Former field representative Juan Christian Flores testifies in reinstatement hearing after license revocation tied to 2016 fumigation death

A hearing examiner and the Structural Pest Control Board took testimony July 17 from Juan Christian Flores as he sought reinstatement of a revoked field representative license that was rescinded after a May 18, 2016 fumigation in Fremont, California, during which an individual entered a building undergoing sulfuryl fluoride fumigation and later died.

The Office of Administrative Hearings presiding officer, Administrative Law Judge Nguyen Van Rooyen, opened the session and said the board would consider petitions in the order on the agenda. Deputy Attorney General Tim McDonough entered the petition packet into evidence as exhibit 1 and summarized the case history and the documentary record for the board.

McDonough told the board the accusation underlying the revocation — OAH case number 2019-060-889 and accusation number 2017-65 — alleged Flores, a field representative for Rex Fumigation, failed to use and document the required warning agent, chloropicrin, with the fumigant sulfuryl fluoride (also referred to in the record as “master fume”). McDonough said the fumigation was performed at Pathfinder Village apartment buildings in Fremont and that, according to the accusation, a person entered the premises through an unlocked window, was exposed to sulfuryl fluoride and later died. The accusation also cited alleged failures to complete fumigation logs and a prior county citation against Flores relating to sulfuryl fluoride procedures.

Flores, sworn and testifying under penalty of perjury, told the board he followed his supervisor’s direction at the job site not to introduce chloropicrin because the employer had arranged 24-hour security at the complex. Flores said he believed at the time that the presence of security made use of the warning agent optional and that he regretted following that instruction. “I feel sorry for the victim and his family,” Flores said, adding the incident had been “a huge weight” and that he hoped for another chance to work in the industry.

Flores described training he received both before and shortly after the incident, including a stewardship course on sulfuryl fluoride dated April 26, 2016, and said he had worked in structural pest control since 2004. He said he later worked in nonfumigation tasks for another company and spent time on disability for shoulder and hernia injuries. In answer to board questions, Flores acknowledged he did not refuse his supervisor’s instruction on May 18, 2016 and that he recorded in the fumigation log that chloropicrin was not used.

McDonough reviewed the statutes and regulations cited in the accusation and decision: Business and Professions Code sections cited in the record included 8505.4 and 8505.12 (warning-agent requirements), 8620, 8636, 8641 and 8646; California Code of Regulations, title 16, section 1970; and Food and Agricultural Code section 12973. McDonough also summarized that a prior administrative hearing on accusation number 2017-65 led to the decision revoking Flores’ license effective Feb. 16, 2018.

After questioning by the deputy attorney general and several board members, Flores reiterated he would insist on compliance with the rules in the future and said he was willing to retake the current field representative examination if the board made that a condition of reinstatement.

The board closed the record at the end of the petitioner’s testimony. Judge Van Rooyen said the panel would deliberate in closed session and issue its written decision by mail; no decision was announced at the hearing.

The hearing record includes the petition packet, training certificates and prior hearing documents entered as exhibit 1. The record was submitted to the board for decision and the matter is off the hearing calendar pending a written ruling.