1-877-NO-DRIFT:
New Toll-Free Hotline Helps NC Victims of Pesticide Drift

Victims of pesticide drift in North Carolina now have a free, simple way to get help, thanks to a new toll-free hotline set up this August by Toxic Free NC: 1-877-NO-DRIFT. When pesticides are sprayed, they often move off-site, carried by wind or other means. This “drift” of pesticides onto neighboring properties can be dangerous, but is rarely reported. Callers to the new hotline receive advice on steps they can take to protect their health and property from the hazardous effects of pesticides, and are assisted in reporting drift incidents to the Pesticide Section of the NC Department of Agriculture.

Shirley Faucette, a Martin County grandmother, was permanently disabled by drift from peanut fields during the summer of 1993. The constant drift of pesticides from the fields into her house made her so sick that she was forced to leave home. “No agency helps you,” said Faucette. “Since we’re individuals instead of a multitude, those of us who’ve been poisoned by pesticides just fall through the cracks.”

According to Toxic Free NC’s executive director, Fawn Pattison, Faucette’s situation is not so uncommon. “Victims of pesticide drift in North Carolina have typically received little or no information about what they were sprayed with and what they should do about it,” said Pattison. “It is our hope that the new hotline, by helping victims find that information and report the problem, will empower them to defend their families’ health, livelihood and rights.”

Aerial spraying, or “crop dusting,” is a major source of drift in NC. As much as 40% of aerially-applied pesticide can drift off-site to neighboring farms, homes, parks, churches, and schools, according to the US Congress’ Office of Technology Assessment. This high rate of drift, sometimes reaching over half a mile from the site of pesticide application, can result in unintended human exposure and cause serious health and economic damage.

• One-time exposure to pesticides can cause poisoning, with symptoms such as labored breathing, rashes, eye and skin irritation, faintness, seizures, coma, and in severe cases even death.


• Workers and neighbors of frequently-sprayed areas are regularly exposed to varying levels of pesticides over time, which can result in chronic conditions such as fatigue, depression, increased chemical sensitivity, neurological disorders, cancer, and other long-term illnesses.


• Victims of pesticide drift commonly suffer economic losses when property is damaged, or when crops and animals become sick or die from pesticide exposure.

Besides assisting individual victims of pesticide drift, Toxic Free NC also expects the new hotline to foster improved reporting of drift incidents and related damages to state enforcement officials. Despite the threat to rural residents, the NC Pesticide Board is still considering a proposal to weaken public health protections from aerial pesticide application. The revised regulations would eliminate no-deposit “buffer zones” around residences and public places in favor of a system that allows a set level of pesticide residue from crop dusters anywhere, even on school and hospital grounds.

--Billie Karel