In and around Ithaca, exposure can come from more than one routine. People sometimes connect their illness to a specific period after they remember details like:
- Residential lawn and garden use: applying weed control at home, using concentrates, or handling treated plants and soil in the weeks after treatment.
- Secondhand exposure: residue on work boots, gloves, or clothing brought home from landscaping, groundskeeping, or facility maintenance.
- Nearby spraying on public or semi-public property: parks, trails, school grounds, or apartment complexes where vegetation is maintained during the growing season.
- Work-related exposure: grounds crew work for campuses, property managers, municipalities, or contractors who apply herbicides as part of routine maintenance.
Because these exposure patterns are often tied to specific times of year and specific locations, the most valuable evidence is usually the kind that can “pin down” when and how contact occurred.


