COUNTY CALLS HEAD LICE PESTICIDE TOXIC.

Byline: Jennifer Hamm Staff Writer

The county sanitation department is launching a campaign to end the use of a pesticide used to treat head lice, saying it pollutes the environment and can harm children, officials said Friday.

At issue is the effect of lindane, an ingredient in some prescription treatments of head lice. Lindane is an ingredient in the widely used shampoo and body lotion Kwell, which treats head lice, sanitation officials say.

``I don't think people have realized it was an environmental issue,'' said Margaret Nellor of the L.A. County Sanitation District. ``It's a pretty toxic chemical.''

Mandated to reduce the levels of lindane in wastewater under stricter federal standards, the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County are launching the effort called L.I.C.E., Lindane Isn't Cool for the Environment.

Besides environmental harm, lindane can also cause liver and kidney, immune system and central nervous system damage, according to Deborah Altschuler, president of the Boston-based nonprofit National Pediculosis Association. Pediculosis is an infestation with lice.

``The chemical approach to lice has failed miserably,'' she said. ``It's time people get a grip on that. The fact that head lice is so established among kids is the scientific proof that the chemicals haven't worked.''

Officials with Alpharma, the Baltimore, Md.-based company that makes Kwell, did not return calls seeking comment.

One point many appear to agree on is that the lice have become resistant to treatments, even as the treatment get stronger. It has become increasingly difficult to rid hair of head lice.

Environmentally, lindane has become such a problem in wastewater facilities that county sanitation officials have been mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency to cut the levels in half by spring.

If they don't comply with the Environmental Protection Agency regulation, the sanitation district will be forced to spend $150 million to treat wastewater to remove the pesticide, Nellor said.

A single treatment of head lice with lindane can pollute six million gallons of water, according to sanitation officials.

The public education program is being piloted in Burbank and Long Beach, where county sanitation officials will be working with school principals, nurses and doctors.

Its focus is to teach those on the front lines of head lice treatment ways to prevent lindane from hurting the environment and promote safe treatments.

Along with the education component of the project, beginning in the pilot schools this fall, free metal combs will be distributed.

Sanitation officials recommend thoroughly inspecting and combing hair rather than using any sort of chemical treatment, including nonpesticide, over-the-counter options.

County health officials say that's a ludicrous idea.

``There is no such thing as a comb that gets rid of lice,'' said Shirley Fannin, director of disease control for the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.

Fannin questioned whether the education effort is exaggerating the problem.

``What is this nonsense? I'm horrified,'' Fannin said. ``If it were a significant risk, I promise you the EPA would have pulled it off the shelves many, many moons ago.''

When a child does get head lice, school nurses recommend several approaches. Vacuum the house, wash linens and clothes, check everyone else in the family and buy an over-the-counter treatment. Fully treating head lice can take up to a month.

``It's a tedious problem,'' said Sjaan Buck, head nurse for the Burbank Unified School District. ``You have to be vigilant.''

When all else fails, however, parents will turn to their doctors, who will often prescribe Kwell.

But pediatrician Marie Medawar said she never prescribes Kwell.

``It has neurotoxicity and it doesn't work as well for the nits,'' said Medawar, who works for the Valley Pediatric Medical Group in Encino.