The Oregon Department of Agriculture says Pacific Air Research has violated state pesticide laws multiple times, and may have violated federal laws as well. At a news conference yesterday, the ODA said their investigation showed the company allowed herbicides to drift onto neighboring properties, applied more than the maximum amount stated on the label, and falsified records.

A Pacific Air Research helicopter was supposed to spray only a Southern Oregon logging clearcut last October, but ten families in nearby Cedar Valley reported seeing the helicopter spray over their properties. Many say they were sickened. The pilot reported he only sprayed Roundup, a common herbicide, but the ODA now says he sprayed seven other far more potent herbicides at the same time.

PRP