By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

MT. STERLING, Ohio — On Aug. 1 between 2-3 p.m., an airplane was spraying chemicals on a field about 50 feet from Richard Sharrett’s barn. Sharrett said he was working in the barn and became sick from the chemicals.
The plane was owned by Fisher’s Agricultural Service, which is co-owned by Linda and Butch Fisher. Linda Fisher said she can’t account for the complaint. She said the plane did fly over the barn, which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) permits, but the spray was turned off a long distance from the structure.

However, Sharrett said he had to get out of the barn because he could not breathe there, and leave the property. He went home and didn’t feel too badly at the time. “The next day, I went to work,” he said. “By the time I got home I was feeling awful. I was burning up. My chest was burning.”
Sharrett went to the emergency room, where he said he was given a chest x-ray, a breathing treatment and a prescription for an inhaler. He said one doctor suggested he find a lung specialist and have the problem checked, and that he should have that done once a year for the rest of his life.

It took 10 days until Sharrett said he felt better. He still needed the medication and tired easily, he said. Sharrett said he tried to get help in paying his medical bills but was told he needed to get an attorney and not to speak to anyone else involved.

On Aug. 8 the FAA investigated. The agency has a GPS record of the flight and can re-fly the same pattern if necessary. The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is the state lead agency for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and handles pesticide complaints.

Matt Beal, ODA Division of Plant Industry chief, said he was not able to talk about the complaint as it was still under investigation. The ODA obtained information on who was spraying and where it was, took voluntary statements and physical samples if necessary.

Linda Fisher said their aerial agricultural spraying company provides a much-needed service for farmers. “We are contracted every year to apply pesticides and fungicides on corn,” she said. “We’ve been in operation for 35 years. We very much pay attention to the surrounding areas.

“We have upgraded our spray equipment; we certify our nozzles every year. We hold safety clinics every year. This year people from all over the state and the United States came. We take safety very seriously.”

They carefully adhere to FAA regulations, she said, adding they look at fields before they are sprayed and are cautious. “We also have up-to-date equipment in our airplanes, most importantly, GPS, so that we can review exactly where the array was deposited and we can review the exact flight pattern of the aircraft,” she said. “In this particular job we were able to review the flight of the plane and the area of typical discharge in relation to this gentleman’s farm.”

That information was reported to both the FAA and ODA. In the Fishers’ estimation, the pilot was acting responsibly, she said. “If you look at the spray patterns, he did not spray directly over the barn but he actually turned the spray off well before flying over the barn,” Fisher said. “I can’t account for the complaint; I just know that on our end we are diligent and try to perform to the best of operation we can to the farmer.

“We do everything possible to stay away from houses, ponds, barns. We would be more than happy to show that report to anyone who wants to see it. We’re doing the best job we can and still being able to provide a service to farmers.”
Austin Wildman, a part-time farmer and Sharrett’s attorney, hopes the claim will be a small matter. “The key to the claim is how quickly he can recover without any lasting side effects,” he said. “Only time and doctors will tell us that.”

The farmer who owned the field did not wish to be involved, he said. “That’s what is aggravating,” Sharrett added. “We have been friends for years. To begin with all I asked them to do was pay my doctor bills. Now I’ve got legal bills and I’ve missed a day of work. I’m sorry, but I got sick from this stuff and now I got bills, and nobody wants to pay them.”