Probe Finds Pesticides in Soil at School : Environment: Traces of banned chemicals are found at a Poway School, but an expert doubts they’re causing sicknesses.

Traces of two banned pesticides have been found on the campus of Midland Elementary School in Poway, where testing has been going on for two months to track down the cause of reported allergic reactions and illnesses among students and staff.

M. Joseph Fedoruk, spokesman for the environmental testing firm of Med-Tox Associates, said Monday that tests showed traces of dieldrin and chlordane in soil near the classrooms where the most serious of the allergic reactions had been reported.

But he also said that he doubts that the pesticide residue, also found in carpets that had been removed within the last few months from one of the classrooms, could be the cause of the allergic reactions experienced by Midland students and staff.

Nonetheless, school officials acted immediately to fence off the contaminated area between two classroom buildings, empty for several weeks after parents went to the school board to voice concern over mystery illnesses afflicting their children.

School district spokeswoman Cathy Baur said the district had reported the toxics to the county Hazardous Materials Division and planned to remove the contaminated soil during summer vacation.

Fedoruk said the amounts of the two pesticides found in the soil were “very small” but “it’s not the sort of thing you would want children playing in.”

He said soil tests conducted on the school’s playing fields and other sites on campus found no other pesticide residues. He speculated that the two chemicals probably had been used in fumigating the two old buildings, which housed classrooms until recent weeks.

Checks of recent years’ records show that neither dieldrin nor chlordane had been used on the campus since the federal Environmental Protection Agency banned them several years ago, Fedoruk said.

Dan Avera, county Health Services hazardous materials management chief, said that both chemicals remain in the environment for up to 15 years. Chlordane at one time was commonly used in the soil around buildings to exterminate subterranean termites, he said.

The small grassy landscaped area was enclosed by a hastily erected chain-link fence. Bushes and other plants were cut down in preparation for sealing the area off until a toxics removal plan approved by the county can be carried out this summer, Baur said.

Since February, the mysterious allergies have caused rashes, upset stomachs, headaches, dizziness and other symptoms among Midland youngsters, teachers and staff members. A task force of concerned parents presented graphic proof of the deteriorating condition of the 40-year-old classrooms, and demanded that the school district repair and renovate the 40-year-old buildings.

However, after more than $50,000 in testing and cleaning, no clear cause has been found for allergic ailments that have prompted some parents to transfer their children to other schools.

Chuck Teplitz, a member of the parent task force, said a meeting of the group with school administrators Monday still left the question unanswered. Teplitz’s daughter, a student at Midland, is one of the more severely affected youngsters.

Although results of a number of recent tests done by Med-Tox have been submitted to school district officials, Teplitz said, the most eagerly awaited test, of fungal and bacterial contamination in the affected classrooms, was not complete. Med-Tox tests before the thorough cleanup at the school showed unusually high bacterial and fungal counts.

“We want to know if what they have done at the school has done any good,” he said.

School officials also are conducting a health survey at Midland and Valley Elementary School to pinpoint the cause and determine the extent of the Midland problem, since it’s not known for certain how many students, teachers and staff members are affected. A 72% response to the survey by Midland parents and a 61% return from Valley parents will be analyzed by Med-Tox. Results are expected to be available in three weeks, Fedoruk said.

“I doubt that it will give us an answer,” Teplitz said. “It may convince the school administrators that this is not just a few people who are affected.”

Dr. Ira Melzer, a San Diego physician who specializes in pediatric allergies, was hired by the district to examine Midland youngsters. Meltzer said he had identified a number of unexplained allergic symptoms among the youngsters.

But, he added, “in my 20 years of experience I’ve looked at thousands of children, and, in my opinion, this (Midland School group) is a pretty healthy bunch of kids.”