Officials urge caution with chemicals

Four Amarillo children died Monday from exposure to lethal fumes caused by a chemical meant for pest control.

It was a tragedy that area firefighters said could have been prevented with common-sense caution.

Aluminum phosphide was believed to have been sprayed underneath the house where the Amarillo family lived. It formed a deadly gas when someone attempted to wash it away with water, Amarillo fire officials said.

Portales Fire Chief Gary Nuckols said aluminum phosphide is “not an over-the-counter (product) that you could typically buy as a homeowner. That’s more of a commercially available chemical that someone would have to have a license to use.”

Nuckols said he believes the average homeowner is safest shopping for pest-control needs in retail stores.

“That’s the biggest problem, in my opinion: The everyday homeowner that’s trying to treat something like that should not go outside of what they can buy safely over the counter,” he said.

Nuckols urged pesticide users to “read all of the warnings and precautions and follow them very closely ... Each one presents a different danger, whether it be to our ecosystem, to pets, livestock, humans. Thoroughly read the warnings and precautions and use it as directed.”

Clovis Fire Department Hazmat Coordinator Bill Baca agreed with Nuckols.

“You’ve got to understand the label. You’ve got to understand what the chemical’s going to react with,” Baca said.

“The aluminum phosphide that they were dealing with in Amarillo, it’s a very harmful pesticide. It’s a very good pesticide — it does what it’s supposed to — but unfortunately, when it mixes with water, it’s going to form the phosphine gas that was formed that caused that family to pass away. It’s something as simple as water.”

When it comes to the application of pesticides, protective measures such as respirators and ventilation are essential, Baca said.

Caution toward chemicals should be applied liberally and without prejudice, he said.

“Any chemicals ... can actually have adverse effects if you don’t follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. Even the ones that are available in wide release — if they’re mixed with other chemicals that they were never designed to, that can cause a chemical reaction that can wind up hurting and killing people,” Baca said.