Field Fumigation Ignites Protest

CAMARILLO —  Donning dust and gas masks, more than two dozen protesters demonstrated Thursday against the methyl bromide fumigation of a strawberry field next to their mobile home park.

Although fumigation with the controversial pesticide began Thursday morning, protesters gathered about 4 p.m. at the Lamplighter Mobile Home Park where they live to rally against further applications.

Drivers on Pleasant Valley Road honked and waved in support of the protesters, who carried signs showing skulls and gravestones and slogans such as: “Can You Guarantee We Won’t Get Sick?”

“It’s bad because it will come over to us and make us die,” said 5-year-old Rhett Elzarif, briefly removing his dust mask.

Rhett, accompanied by his mother, stood next to Ashley Martinez, 3, who was holding a sign that read: “Is a Strawberry More Important Than Me?”

Although state and local officials insist that methyl bromide has been tested repeatedly and is safe for use near homes, others disagree.

Paul Russell, the county’s new public health officer, has called on government regulators to do additional testing to measure the potency of drifting methyl bromide fumes. Last summer, residents next to a 30-acre strawberry field in the Montalvo area of Ventura complained of burning eyes, nausea, headaches and weakness after the area was fumigated.

Vicky Corey, president of the Lamplighter Homeowners Assn., and other organizers distributed checklists to residents Wednesday in an attempt to document any illnesses that result from the fumigation. They plan to keep close tabs on any flu- or cold-like symptoms over the next several days.

Only 10 acres of the 90-acre Camarillo strawberry field were injected with methyl bromide Thursday under an agreement between the grower and the state Department of Pesticide Regulation. As part of the agreement, state officials will monitor fumes from the application to determine if they pose any health risks.

Thursday’s pesticide application took place about 550 feet from the closest residents’ homes--520 more feet than the state’s minimum buffer zone requirement.

Still, strong winds prompted many residents to close their windows when two large tractors began injecting the fumigant about 6:30 a.m.

“This is wrong,” said Sandra Rowe, a park resident since 1989. “I have asthma and I’ll have to close my windows up on some of the hottest days of the month because they’ll be applying that stuff. They should plant something besides strawberries in that field, so they don’t have to use methyl bromide.”

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The treated area was immediately covered with plastic tarpaulin and air will be continuously monitored for 48 hours after the application, said David Buettner, Ventura County chief deputy agricultural commissioner.

Residents will get a slight reprieve while officials wait for the test results from the Department of Pesticide Regulation.

“From all the indications we have, it will probably be close to one week until the next fumigation,” Buettner said.

Subsequent pesticide applications will initially move westerly, away from residents’ homes, but may eventually move as close as 30 feet away.

“If they come up to only 30 feet, we’ll have to lock the place up and leave,” mobile home park resident Fred Siddall said through a gas mask Thursday. “I have asthma and my lungs can’t handle any type of fumes, let alone this poison.”

A state pesticide department report released last month indicated that regulations have been insufficient in some cases to protect people who live next to areas where methyl bromide is used.

“The people in Montalvo didn’t get sick for no reason,” said Matt Lorimer, another mobile home park resident. “You just don’t dream this stuff up. But because we aren’t sick like those people, they aren’t listening to us.”

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Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail denied the requests of both Camarillo and Montalvo homeowners to revoke the county permit that allows methyl bromide fumigation. Each group subsequently filed an appeal with state pesticide regulators last month.

However, James Wells, director of the state pesticide department, last week upheld the commissioner’s decision to proceed in Camarillo because the planned application was in compliance with all regulations and laws. Wells has not yet decided whether to proceed with the fumigation of the 30-acre Montalvo field.

After surveying the park’s 400 residents, Corey, president of the homeowner association, found that 93 people are 65 or older, 56 are in preschool, 94 have allergies, four use oxygen tanks and 54 have respiratory problems. As a result, she said that many of the park’s residents are especially susceptible to harm from the fumigation.

“I’m very unhappy about this,” park resident Cheryl Probst said. “My mom has cancer. I just hope she doesn’t have any problems from this.”