Steve Edmond, his wife and two sons had rented a vacation villa at Sirenuse Resort on St. John, in the Virgin Islands in March. Shortly after moving in, paramedics were called and on arriving at the residence found the father unconscious and the mother and two boys having seizures.
The family were airlifted to American hospitals after they were found on March 20. It is not known who called the paramedics. The boys, ages 16 and 14, were in critical condition at a Philadelphia hospital on Saturday, the family’s lawyer, James Maron of Delaware told CNN.
“The boys are in rough shape,” Maron said. “The family are all fighters,” he added. “They’re fighting for everything right now. I understand it’s a long recovery.”
The father is also being treated in a hospital, where he has regained consciousness but is unable to move his limbs. The wife has been released from the hospital and is now in occupational therapy.
Toxic pesticide appears to be the cause of illness
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representative says initial findings “do show that there was a presence of methyl bromide in the unit where the family was staying.” Methyl bromide is prohibited from being used indoors in the United States, and can only be used in agricultural applications under strict guidelines.
Methyl bromide is extremely toxic and causes central nervous system as well as respiratory damage. This case has piqued the interest of the Department of Justice, and a criminal investigation is being pursued, based on a SEC filing made by ServiceMaster Global Holdings, the parent company of Terminix, a pest control company that treated a villa next door two days prior to the family falling ill.
“It’s an ongoing investigation; we’re still on the island doing our assessment,” says the EPA rep. “We have been doing different types of air sampling and wipe sampling.”
Bromomethane or methyl bromide is highly toxic
Because this chemical is known to cause ozone depletion, it is under the requirements of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS). It is supposed to be completely phased out in the U.S. by 2017. The London Amendment in 1990 added methyl bromide to the list of ODS to be phased out.
It was used widely in the 1990s as a soil sterilizer in agriculture. The gas has to be injected into the soil to a depth of 12-24 inches and then the field is supposed to be covered with plastic sheeting for a length of time. In 1999, over 71,500 tons of methyl bromide were used worldwide.
While bromomethane is dangerous, it is still used occasionally in the U.S. under what is called “critical-use exemptions.” The chemical was also used as a “general-use” fumigant to combat mice and rats at one time in the U.S. but methyl bromide is banned from being used indoors in this country now.
