Bug spray labels under study.

Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

SALEM - Florence Kolbeck's death may not have been in vain.

Oregon officials are considering asking the Environmental Protection Agency to change the labels on industrially applied bug spray that contains the pyrethroid or pyrethrin compounds, in the wake of the Florence woman's death last July. A state epidemiologist looking into her death said he was alarmed by the growing number of cases linking illness to these pesticides.

A state pesticide board on Wednesday looked at several possible recommendations for federal regulators concerning the widely used products, found in pesticides such as Black Flag and Raid. They included requiring pest control companies to ensure that houses are well-ventilated before homeowners are allowed to re-enter them.

Kolbeck and her husband, Fred, had their house sprayed for bugs by Eugene-based Swanson's Pest Management last July. When they re-entered the home three hours later, both immediately began choking and spitting. Florence collapsed and Fred tried to perform CPR on his wife but couldn't because she was coughing violently. He called 911. Several of the police and emergency medical technicians who arrived on scene were driven out of the house with similar symptoms. Florence Kolbeck died a few hours later.

Earlier this year, state health investigators found that the pyrethroid chemicals in the pesticides Swanson's used probably caused Kolbeck's death, along with her history of severe heart problems. The state Department of Agriculture has since forwarded the case to the EPA, which will decide whether the Swanson's technician followed the guidelines on the pesticide's labeling, as legally required. That will determine if the company is sanctioned by either state or federal regulators.

Swanson's employees did not return a telephone call Wednesday, but previously have said the technician followed the normal procedure in spraying the house.

Meanwhile, state epidemiologist Michael Heumann has been reviewing state and national statistics for cases similar to Kolbeck's, which he called the first of its kind here.

What Heumann found concerns him. From 1998 to 2003, the latest national data available, cases of people getting sick after exposure to pyrethroid chemicals have risen steadily. He did not have the annual breakdowns available at the meeting, but said that during that time there were more than 150 cases nationally of people reporting symptoms after an indoor spray of the pesticide, none fatal.

The increase is probably a result of the chemicals' increased use, as they're considered a less-toxic alternative to the organophosphate compounds that were once more common. But the fact that more people are getting sick from pyrethroids is alarming, Heumann said.

"It was just a matter of time before something like this happened," Heumann said. "We believe there are sensitive populations at risk. We'd like to not have another case like this happen again."

Heumann is co-chairman of the board of the Pesticide Analytical and Response Center, the Department of Agriculture agency that investigated Kolbeck's case. The board met Wednesday in Salem to consider recommendations to the EPA that might prevent deaths like Kolbeck's.

Chief among the possibilities is asking the EPA to change the labels on pyrethroid-based chemicals, requiring companies that use them to ventilate homes before customers re-enter. As it stands, homeowners are simply given a period of time, which varies with the product used, after which it's supposedly safe to come back.

`The fine print on the contract says `Ventilate before entering',' Kolbeck said. `How do I ventilate before I get back inside? That's beyond me.'

What makes more sense, Heumann said, is for the person wearing protective gear to air out the house before the homeowners get back. The idea could spark opposition from pest control companies, however - a return visit would add either to their costs or to customers', said Douglas Gay, owner of Ant Bee Pest Control in Albany.

"That's not too cost-effective for the customer," Gay said. "I don't see any problems with the law like it is."

The board also may recommend that the times for re-entry be increased for certain people, such as the young and the elderly; that first responders be trained on when it's safe and how best to enter houses that have been sprayed; and that the government take a second look at the appropriateness of using pyrethroid chemicals indoors.

Pesticide board members probably will wait for the EPA's conclusion on the Kolbeck case before making recommendations.

If the EPA finds that Swanson's is at fault for failing to follow the label, then the pesticide board may decide that label changes aren't necessary.