Pesticide and herbicide treatments on Peachtree City's soccer fields have been suspended due to complaints from several parents who blame the chemicals for causing medical problems for their children.

But a local biologist said the difficulties could have been caused by the water used to irrigate the soccer fields, which is pulled from Line Creek. Dennis Chase said the city tested the water in 1995 and found nothing wrong, but he was worried about the solid material on the bottom of the storage pond being contaminated.

The City Council agreed Thursday night to have the material tested, and to have city staff collect information on the risks of pesticide and herbicide exposure to children and the safety of those chemicals.

A representative for the company that treats the soccer fields insists the chemicals used as pesticides and herbicides are safe. Mike Jackson of TruGreen told council it won't take long for weeds to take hold on the soccer fields, and ultimately it could require applying a greater quantity of herbicide to fix the problem.

Jackson also said TruGreen would do whatever the city wants on the matter. The last time herbicides were applied was in October of last year, officials said.

Corrine Risch, a nurse at Children's Hospital, told council that two years ago, two soccer players developed breathing problems that had to be treated at the emergency room after they were exposed to pesticide treatments that left a green dye on their clothes and skin. Some other players developed headaches and nausea that may also be attributed to the exposure, she said.

Risch noted that children's bodies are more vulnerable than adults' because they're liver is not as developed, making it harder to detoxify their systems. Also, toxins build up in their bodies over time, she added.

"How many times are we going to expose our children to these chemicals?" she asked. "The more times we do, the more chance they'll develop a serious disease."

Risch said she wanted the city to look into organic applications to control weeds and bugs, but Jackson said as an agronomist he has studied many different types of non-synthetic treatments, but none of them have worked well enough to use. He added that the active ingredient of the dye is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration to be used as food coloring, but in this case it's used to mark where the spray has been applied.

Bill Langworthy, whose daughter Kelsey had to be taken to the emergency room with respiratory problems after being exposed to the pesticide, said she would rather play soccer on a field of weeds than on grass if that's what it took to get rid of the chemicals.

Kelsey had developed a small rash, and after taking a shower her breathing got much worse and she was taken to the ER in an ambulance, Langworthy said.

Langworthy said Kelsey went