Pesticide Exposures Put California Company’s License at Risk

The license for one of California’s largest field fumigators is at risk for its role in allegedly exposing bystanders to a cancer-linked pesticide, the state’s top pesticide regulator said Tuesday.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is taking licensing action against TriCal Inc., a pesticide application company that uses 1,3- dichloropropene—often known as Telone—and chloropicrin. Farmers use the substance to kill pests like nematode by injecting the fumigant into soil before planting certain crops.

The department’s licensing action cites nine recent episodes of pesticide exposure, including three misapplications from 2018 to 2020, when dozens of bystanders showed acute health symptoms ...