April 28, 1987, Grand Island, New York.The local fire department was called in
to evacuate Kaegebein Elementary School when strong pesticide odors entered a class-
room after plants in a solarium inside the school foyer were sprayed with an over-
the-counter malathion product. The spraying was done by two volunteers at the
school who were also members of a local garden club. They were attempting to con-
trol mealy bugs on the plants. The school was reopened the following day after a
cleanup and air sampling by the health department. A warning letter was sent to the
school for allowing the application to school property by unlicensed individuals.^60
October 2, 1986, Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii.At least thirty children and three
adults at Waianae Elementary School complained of headaches, stomachaches,
breathing difficulties, dizziness, nausea, and other symptoms. The insecticide Dursban
4-E (chlorpyrifos) was applied by the state health department around the perimeter
of certain school buildings the afternoon before in an effort to control fleas present
from dogs sleeping under the portable classrooms. Another application had been
made just two weeks earlier. Health department investigators found ‘‘no evidence of
pesticide misuse.’’ However, the agency’s epidemiologist stated in a letter that the evi-
dence indicated that health symptoms may have been caused by solvents (xylene) and
other ingredients (diethyl sulfides) in the pesticide. The school remained closed the
following day. An inspection done after the second treatment found that fleas were
still present. Following this incident, the school installed screens around crawl spaces
to prevent access by dogs.^61
January 28, 1987, Silver Creek, New York.A school custodian under direction
of a school nurse sprayed Diatox C (diazinon) on carpeting in four classrooms at Sil-
ver Creek Elementary School in an attempt to control head lice. The over-the-coun-
ter product that was used was not registered for use in New York. Though the
application was made on a Saturday, strong odors lingered when classes resumed on
Monday. Despite cleaning efforts, the rugs eventually had to be removed. The class-
rooms were unusable for several days. The district was cited for applying a pesticide
inconsistent with its label (it was not labeled for head lice control), and for allowing
the application to be made by an unlicensed applicator, among other violations.^62
April 1992, Tucson, Arizona.On April 24, 1992, more than 100 people in Tuc-
son, Arizona, including firefighters, police officers, paramedics, nurses, and physi-
cians, responded to reports that students at an elementary school had been exposed
to an unknown and possibly toxic substance; 296 students were transported to eight
hospital emergency departments. None were diagnosed as acutely ill. The substance
was identified as approximately twenty-two milliliters of malathion diluted in fifteen
liters of water and applied with a hand-held sprayer about 100 meters from the
school. The odor apparently drifted to the school on winds of nineteen to twenty-
four kilometers per hour. The episode was determined to be epidemic hysteria, possi-
bly triggered by the malathion odor, but perpetuated by the stress of the emergency
response.^63142 | Pesticides