Ventura Residents to Warn of Pesticide

Seeking to halt further use of the pesticide methyl bromide on a neighboring strawberry field, a group of east Ventura residents will hold a rally today to warn others across the county about the toxic fumigant’s harmful effects.

The group plans to gather at the Todd Ranch Clubhouse at 11 a.m. to organize residents to distribute leaflets door-to-door in neighborhoods in Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo.

The fliers include information about methyl bromide fumigation scheduled for strawberry fields around the county in coming months. They explain how the pesticide is applied, what health risks are posed and how related illnesses can be identified and treated.

“We are doing this to get the word out, so that people can take measures to protect themselves, because the county has not done that yet and we do not know when they will,” said Marty Stanford, who lives adjacent to the strawberry field.

The group’s attempt to prevent the issuance of the strawberry farmer’s methyl bromide permit was rejected early this week by the Agricultural Commission. The residents plan to appeal the decision to the state and are pushing officials to require that they receive advanced notification of future spraying.

“We need pre-notification to protect our own,” said Raili West, who has a small child and lives near the fields. “We will not allow our children to be exposed to toxic nerve gas again.”

Across the county in Camarillo, residents of the Lamplighter Mobile Home Estates are also fighting the use of methyl bromide on a field adjacent to their park.

Representatives of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation have agreed to monitor the air once the pesticide has been applied at the field to determine if it poses any health hazards. The owner of the property will also be required to hire a security guard to keep people off the field.

“The fumigating is not something we are going to be able to stop,” said Diana Lorimer, a mobile home park resident. “Our wall is right against the field. In the afternoon, wind blows directly toward our house.”

Meanwhile, Ventura residents expect methyl bromide fumigation to start soon in the Montalvo Ranch strawberry fields off Ramelli Avenue. Neighborhood representatives there say that last year methyl bromide caused burning eyes, nausea, dizziness and extreme weakness.

“We’re going to have to move from our house when the spraying starts, based on what happened last year,” Stanford said.

Last summer, her 8-month-old grandson suffered breathing problems and vomiting, and subsequent medical tests showed methyl bromide in his bloodstream, she said.

Anticipating that their request to stop the use of methyl bromide might be rejected, the petitioners asked county Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail to require farmers to notify them of upcoming fumigation. McPhail said he did not have any legal basis for withholding the pesticide permit.

As of Thursday afternoon, McPhail said that his office was “working on providing notification for the area.”

But a pre-notification program would also depend on the cooperation of residents, McPhail said. “We are going to need help setting up a phone tree or something like that. We’re looking at a lot of different options,” McPhail said.

Residents responded to McPhail’s statement with cautious optimism.

“I feel like thus far we have been cooperative and we would love the opportunity to meet with Mr. McPhail,” said resident Lynda Uvari.

While residents like Uvari are concerned that the meeting may not convene in time to warn residents of the spraying, McPhail sounded confident that it would. “I’m not sure when we will meet, but I strongly doubt it would happen after the spraying,” he said.

Uvari claims she had terrible headaches and problems with her eyes, and that her husband and children became nauseated during the fumigation last year.

Residents’ complaints were bolstered by tests conducted last summer by a Washington-based environmental group which showed a Ventura street contaminated by methyl bromide at levels exceeding state safety standards.

Subsequently, a Ventura County Grand Jury report released July 1 recommended that residents living adjacent to fields sprayed with methyl bromide be informed of the date and time of its application. The fumigant is classified by the EPA as an acute toxin and will be banned by the year 2000.

Other groups opposed to the use of methyl bromide have launched their own campaigns to prevent its spraying. Earlier this month, environmental organizations collaborated to sponsor ads encouraging shoppers to buy strawberries without methyl bromide.

The ad showed two identical baskets of strawberries, one labeled “Grown With Sun, Oil and Water,” and the other “Grown With Sun, Oil, Water and Toxic Nerve Gas.” Environmental groups say they will continue to speak out against methyl bromide in the coming months.