After an employee sprayed weed control at Apricot Valley Elementary School earlier this month, Tomasa Estrella’s grandchild started experiencing panic attacks. He worried that his classmates who experienced rashes and skin irritation were going to die that day, she said.
Estrella and about 20 other concerned residents gathered at Stonegate Community Center in Patterson on Thursday evening with questions about the apparent case of pesticide drift that occurred at the Patterson school on March 13 and impacted about 30 students and staff members. Pesticide drift is the unintentional movement of pesticide particles or vapors through the air during or after application.
According to Patterson Joint Unified School District, the spraying appeared to have violated its protocols. Herbicide applications usually are scheduled when students and staff are not on campus…