In the April 26 matter, Aiken County Public School officials sent some students to other parts of the school after smelling a strange odor inside Oakwood Windsor Elementary School. In a notification to parents, school officials “initially blamed crop-dusting in the area for the odor, although they later toned down their comments,” The State newspaper reported. The ag pilot maintains the odor the school detected came from a silage pit being cleaned at a nearby farm.

No injuries were reported by school officials, but one parent complained about an asthma attack her child experienced during recess. The child’s mother told news media in an interview that she felt the spraying was a contributing factor to the attack.

Clemson is the state agency designated to investigate pesticide complaints in South Carolina. The university launched the investigation May 8 after receiving a complaint from someone in the Windsor area about the April 26 aerial application. The DPR issued a statement on June 16, declaring it determined “the application in question was performed in a lawful manner.” Clemson said little beyond that about the case, but the term “lawful manner” indicates the DPR did not find evidence of off-target drift onto school grounds.

The aerial applicator who sprayed the field near the school maintained his innocence while keeping a low profile throughout a series of emotionally charged news reports of the incident by an investigative reporter at a local TV station and in local newspapers. The negative publicity surrounding the incident prompted a state legislator to introduce a bill banning aerial application within 1,000 feet of a school with children present. Lawmakers will consider the bill when they return for the 2018 session next January.