From May 17, 2001
Day Care Center
Closed After Pesticide Violation
On May 10, 2001, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services closed a day care center in Greece, NY after children were exposed to an insecticide, reports the Rochester, NY paper, Democrat and Chronicle. The day care center, Childtime Children's Center, has been issued an immediate suspension of the center's license, displacing up to 92 children.
A spokesman for the Office of Children and Family Services in Albany, Bill Van Slyke, stated that state officials received a report that the building had a serious ant problem and therefore on April 30, officials from the agency's Rochester office served a violation notice to Childtime for the ant problem. During a routine follow-up check of the center on May 9, state officials noticed pesticides had been sprayed. After Childtime denied using a pesticide from the state hazardous substance list, state officials learned the chemicals used were in fact from the hazardous list. Van Slyke stated that Childtime was ordered to remove the children from the treated rooms and to thoroughly clean those rooms. However, in the afternoon of May 10, the children had not been removed from the treated rooms and cleanup was not to the state's satisfaction, resulting in a suspension of the center's license.
Childtime Children's Center, Inc. operates at least 12 other day care centers in the Rochester, NY area.
Lynn Braband at the New York State Community IPM Program at Cornell University was denied information about what the pesticide product was by the state Department of Environmental Conservation due to the pending case.
For a list of chemicals
listed on the New York State Hazardous Substance List, see http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/regs/597.htm.