A contractor was once again found to be applying chemicals in violation of the New Hanover County School systems specification. On 5/2/2015 a contractor was seen spraying chemicals on Hoggard High School's softball field with hand sprayer rather than the enclosed boom sprayer required by New Hanover County School specifications. An enclosed boom sprayer is specified to limit the amount of chemicals that become air born. Wind gust that day were up to 23 mph according to weather reports. A group of 8 year old children were practicing on the neighboring field while the chemicals were being applied.
The video below shows the contractor applying chemicals in violation of contract requirements.
New Hanover County School Contract 218-17-15 is for Athletic Field Maintenance. Contract specification 2.3 requires the use of an enclosed boom sprayer. The contract states "Liquid herbicides and insecticide shall be applied using a sprayer with enclosed boom." According to the contract, the use of an enclosed boom sprayer is mandatory.
The school systems specification was updated this past year when experts from North Carolina State University recommended adding the enclosed boom sprayer to the school systems specification. Enclosed boom sprayers are used to minimize the release of hazardous chemicals into the environment and limit human exposure (including operators and bystanders) to those chemicals.
The potential health risk for students from the lack of oversight creates a significant liability for the school system. With the given information, a parent or employee could easily make a case for negligence against the school system. Cornell University defines negligence as "A failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances.....Negligent conduct may consist of either an act, or an omission to act when there is a duty to do so."
While service providers are applying chemicals in violation of school specifications and the contract they signed, they are not solely to blame for the problem. New Hanover County School officials have been notified of the violations on multiple occasions and have made little or no effort to enforce their own standards. The contracts, which are legally binding documents, and the associated specifications on the handling of hazardous chemicals, are being violated at will with little or no concern expressed by school system officials.
