CAMARILLO : Pesticide From Farm Drifts Into Factory

Thirteen workers at a Camarillo factory complained of eye irritation Thursday after being exposed to pesticide fumes, a Ventura County farm official said.

Workers at the Power-One plant said their eyes were irritated by fumes from a field off Calle Plano that had been sprayed with metam sodium, said Mel Hixson, a biologist with the county Agricultural Commission.

Firefighters called to the factory at 740 Calle Plano examined workers for pesticide exposure. None had to be hospitalized, fire officials said.

The field leased by Boskovich Farm was being prepared for a parsley planting, Hixson said.

Metam sodium is used to kill weeds, fungi and worms, Hixson said. The farm had apparently applied the chemical properly by spraying it onto the field and then drenching the ground with water, he said.

But because of the field’s proximity to the industrial park, chemical fumes drifted from the field into the factory.

Hixson said a field supervisor with Boskovich agreed that the farm would not spray pesticides during the industrial park’s work hours.

A Boskovich spokesman was not available for comment.