Environmental Progress - Fall 1998

Illinois EPA Staffers Receive Award For Work with Illegal Pesticide Peril

Illegal applications and sales contaminated hundreds of residences

Fourteen Illinois EPA staffers were part of a massive multi-agency response in 1997 and 1998 to investigate and clean up homes and apartments in the Chicago metro area where the potentially highly toxic pesticide methyl parathion had been illegally applied.

The Illinois EPA employees participated in a sampling effort involving hundreds of locations in more than 20 communities.

Methyl parathion is registered only for outdoor use, chiefly on cotton fields. In the Chicago area event, an "exterminator" sold it in unmarked jars and applied it in nearly 1,000 homes.

Their efforts were recognized this spring when they were presented the Agency's top award, the Director's Award for Excellence, recognizing "heroic" efforts in service to the citizens of Illinois.

"Field work was performed which required our staff to set aside their regular duties and possibly risk being exposed to the pesticide themselves. In many cases, Agency participants were away from their homes, families, and other responsibilities in order to abate a public health emergency," noted Deputy Director Bernie Killian in reading the citation for the award presented by Director Mary Gade at the Agency's annual Recognition Day.

Both field and headquarters staff participated to protect public health.

The staff involved included representatives from regional field offices, particularly in Maywood, and Springfield headquarters, and included Bureau of Land, Bureau of Air, Office of Chemical Safety/Emergency Response and Office of Community Relations.

Recognized were: Mark Britton, Dustin Burger, Jim Clark, Patricia Daruwala, Richard Gerard, Chuck Grigaluaski, Jim Haennicke, James Jones, Ken Keigly, Don Klopke, Ron Mehalilc, Shaun Newell, Ed Osowski, Gopi Ramanathan, Ron Rogowski, and Jason Thorp.

Illinois EPA joined several other agencies in the massive response to the illegal spraying by Ruben Brown from 1991 to 1997. The chemical is registered only for outdoor use, primarily on cotton fields. Brown applied it for indoor insect control and sold it in unmarked jars. He has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.

More than 900 households were screened for the pesticide. Of these, about 600 showed contaminant levels requiring urine tests, with about 100 households identified as having levels requiring them to be evacuated temporarily while the homes were decontaminated.

U.S. EPA provided most of the funding for the screening and cleanup, as well as staff. Other agencies assisting included the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago Department of the Environment and other agencies of that city, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.