PESTICIDE OFFICIAL OKS EXPANDED USE AT AREA FARM; NEIGHBORS: CHEMICALS CAUSING ILLNESS.

Byline: Deborah Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer

The Department of Pesticide Regulation is permitting a Camarillo grower to fumigate within 100 feet of nearby residences, but neighbors said they are already getting sick from fumigation farther down the field from their homes.

``Fumigation will be allowed to go ahead Tuesday or Wednesday,'' said Earl McPhail, Ventura County agricultural commissioner, who is authorized to issue permits for all farm pesticide use in the county.

The decision is a disappointment for residents, who said they are already experiencing symptoms from a methyl bromide fumigation that is ongoing this weekend.

``Mine has been mostly just eye burning and stuffy nose, having a hard time breathing,'' said Hank Hamilton, 67. ``My wife is all stuffed up.''

Hamilton said residents were tracking their symptoms and that some had taken blood tests to determine whether they had unhealthy amounts of methyl bromide in their bodies. The results of those tests were not available Friday.

Pleasant Valley Farms began fumigating a 10-acre strip of its 90-acre field Aug. 21, while the Department of Pesticide Regulation conducted tests on the levels of methyl bromide emitted.

Methyl bromide is a pesticide known to cause nausea, headaches, dizziness, respiratory distress, and, in cases of extreme poisoning, seizures, coma or death.

However, the department's tests showed this week that emissions of the chemical during last week's fumigation did not exceed the state's target levels for agricultural use.

As a result, the department decided Wednesday to allow the grower, Charles Nakana, to fumigate another 40-acre portion of the farm, 650 feet from their homes. That fumigation is ongoing now.

On Friday, the department approved McPhail's decision to allow fumigation on the remaining 40 acres of the farm up to 100 feet from adjacent homes. That fumigation can begin as soon as weather conditions are acceptable, department officials said.

``The county, when they issued the permit, stipulated that they would determine the buffer zone after reviewing our monitoring data, and local weather conditions,'' said Paul Gosselin, assistant director of the Department of Pesticide Regulations. ``They decided that a 100-foot buffer zone was appropriate. We agreed with Earl (McPhail's) decision that that was appropriate and removed the stay (on the fumigation permit.)''

Gosselin said the agency, however, would hold a public review next week of the farm's pesticide use permit. McPhail said the subject of the hearing will include permit provisions that allow the farm to use other insecticides and fungicides besides methyl bromide and chloropicrin (another chemical added to methyl bromide to give the odorless gas a scent.)

``We're going to hear what people's concerns are on the entire permit decision,'' Gosselin said.