OC School District Pauses Pesticide Use Amid Childhood Cancer Cluster Scare

LADERA RANCH, CA — The Capistrano Unified School District this week paused the use of spray pesticides and herbicides at school campuses amid reports of rare cancer cases among children in the Ladera Ranch area. The pause is scheduled for 60-days while officials reconsider the use of the chemicals on campus.

Families received a letter detailing how the campuses will be maintained with mechanical and manual weed removal.

Next week, the Capistrano Unified Board of Trustees will meet to review safer alternatives, KTLA reported. The district stopped short of linking its review of the pesticides to concerns about a potential cancer cluster.

RELATED: Rare Childhood Cancer Cases In OC Trigger Federal Push For Investigation Into Pesticide Use

The push to examine pesticide use in South Orange County has been prompted by reports of multiple children diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma — a rare bone and soft-tissue cancer — in Ladera Ranch and nearby Orange County cities. That number has since risen to as many as 12, according to KTLA reported.

Ewing sarcoma is extremely rare — only about 200 to 250 casess are diagnosed each year nationwide, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

Some local cases were documented in communities served by the Capistrano Unified School District. The district serves neighborhoods in San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita, and the communities of Las Flores, Coto de Caza, Dove Canyon, Ladera Ranch, Sendero/Rancho Mission Viejo, and Wagon Wheel.

The investigation has the attention of both the U.S. Attorney, Bill Essayli, and the Environmental Protection Agency, as officials seek to determine the cause of these cases of childhood cancer.

The Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees is expected to discuss the use of chemicals on campus is Thursday, Aug. 13 at 6 p.m.

No agenda has yet been published.

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