9 Moorpark Farmworkers Rushed to Hospital After Pesticide Causes Breathing Difficulties

Nine workers at a farm in Moorpark were rushed by ambulance to a local hospital Wednesday morning after complaining of having difficulty breathing.

The workers were picking in a field operated by Muranaka Farms in the 11000 block of East Los Angeles Avenue when two of them began complaining of irritating fumes and breathing problems, authorities said.

Several ambulances and Ventura County Fire Department personnel responded.

Battalion Chief David Chovanec said the irritation was caused by a pesticide that had been sprayed on another Muranaka field about 200 yards away an hour before the picking started. “Their symptoms had subsided by the time we arrived,” Chovanec said.

All 20 people working in the field were given on-site medical checkups and offered the option of being transported to Simi Valley Hospital for further examination, he said. One woman and eight men, ages 18 to 44, were taken in for observation.

“They were all in pretty fair condition,” hospital spokeswoman Alicia Gonzales said. “Some had burning of the eyes, but the main complaint was trouble breathing.”

All the workers had been treated and released by midafternoon, she said.

Chovanec said the pesticide chemicals were highly diluted with water and seemed to have been applied under the proper conditions. Muranaka Farm managers “were stunned by it because there was no wind,” he said. “We have no idea how it occurred. It appeared they took all the right precautions.”

Managers at Muranaka Farms could not be reached for comment.