Who Will Protect the Children at School?

On Nov. 8, parents at Mound Elementary School and Balboa Middle School learned that their children had been exposed to a powerful pesticide while at school. Their responses have ranged from concern to anger to disbelief.

"This can't happen here!"

"They have laws against this, don't they?"

"Why didn't anyone call so I could evacuate my child?"

"The orchard has been there for a long time, why is he spraying now when school is in session?"

"Is the school safe--yet?"

Nearly 100 parents, neighbors and others attended an information meeting Nov. 13. Some parents were so concerned that they kept their children home from school for several days.

Mound and Balboa occupy adjacent campuses on the west side of Hill Road in Ventura, just north of California 126. Mound has 575 students in grades kindergarten through five; Balboa has more than 1,200 students in grades six through eight. On the east side of Hill Road is a lemon orchard and land that has been planted with various crops for decades. The orchard is subject to the Ventura Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative, and use of the land cannot change until 2025 without voter approval.

Unlike many farmers, this orchard's owner has not been a model neighbor. This is not the first time sprays have drifted. Communication between him and the school has been close to nonexistent; his efforts to schedule spraying when students were not present have been minimal at best. Nonetheless, he has a legal right to farm. In practice, for the most part the schools and the orchard have quietly gotten along for decades--Mound was built in 1952, Balboa in 1960.

On Nov. 8, a school day, the grower used a speed sprayer to fog the lemon trees to kill ants and scale, pests that can damage the fruit. The sprayer is known for causing large-scale drift, and it did. Strong pesticide odor was immediately noticeable on the Mound School campus more than 100 feet past the orchard fence.

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The chemical sprayed was Lorsban, a member of the chlorpyrifos pesticide family. Last spring, the federal Environmental Protection Agency banned Lorsban for sale to homeowners because of documented harm to infants and children.

The school immediately contacted the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner, who has jurisdiction over agricultural spraying operations. Students were kept inside all day while staff and outside authorities figured out what to do. The grower agreed to delay further spraying until Saturday.