COUNTY GETS TOTAL PESTICIDE CONTROL NEAR SCHOOLS.Byline: - Cecilia Chan Schoolchildren schoolchildren school npl → écoliers mpl; (at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school in Ventura County will be protected from potentially harmful fumes fumes odorous gases and other volatile materials; inhalation of irritating fumes causes coughing and, if sufficiently severe, irreversible pulmonary edema. from drifting pesticides, thanks to a new state law. AB 947, authored by Assemblywoman as·sem·bly·wom·an n. A woman who is a member of a legislative assembly. Noun 1. assemblywoman - a woman assemblyman representative - a person who represents others Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, gives county agricultural commissioners the power to regulate all pesticides applied near schools. Before the new law, only the more-toxic pesticides were restricted, with special conditions set upon them. ``Ninety-nine percent of applications go on correctly,'' Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail said. ``But we need a tool to make sure 100 percent goes on correctly, and this will help to do that.'' McPhail said that under the new law, signed by Gov. Gray Davis this week, his department will place conditions on permits to ensure no pesticide pesticide, biological, physical, or chemical agent used to kill plants or animals that are harmful to people; in practice, the term pesticide is often applied only to chemical agents. is applied within a quarter-mile of a school when class is in session or on weekends during a game. There are 20-plus schools in the county that are within a quarter-mile of farmland, McPhail said. Currently there are 40 to 50 different pesticides being used in Ventura County. The law also increases the maximum fine for serious pesticide-related violations from $1,000 to $5,000. A pesticide drift in Ventura County in 1999 prompted the drafting of the bill. A citrus citrus Any of the plants that make up the genus Citrus, in the rue family, that yield pulpy fruits covered with fairly thick skins. The genus includes the lemon, lime, sweet and sour oranges, tangerine, grapefruit, citron, and shaddock (C. maxima, or C. grandis; also called pomelo). grower applied Lorsban, a nonrestricted pesticide, to his lemon orchard adjacent to Mount Elementary School elementary school: see school. in Ventura, officials said. The pesticide drifted into the school, causing students to fall ill and closing down classes. |
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