The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district is reviewing the use of herbicides on playgrounds and athletic fields after potentially harmful chemicals were spread on competition fields at Smith Middle School in May.
Steve Scroggs, assistant superintendent for support services, sent an email to parents of Smith Middle students over the weekend notifying them of the herbicides and fertilizers that were sprayed on the fields.
A lawn-care company employed by the district sprayed the fields with the herbicide Trimec, which the Environmental Protection Agency defines as “slightly toxic.†According to Scroggs, parents were not notified of the use of the chemical 72 hours in advance, which is one of the EPA’s guidelines for the use of Trimec.
The company also spread fertilizer containing a pre-emergent coating on fields at Smith Middle in mid-May.
The fertilizer is listed by the EPA as “practically nontoxic.†The National Fire Protection Association lists the fertilizer as a material “which on intense or continued exposure could cause temporary incapacitation.â€
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district has halted the use of herbicides and fertilizers until a review of the district’s use of herbicides is complete.