Eastern Shore woman files state complaint over pesticide exposure from neighboring farm

Read more about my experience inhaling Eluvium fungicide while out on a walk on the Eastern Shore, and the state complaint I filed following the incident. Reporting by Katherine Hafner for WHRO.  On May 31, 2026, I was exposed to aerial spraying by Bunting’s Dustings near Tax Map #112-A-62 in Northampton County, Virginia. After filing a complaint with VDACS, I later learned that the chemical I had inhaled was Eluvium fungicide.

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Read article here: https://www.whro.org/environment/2026-10-21/eastern-shore-woman-files-state-complaint-over-pesticide-exposure-from-neighboring-farm

I've seen a lot of people across social media express that they don't feel safe speaking out about pesticides, water contamination, or the broader issue of contamination within our food supply. Perhaps some of you are familiar with the influencer Alexandra Fasulo, who shared a rather 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 after she mentioned that she was operating a farming stand without glyphosate and shared some posts highlighting its risks to her audience of millions. 

Needless to say, I think many people feel a certain degree of fear when it comes to reporting these issues. There's the potential for backlash, hostility, and bad blood, particularly when the people involved are your own neighbors.

But I believe one of the reasons for accepting this interview with WHRO following their email outreach was to shed light on an important issue:𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮.

There are alternative ways to manage crops without exposing the general population to harmful chemicals. We as a society need to start taking those alternatives seriously.

You'll see TikTok reels of farmers proudly declaring things like, "𝙃𝙚𝙮, 𝙄'𝙢 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙚-𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩? 𝙄'𝙢 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚!" Then the comments fill with people echoing the same sentiment, laughing at those who express concerns and pointing fingers at anyone they consider an idiot for questioning pesticide use. 

But the absence of immediate symptoms doesn't establish that an exposure is safe, nor does it tell us what the long-term consequences might be. 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚.

I know a woman named Phyllis Aigner, who volunteers at Curio Cottage in Cape Charles, and she told me that she knows of farmers in Parksley who have reportedly lost their noses after years of handling pesticides. 

Why does a 27-year-old man with no previous health issues develop Hodgkin lymphoma? Max, a beloved mechanic with multiple shops run by his family business throughout Hampton Roads, ended up battling this diagnosis for close to two years and we should write it off as completely disconnected from potentially obvious culprits? His diagnosis began after spending more time at the family farm in Machipongo. 

Research has demonstrated that air quality can affect cognitive function, as discussed in work by Nicholas Pellegrino (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-48063-8 . Why, then, would we assume that inhaling agricultural chemicals is any less harmless? Recurring pesticide exposure deserves the same scrutiny we apply to other environmental hazards. 

𝘼𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝟐𝟑 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, affirming legitimate concerns about exposure, chemical volatility, and the time needed before an area can safely be entered again. Yet Virginia residents lack the kind of comprehensive, accessible notification system I believe we need. 

It was a labor-intensive and demoralizing process trying to find help, and 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. Reporting an incident to the state doesn't necessarily resolve the underlying issue or prevent it from happening again. In my case, the most I received was the name of the chemical involved. 

Investigators ultimately found no misuse, despite the plane coming dangerously close to the residence multiple times and my inhaling the chemical while out on a walk. 

During previous attempts to address this issue, including in the summer of 2025 via a Letter to the Editor of Cape Charles Mirror, I was told via comments that anyone with "common sense" could hear the plane approaching and simply leave. But that advice completely disregards the circumstances in which exposure can occur. I was on foot and didn't have enough time to get away. Am I supposed to be psychic and assume on a Sunday at noon (or any day and time), from March til October that I could be sprayed with eluvium fungicide while walking the dogs? 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣.

Another retort: "Well, why did you move here if you knew it was an agricultural community?"

This argument is incredibly dismissive and overlooks how people actually go about purchasing property. Most people who buy real estate here, including my own family, who arrived in the late 1980s, do so based on a limited number of visits. It's not as though prospective buyers spend an entire year observing seasonal changes, documenting agricultural practices, and researching when and where aerial pesticide spraying takes place before deciding to purchase a home.

Nor are buyers routinely warned by sellers, real estate agents, or zoning ordinances about the potential for unannounced aerial chemical applications near their properties.

If the argument is that people should somehow know what they're signing up for when they move into an agricultural community, then shouldn't that information be disclosed before they purchase a property? Shouldn't then real estate agents should be required to inform prospective buyers about relevant agricultural practices and potential exposure risks, particularly when aerial spraying occurs near residential areas or waterways. Of course, that kind of disclosure rarely happens.

People relocating from other regions, states, or even countries may be entirely unfamiliar with the agricultural practices common in this area. They may have no idea that crops can be sprayed aerially without advance notification to nearby residents. 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖, 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙮, 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙝𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨.

People shouldn't have to anticipate every potential environmental hazard simply because they purchased property in a rural area. If these practices are considered an ordinary and accepted part of agricultural life, then transparency should be an ordinary and accepted part of that process, too. 

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙? Calling Poison Control or going to the emergency room can be difficult when you cannot even tell medical professionals what substance you may have inhaled. Makes treating the symptoms incredibly difficult, especially if they're more nuanced such as "dizziness/temporary blurred vision" and "feeling short of breath/weak with a major headache". Those come across as subjective and most standard testing protocols don't uncover the root cause. 

There is no readily accessible , comprehensive public log of these applications available to residents, meaning that people may have little information to work with unless they formally file a complaint. For someone juggling children, work, and the demands of everyday life, following through with a formal complaint often becomes an overwhelming task. The process can be confusing and difficult to navigate, particularly for someone experiencing pesticide exposure for the first time who has no idea where to turn or what steps to take. As a result, many people never pursue the matter beyond their initial experience, complaints go unfiled, and nothing changes. Not to mention that someone may be genuinely unwell following the incident, making the already confusing and labor-intensive process of filing a complaint with the appropriate institution that much more difficult to navigate.

𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜!

Senate Bill 911 was killed in a 12-to-1 vote in 2025, with Senator William M. Stanley, Jr. casting the sole vote in favor of advancing the legislation. The bill in question? Aerial Pesticide Application: Virginia Pollinator Protection Strategy, civil penalty: https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1766451
Senators Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Tammy Brankley Mulchi, Timmy French, Travis Hackworth, Dave Marsden (Chair), Mark Obenshain, Stella Pekarsky, Russet Perry, Danica Roem, Saddam Salim, Kannan Srinivasan, Richard Stuart, David Suetterlein, and Angelia Williams Graves voting against the bill protecting pollinators and citizens. 

𝙄 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙡𝙚, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨. The more people speak up, the harder it becomes to dismiss these concerns as isolated incidents or the complaints of a handful of unreasonable individuals.

Personally, I hope we eventually reach a point where residents receive advance notice of pesticide applications, are informed of which chemicals are being used, and have access to clear guidance about potential exposure risks and reentry periods beyond "just call Poison Control". 𝘽𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙄 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨.

One thing that particularly shocked me was a conversation I had with the VDACS (Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service) investigator. She told me that, despite her background in forest management, plant biology, and related fields, she had spent decades applying glyphosate to waterways as part of what she described as a mandated practice. I don't know who established that mandate or the full circumstances surrounding it, but the revelation left me genuinely stunned. 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙮𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘼𝘿𝙃𝘿. IMO, these are all potential areas of concern when it comes to pesticide exposure, and decades of research have examined associations between certain pesticides and neurological and other health effects.

How can practices involving the deliberate introduction of herbicides into waterways be considered appropriate without serious consideration of their potential environmental consequences? I find it difficult to comprehend how policies like these can persist when 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝, 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨. 

Education alone does not guarantee that every policy or practice is sound. We should be willing to question established procedures, examine the available evidence, and reconsider practices that may be outdated or environmentally harmful. Just because something has been done for decades does not automatically make it sensible, safe, or necessary. Right now, we're at the "have you considered writing a strongly worded letter" phase 😂 

Ultimately, this is about more than one incident or one person's experience. It's about the right of ordinary people to know what they're being exposed to in their own communities and to have a meaningful say in the environmental conditions affecting their collective health.

Please take a look at the article below, and be sure to check the comments for the petition that was started following this incident in May. If you've experienced something similar or have concerns about pesticide spraying in your community, I hope you'll consider sharing your experience, too.

Follow Beyond Pesticides (https://www.beyondpesticides.org for more research about pesticide use and its impact on our personal and environmental health!