Family on vacation in Virgin island ill due to pesticide methyl bromide

A family of four who were on a quite good vacation in Virgin island villa turned out to be a nightmare. The teens and their parents fell gravely ill. The family was exposed to methyl bromide, a restricted use pesticide from TERMINIX. The situation lead the boys go into comas for weeks. They are now conscious, family attorney James Moron said, but they are barely able to move.

Steve Esmond is slowly recovering as well, but suffers from severe tremors, struggles to speak and can't turn the pages of a book- Maron said.

"Neurologically, it's like being in a torture chamber," Maron said.

According to CNN, the boys were athletic stars at schools. This incident made a huge loss in their life and damaged their happiness towards life.

Their mother, Teresa Devine, had less effect to the deadly toxic gas than the rest of the family and she is the one with fast recovery as well. But her nightmare is that she spends her days and nights keeping vigil over her boys.

What is methyl bromide?

Methyl bromide is a restricted-use pesticide that the U.S. EPA has considered "highly toxic" for more than two decades. Inhalation of methyl bromide, even short-term, can cause severe lung damage, while long-term inhalation can lead to "neurological effects." Studies on lab animals caused degenerative lesions in the nasal cavity and had effects on the testicles of male animals.

Methyl bromide is incredibly toxic to humans, said Dr. Reynold Panettieri Jr., the deputy director for the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology.

"I would say the prognosis, at best, is guarded," said Panettieri, who has not personally treated the family. "As we know the victims have been off ventilators and they've been improved. But if that dose, even though it appeared to be acute, was over (a period of) hours, the damage to the nerves and to the brain itself may render it irreversibly damaged."

"It's highly acutely toxic. At very low levels it has chronic effects," said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides.

"The bottom line here is that just because EPA slapped a label on a product, and told the pest control industry you shall not use this in residences, doesn't mean that the law will be followed. We need much more control over how these chemicals are allowed into the environment."

According to CBS, Terminix was sued by the court with the statement that the company "Knowingly" used methyl bromide on the St. John property twice. Terminix also admitted that banned pesticides were sprayed at total of 14 locations.

A huge amount of $87million was rendered for settlement with the inclusion of $10million in criminal fines. Terminix refused to comment on the story despite our repeated requests. The Department of Justice is also conducting a criminal investigation.

A hearing is expected in late August.