Kool-Aid Laced With Chlordane

In August, 1978, a professional exterminator was treating a church located in a small town in South Carolina, for termite and pest control. The highly toxic insecticide chlordane was being mixed with water in small buckets, and garden hoses were left submerged in the buckets while the mixing was being accomplished. At the same time, water department personnel came by to disconnect the parsonage’s water line from the church to install a separate water meter for the parsonage. In the process, the water was shut off in the area of the church building. Since the church was located on a steep hill, and as the remaining water in the lines was used by residents in the area, the church was among the first places to experience a negative pressure. The chlordane was quickly siphoned into the water lines within the church and became mixed with the Kool-Aid being prepared by women for the vacation bible school. Approximately a dozen children and three adults experienced dizziness and nausea. Fortunately, none required hospitalization or medical attention.