ZEELAND, MI (WHTC) – The issue of handling pest controls properly has reemerged in a tragic way.
EPA staffers have returned to the Amarillo, Texas home where nine people were poisoned by a toxic gas on Sunday. Four children, ranging in age from 7 to 17, died and several were hospitalized, including some first responders. Fire officials say someone placed aluminum phosphide underneath the home to kill mice and then watered it down after members in the family complained of the smell.
According to Master Gardener Jan Meeuwsen of Debruyn Seed in Zeeland, aluminum phosphide is a controlled substance in Michigan that is not easily available to the average consumer. “The pesticides that you can buy over the counter have been tested and are pretty, pretty safe – when used as directed,” she said in her weekly appearance on “WHTC Morning News.” “You have to read the label, and if they (in Texas) had read that label, they would’ve known not to put water (on the aluminum phosphide) and not to put it in a confined area also.”
Police investigators say that no criminal charges are pending and it appears to be just an unfortunate accident.
