydrocarbons, while
the sample from the classroom did not show detectable levels of petroleum hydrocar-
bons six days after the crawl space application.
The school reopened on February 3, after a four-day closure while the chemical
was cleaned. School board trustees were fined nearly $6,000 by the state Bureau of
Pesticide Compliance for ordering pesticide applications to be made by unlicensed
employees, and for illegal use of a cancelled pesticide product. One parent filed a
notice of intent to sue in an effort to cover medical expenses related to surgery her
six-year-old had to remove gum boils the parent says were related to the exposure.
Other children apparently also developed gum boils the week of the incident. The
state health department has no case file on this incident.^56
May 8, 1991, Coral Springs, Florida.Thirty-four students and eight adults were
sent to area hospitals and ten others were treated by paramedics at Forest Hill Ele-
mentary School the day after being overcome by strong pesticide fumes. Symptoms
reported included churning stomachs, dizziness, and a bad pepper-like taste in the
mouth. The school had been sprayed the night before with two synthetic pyrethroid
insecticides, Tempo 20 WP (cyfluthrin) and Micro-Gen ULD BP-100 (pyrethrins
and piperonyl butoxide). Investigators suspected that some of the insecticide had
landed on top of steamers or ovens in the cafeteria, and later vaporized when the
ovens were turned on, resulting in the sickening fumes. All 175 schools in the Bro-
ward County school district were sprayed regularly with these same chemicals in an
ongoing effort to control roaches, ants, and fleas.^57
May 5, 1989, Cross Lanes, West Virginia.Andrew Jackson Junior High School
was closed after four years of complaints by teachers and students of persistent
coughs, fatigue, headaches, respiratory problems, nausea, and numbness in their
limbs. Federal investigators found the cancer-causing pesticide chlordane in the air at
levels eleven times higher than the federal evacuation limit. The chemical was applied
at the school to combat termites. The school district paid $600,000 in 1995 to settle
a lawsuit brought by sixty-seven students and school employees who said they experi-
enced nerve damage, immune system problems, bone marrow dysfunction, aching
joints, allergic reactions, and cancer resulting from the exposure. The exterminator
paid more than a million dollars in fines. The school was reopened in February of
1990 after an extensive cleanup.^58
1989 to 1990, Greenville County, South Carolina.After a parent inquiry, state
investigators found a pattern of illegal pesticide applications in Greenville County
schools, including fogging of classrooms with the restricted-use pesticide lindane (in
an effort to control head lice), indoor use of agricultural formulations of diazinon,
and applications by non-certified school maintenance personnel.^59
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