Herbicide spraying violated state rules

CHAPEL HILL -- The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district has suspended spreading weed killer on competition athletic fields after violating state safety procedures at Smith Middle School in May.

Steve Scroggs, assistant superintendent for support services, sent e-mail to parents over the weekend about the incident and the district's plans.

He said he learned about it after a parent complained in mid-May that herbicides had been spread on the football and soccer fields at Smith during the school day.

At first, he said, the contracted lawn care company said only fertilizer had been spread. But after further questioning, Scroggs learned the fertilizer was coated with a pre-emergent herbicide. On the same day, a lawn care worker sprayed a liquid herbicide on crabgrass on the school fields.

The Environmental Protection Agency lists the pre-emergent herbicide as class IV, or "practically nontoxic." The National Fire Protection Association classifies it as class 2. That means intense or continued exposure could cause temporary incapacitation, Scroggs told parents in the message.

The product used on the crabgrass is Trimec, which the EPA classifies as slightly toxic, or a class 3, Scroggs said.

The district violated state policy by not notifying parents and administrators 72 hours before the herbicide was spread, he said.

He did not think any children became ill because of the application. He was aware of one child who complained of a headache, but the school nurse did not have any complaints on that day or subsequent days.

Allen Spalt, president of the Raleigh-based Agricultural Resources Center Pesticide Education Project, said the EPA classifications shouldn't allay concerns.

"It is not complete to say to people, 'Don't worry, this is just tox 3.' because that doesn't tell you anything about whether these chemicals are disruptive of the nervous system, the immune system, whether or not they cause cancer," Spalt said. "What they tell you is if you're exposed to this, how critical is it that you get care right away."

The district spreads herbicides only on competition fields that are not fescue, which includes both high schools, Smith, and the football fields at Culbreth and McDougle middle schools.