Sprayed!
Know what to do.
A Fact Sheet from Toxic Free NC
Printer-friendly PDF of this factsheet (200 KB)
Picture
this: You and your family are
Call the Pesticide
Drift Hotline toll |
The chemicals in many pesticides are toxic and dangerous. Even when applied correctly and carefully, there is always a chance of drift and unwanted exposure – for other vegetation, for animals, and for people. This can lead to property damage and serious illness.
Based on conversations with drift victims across the state, Toxic Free NC has developed this list of tips and advice for victims of pesticide drift in North Carolina. If you’re sprayed, take these important steps to protect yourself and put a stop to pesticide drift:
1) Protect yourself.
-
If you have come into direct contact with chemical pesticides, immediately leave the area and take off any contaminated clothing. Put your contaminated clothes in plastic bags so you won’t be reexposed by handling them, and so they can be used as samples for lab work if necessary.
-
Take a shower as soon as possible, or wash with the nearest source of clean water.
- Ask the pesticide applicator for the labels and material safety data sheets (MSDS) for the formulations s/he sprayed.
-
Even if you do not have immediate symptoms, it is possible that your health may be at risk, so it is important to go to a physician for an exam. Tell your health care provider about the exposure, and take any information you have about the
chemicals with you.
2) Report the incident. It is important to call the state enforcement agency anytime pesticides have been misused or caused damage or harm. To report a pesticide incident in North Carolina, call the Pesticide Section of the NC Department of Agriculture at 919-733-3556. An investigator should come to the site within 24 hours of your call, and should bring equipment for collecting samples for lab-work. If taken promptly, laboratory tests are capable of identifying the chemicals that were used. Anonymous reports are accepted.
3) Keep good records. For your own safety and to help the investigation run smoothly, it is very important to keep track of the details of the pesticide incident. You may find it helpful to create a notebook where you can keep all the information about the incident for easy reference.
-
Keep any contaminated clothing articles in sealed plastic bags, out of the sun.
-
Keep track of any symptoms you have, and any information that a doctor provides.
- Write down the date and the specific details of the event, as they can be easy to forget in the following weeks.
-
Write down the names of the people that you speak with about the incident, and the investigator that you speak with. If you want to have their comments in writing, send a follow-up letter that summarizes your conversation, and request their response.
-
Tell the pesticide investigator that you would like to be notified of any information that is found or action that is taken.
-
Be sure to follow up to get the information you asked for, especially if the applicator and/or the investigator are not forthcoming.
It can be frightening to witness careless application
of pesticides or to be exposed to pesticide drift,
and sometimes intimidating to report incidents
to the state Pesticide Section. Nonetheless,
reporting these incidents is one of the most
important steps you can take to keep them from
happening again. Toxic Free NC is
here to help you, so call us toll-free at 1-877-NO
SPRAY for help in English or in Spanish.