Hunters OK, But 4 Bird Dogs Die From Pesticides

By JOE PERRY jperry [at] theitem [dot] com
Thirteen deer hunters exposed to a pesticide in Lee County are Ok, according to officials, but four dogs died as a result of coming into contact with Temik.

Lt. Robert McCullough of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources said Friday that 13 people went to Kershaw Memorial Hospital in Camden on Thursday.

An 11-year-old boy was admitted Thursday, he said, and was released Friday.

"Nobody else showed any signs," of exposure to the agricultural pesticide, he said. "Nobody else had any symptoms."

The Department of Health and Environmental Control, DNR and the Lee County Sheriff's Office continue to investigate how the exposures happened, he said.

Lee County Sheriff Daniel Simon said Friday his office is assisting in the investigation.

The exposure to Temik happened about 2:30 to 3 p.m. on Thursday off Dog Island Road, he said, on private land.

Clemson Extension Service is taking the lead in the investigation, he said.

"We're just assisting and making sure there's no other exposure. That was the biggest thing," he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported in August that German drug maker Bayer AG would phase out production of Temik, a pesticide used on cotton, peanuts and potatoes, following a study showing the 40-year-old product doesn't meet food safety standards.

Temik is also known as aldicarb and can only be applied by trained pesticide applicators, the WSJ reported, noting Temik was first used on cotton in 1970.

The Environmental Protection Agency study said aldicarb posed an unacceptable dietary risk, especially to young children.

Bayer's CropScience unit said it would stop marketing aldicarb in the U.S. by 2014.

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