LIPSEY & ASSOCIATES, INC.
 1400 Prudential Drive, Suite 7           *               Jacksonville, FL 32207
                                  (904)398-2168       Fax# 398-5477


September 18, 1992


Steven D. Harrell
Strong & Associates
Attorneys at Law
901 East Battlefield Road
Springfield, Missouri 65807-4800


Re: O'Hara vs. Campbell Pest Control


Dear Mr. Harrell:

I have reviewed the file materials that you sent concerning
this case, including the depositions sent 3/27/92.

I am a pesticide environmental toxicologist who has handled
over five hundred cases/claims in the last sixteen years.

I have a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in Pesticide
environmental toxicology and have taught five years at the
University of Illinois and I taught pesticide environmental
toxicology at the University of Florida as an associate
professor while serving as the State Pesticide Coordinator
from 1976 to 1980.

I was a special consultant to the Environmental Protection
Agency on pesticide safety and to the U. S. Department of
Agriculture.  

In both federal agencies I served in Washington, D.C.  I have
trained most of the major pest control companies to use pesticides
safely and according to label directions by putting the right
chemical in the right place at the right time with the right
equipment using the right dose.

In all of the cases/claims that I have handled in the last sixteen
years, I am 50/50 plaintiff and defense, depending on the facts
of  the case.

Marie O'Hara was exposed to significant concentrations
of Diazinon, Pyrid and/or Tempo, applied by Richard
Bakkum, the pesticide applicator for Campbell Pest Control.
The misapplication occurred on two occasions: 9/26/88
and again on 1/30/89 at the Southwest Baptist University
Springfield, Missouri.

[Note: The original copy states Springfield as the location
of SBU; SBU is actually located in BOLIVAR, Missouri.]

Richard Bakkum is a high school dropout who only became
a PCO in April of 1988 and was not certified to apply pesticides
until 11/89, or over a year after the poisoning of Marie O'Hara.

He has had no formal education in pesticides or entomology
but was trained by Terry Campbell to spray down kitchen
cupboards, without any mention of removing dishes, etc..

The PCO technician was not very familiar with the labels
nor the pesticides he used. He even stated on page 103
of his deposition that a gallon of water contains 64 ounces
when really it contains 128 ounces.

Therefore, the pesticides that he applied at the college were
probably twice as concentrated as they should have been.

I think he may have confused eight milliliters of tempo with
eight ounces of tempo. He even admitted on page 125 of his
deposition that he did not know his rate of application in
the science building on 9/26/88, nor did he even know if it
was on the label.

He is also under the mistaken impression, page 139,
that there is no hazard to spraying pesticides on baseboards
unless you get down and touch it.

He does not realize that pesticides are carried in air currents
when applied under pressure.

He did not even know that xylene, the solvent, is a toxic
chemical that can cause chemical sensitivity similar to that
caused by pesticides.

Terry Campbell, the acting manager at the time, does not
appear to be any better trained. He did not know what
cholinesterase was, nor was he familiar with the toxicity of
diazinon. He stated they have used "vapon" when there is no
such pesticide as "vapon." He probably means vapona.

He even states that boric acid is not a pesticide and does
not know the characteristics of diazinon as it relates to
poisoning. He admitted on page 120 of his deposition that
he sprays buildings when people are present.

He even admitted on page 174 that he sprayed dormitories
when kids were present, yet admitted that on the label it
does not allow you to apply diazinon when people are
present.  

This guy is supposed to be a manager of a pest control
company and actually knows very little about pesticides.
Page 201 he really did not know what was in diazinon,
nor did he know what xylene was.

He is also ignorant in that he states that all three pesticides
used at the college are non-toxic to people unless they lick
the baseboards. He obviously is unaware of spray drift and
volatility problems, and even admitted that he had never
heard of IPM (page 230).

There is some confusion as to which pesticides were used on
which dates. The employees of Campbell Pest Control seem
to disagree.

Furthermore, either Terry Campbell is misrepresenting
the manner in which he trained Mr. Bakkum, of Mr. Bakkum
applied the pesticide in a manner inconsistent with his
training.

Campbell testifies on pages 161, 221, 222, 236, and 237
that he applied pesticide on the SBU Campus along the
runner of the doorway and along the baseboards only where
the problems were apparent.

Bakkum testified on pages 19-22 and  30-35 that his application
was a full baseboard application around the perimeter of the
hallway in both the science building and the administration building.

Campbell describes an appropriate application for each type
of pesticide this company utilized on the SBU campus.

Bakkum's applications were in fact over applications inconsistent
with his training as well as an incorrect interpretation of the label
directions on use.

Mr. Glidewell [the correct spelling actually "Glidwell"],
the physical plant manager at SBU, stated on page 76
of  his deposition that the PCO technician kept applying
pesticides in the buildings even as people were walking
down the halls and that the technician even sprayed the
game room with kids present by spraying all around the
room and all the baseboards.

No pesticide should be applied with people present.

The label does not allow this to happen and the diazinon
label warns the applicator in the "hazards to humans"
section that it can be fatal if swallowed; may be absorbed
through the skin; do not breathe spray mist; do not get in
eyes, on skin or on clothing; and no responsible pest control
technician who has been properly trained is going to apply
pesticides in school while students are present.

Secondly, no properly trained pest control technician going
to wasted time spraying baseboards. Properly trained pest
control technicians are going to apply pesticides discreetly;
out of harms way; in crack and crevice applications only
where insects hide.

Thirdly, the applicator obviously had his pressure to high
which atomized the chemical and made the people sick.

He should not have applied pesticides on a regular basis
without first determining if there was a need, in other words,
were there any pests present that required a control procedure.

The technician obviously did not know his pesticides very
well and was not very well versed on the label. He was
obviously not well trained.

Most egregious, was Campbell's disregard for the specific
safety of Marie O'Hara. Ms. O'Hara notified SBU of her
September 26, 1988 reaction to the Campbell pesticide
application. Mr. Glidewell testified on page 44 that he
notified Campbell Pest Control of this incident and
specifically instructed Campbell not to apply pesticides
on the SBU campus during business hours when students
were present.

Mr. Glidewell stated on page 45 of his deposition that he
gave these instructions to Campbell within one month after
the September 26, 1988 incident.

[Note: Mr. Glidwell's recollections of this timeline have
been proven inaccurate--other students complained that
SBU continued daytime applications even a year Marie's
September 26, 1988 exposure.

SBU Chancellor Dr. James Sells produced a curious undated
fax which SBU supposedly sent to Campbell to "verify" that
SBU had notified Campbell to stop daytime applications.
There was no way to confirm the date of the fax, and Terry
Campbell's recollections remain conveniently vague.]

Terry Campbell acknowledges receiving these instructions
from Mr. Glidewell on pages 137-38 and 175-78 of his
deposition. Not surprisingly, he now denies any recollection
of exactly when those instructions were given.

On January 30, 1989, during the noon hour Ms. O'Hara was
again exposed in the administration building during the course
of Mr. Bakkum's over application of either pyrid, tempo, or
diazinon (page 113).

In my opinion as an entomologist and pesticide environmental
toxicologist, the technician from Campbell Pest Control grossly
misapplied highly toxic (neurotoxic) pesticides in such a manner
as to poison people at Southwest Baptist University in the
following ways:

      1.  Campbell Pest Control systematically over applied
           pesticides on the SBU campus by making monthly
           applications as preventative measures in the absence
           of evidence of pest infestation.

      2.  If pesticides applications were made as described by
           Richard Bakkum, then that Campbell routinely over
           applied its pesticides in making complete baseboard
           applications.


      3.  To the extent Mr. Bakkum was trained to make applications
           in this manner, he was inappropriately and improperly
           trained by Terry Campbell. To the extent that Mr. Bakkum
           was trained in the manner of application described by Mr.
           Campbell above, Mr. Bakkum failed to apply the pesticide
           in the manner in which he had been trained.

      4. On September 26, 1988 the pesticide applied by Mr.
          Bakkum was improperly mixed in that Mr. Bakkum utilized
          a 64 ounce measurement as equivalent to one gallon when
          one gallon really equals 124 ounces; therefore, Mr. Bakkum's
          application was twice as concentrated as it should be.
          Further, he may have confused the amount of  pesticide
          concentration to include in the mixture.

     5.  Campbell applied pesticide on the SBU campus routinely
          and on September 26, 1988, during business hours when
          students and facility were present. This violates acceptable
          standards of  practice for application of these pesticides.

     6.  Campbell applied pesticide on the SBU campus during
          business hours on January 30, 1989, in conscious disregard
          to the specific notice given by SBU that it not apply pesticides
          during business hours while students and facility were present.

     7.  Campbell's PCO's were inadequately and improperly trained
          concerning the hazards associated with the pesticides that they
          were utilizing as well as the hazardous components of each.


Marie O'Hara is suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity,
which indicates damage to her central nervous system;
her peripheral nervous system and her immune system.

I understand Ms. O'Hara has been evaluated by Dr. Thomas
Callender of Lafayette, Louisiana, and that her SPECT scan
as well as supporting neurological testing have diagnosed
toxic encephalopathy (CNS damage) and peripheral nervous
system damage. She has also been evaluated by Dr. Jack
Thrasher, whose immunology testing indicates an activated
immune system.

This damage is entirely consistent with her exposure to the
pesticides (and their solvents) utilized by Campbell Pest
Control on the Southwest Baptist University Campus on
September 26, 1988 and January 30, 1989.

Apparently, Marie O'Hara's health effects are of a permanent
nature if she is still having symptoms four years after the accident.

Please let me know if I can be of additional assistance in this matter.


Sincerely,


Richard L. Lipsey, Ph.D
Entomologist and Pesticide
Environmental Toxicologist

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