Delaware family of four sickened at Virgin Islands resort after fumigation

[Pathfinder]

Delaware Family of Four Sickened at Virgin Islands Resort After Fumigation

Family on vacation poisoned from pesticide
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The EPA was notified on March 20 that a family staying at Sirenusa Resort in Cruz Bay in St. John, became ill and had been hospitalized following a fumigation in a room at the resort two days earlier, the agency said in a statement released March 23.

The EPA is investigating whether the chemical that was used during the fumigation was methyl bromide ? a toxic chemical that is restricted in the U.S., the statement said.
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The Delaware couple and their two teenage sons were hospitalized in Philadelphia. Stephen Esmond, the father, is the headmaster of a Delaware middle school and his wife, Dr. Theresa Devine, is a dentist, according to NBC Philadelphia.

Devine had been discharged as of Monday, and Esmond is in stable condition, according to the family's attorney and spokesman, James J. Maron. The two teenage boys are still in critical condition...
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http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...gation-n336401

[Pathfinder]

Delaware boys in critical condition after resort illness, possibly from pesticide

By Sara Ganim, Jason Hanna and Laura Ly, CNN

Updated 7:39 AM ET, Mon April 6, 2015
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(CNN)Two Delaware boys are in a coma and their father still is unable to talk or move two weeks after they became sick -- perhaps from pesticide exposure, federal officials say -- during a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands, their lawyer said Saturday.

Steve Esmond, his teenage sons and the teens' mother fell ill more than two weeks ago in St. John, where they were renting a villa at the Sirenusa resort.

The family was airlifted to hospitals in the United States. The boys, 16 and 14, were in critical condition at a Philadelphia hospital on Saturday, the family's lawyer, James Maron of Delaware, said.

"The boys are in rough shape," Maron said.
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Esmond, also being treated at a hospital, is conscious but cannot move, Maron said. The teens' mother, Theresa Devine, was treated at a hospital but released, and is now in occupational therapy, Maron said.
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Elias Rodriguez, an EPA spokesman, said the agency's preliminary test results "do show that there was a presence of methyl bromide in the unit where the family was staying."
...

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/04/us/virgin-islands-resort-pesticide/

[Emily]

DPNR to Terminix: Stop using pesticide

By ALDETH LEWIN (Daily News Staff)
Published: March 27, 2015

ST. THOMAS - The V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources has issued two orders this week to Terminix International USVI to stop using and to quarantine any methyl bromide it may have throughout the territory.
DPNR found that Terminix has used the dangerous gas a number of times in recent months across the territory...

http://virginislandsdailynews.com/ne...cide-1.1854559

Poisoned Delaware dad, 2 sons still critical Cris Barrish, The News Journal 10:36 p.m. EDT April 1, 2015
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While the Edmonds struggle to recover, the U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into Terminix's use of the pesticide at Sirenusa, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday by ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Terminix.
Meanwhile, environmental regulators in the Virgin Islands have issued a "stop-use order'' against Terminix for using "Meth-O-Gas" indoors at the Sirenusa resort in October and again on March 18, two days before the Esmond family began having seizures and had to be hospitalized...

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The Esmonds were poisoned by the pesticide methyl bromide, which was sprayed by employees of Terminix on March 18 in the condominium beneath the unit rented by the Esmond family at the $800-a-night Sirenusa resort overlooking Cruz Bay, a resort official said. Methyl bromide, an odorless fumigant, can be fatal or cause serious central nervous system and respiratory system damage, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Because of the chemical's "acute toxicity," methyl bromide is now banned indoors and permitted only for limited agricultural uses by trained applicators, the EPA said.
Despite the ban, the pesticide was applied inside units at the Sirenusa resort "to deal with indoor bugs," said Judith Enck, administrator for EPA's region 2, which includes the Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory.
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Maron said he can't comment further on the cause of the family's poisoning "because it's a criminal investigation."...

http://www.delawareonline.com/story/...cide/70783754/

[Emily]

St. John Pesticide Poisoning Makes International News
By Lynda Lohr — April 7, 2015
More than two weeks after a Delaware family got sick after apparent exposure to a pesticide containing methyl bromide while on vacation at Sirenusa condominiums on St. John, the story is all over the international news...

http://stjohnsource.com/content/news...rnational-news

Feds: Resort where Del. family sickened used pesticide before Tuesday, April 07, 2015 06:08PM
Federal authorities now say the Virgin Islands resort accused of accidentally poisoning a Delaware family with a banned pesticide has used the highly toxic chemical before.

The US Environmental Protection Agency says the Sirenusa Resort in Saint John used methyl bromide several times in the past year, even though it was banned for indoor use in 1984...

http://6abc.com/news/feds-resort-whe...before/638341/

Three More Companies Found with Methyl Bromide, Planning Says
By Lynda Lohr — April 7, 2015
Two extermination companies on St. Croix and one more on St. Thomas have stocks of pesticide containing methyl bromide, the Planning and Natural Resources Department indicated in a press release issued Tuesday evening.
Planning will determine from the companies’ records whether they have used the banned substance and, if so, when and where.
Planning has already identified Terminix as the St. Thomas-based company that fumigated a unit at Sirenusa condominium complex on St. John using Meth-O-Gas...

http://stcroixsource.com/content/new...-planning-says

Meth-O-Gas cans found dumped in U.S. wildlife refuge in 2009:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ex_mag...ream/lightbox/

[Emily]

Methyl bromide exposure survivor shares ordeal, long-term impact

Neurotoxin suspected of causing Delaware family's illness

UPDATED 9:38 PM CDT Apr 07, 2015
... Two boys in the family are in critical condition and will likely have permanent damage if they survive.
A Kansas City, Kansas, woman said she?s still fighting the side effects after she and her father were exposed to methyl bromide 43 years ago.
Methyl bromide was once used as a flame retardant. Marijane Green said her father, a firefighter, brought home an old fire extinguisher in 1972, but had no idea it was leaking a dangerous neurotoxin.
?It?s something that?s unbelievable,? Green said. ?It?s a nightmare.?
Now in her 50s, Green said she still suffers from tremors caused by the exposure. She said her father was never the same, living with seizures nearly every moment of his remaining 11 years.
?He couldn?t walk. He couldn?t talk. He couldn?t use his hands,? she said.
With another case in the headlines, she said the memories are fresh.
?It?s very concerning that it?s out there still,? she said....

http://www.kmbc.com/news/methyl-brom...mpact/32242878

[Emily]

https://www.catholic.org/news/national/story.php?id=64301

Poisoned family of four blessed by Pope Francis in unannounced visit

By Kenya Sinclair (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
9/28/2015 (9 hours ago)
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

During his visit to the United States, Pope Francis carved out enough time to visit a Delaware family, all of whom are still paralyzed six months after being poisoned during their Caribbean vacation.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Brian Tierney, whose company dealt with media for the World Meeting of Families conference, confirmed the unannounced papal visit to the Esmond family before his arrival at the Philadelphia International Airport.

During the brief visit, Pope Francis kissed the family members and blessed them.
The Delaware family of four was exposed to methyl bromide after it was sprayed below their condo in the Virgin Islands by exterminator company Terminix, who sprayed the unit below theirs.
After the family suffered nerve damage -the father was found unconscious and his wife and two sons were having seizures- they were rushed to a Delaware hospital where doctors say they might never fully recover....