Chemicals used to keep weeds and bugs at bay on Peachtree City’s sports fields are safe as long as they are applied correctly, several agriculture experts said Tuesday night at a meeting about the issue.

But some public health experts at the meeting added that caution should be used, including staying off sprayed fields for at least 24 hours after the application. Some of the physicians suggested it might be best to cut back on the amount of chemicals applied to find a happy medium between nearly weed-free and weed-infested.

The meeting was organized by city officials after complaints that three soccer players in the past two years have developed respiratory problems that necessitated trips to the emergency room after playing soccer on fields that had recently been sprayed. Some parents believe the symptoms were due to chemicals the soccer fields had been treated with.

Parents learned Tuesday night that no studies have been conducted to determine the effect that chemicals sprayed on sports fields have on youth sports players. Many of the experts said as long as the chemicals are applied properly, the risk of health complications is relatively low.

“We advocate the use of pesticides smartly, responsibly and safely,” said Dr. Alex Lu of Emory University’s department of environmental and occupational health.

Dr. Robert Geller, who is medical director for the Georgia Poison Center and also chief of pediatrics for the Grady Health System, echoed those sentiments.

“Use the correct products in the correct manner,” Geller said, adding that the amount used should be “the lowest dose to do the job needed.”

Geller recommends not playing on fields from 24 to 48 hours after chemicals have been sprayed.

Lu said it is difficult to determine if pesticide exposure causes problems with children simply because kids are exposed to a large number of other chemicals in their daily lives. Children are also exposed to pesticide inside and outside their own home, and pesticides are in the food they ingest, he added.

Dr. Lu and Dr. Melanie Pearson, also of Emory, have applied for a federal grant that would study the urine and saliva of youth sports participants to determine if they are ingesting pesticides, but the grant hasn’t yet been approved.

Corinne Risch, a pediatric nurse whose son became severely ill just before the end of soccer season, said more than a few children have become ill “every time the fields have been sprayed.” The symptoms usually are mild such as a sore throat, headache and wheezing, she said.

Risch’s son developed blurred vision while he was playing near the end of soccer season, and he developed headaches and nausea on the way to the hospital, she said. A head injury was ruled out by a CT scan, she added, but the cause of her son’s symptoms “were perplexing to the ER docs.”

Specialists later said the symptoms were “consistent with an acute toxic reaction to pesticides, Risch added.

“I think our level of risk is far too great,” Risch said of continuing pesticide and herbicide treatments at current levels on soccer fields.

Letting weeds overtake the soccer fields can also be dangerous by causing tripping hazards and the like, several panel members said.

Dr. Gil Landry, coordinator of the University of Georgia’s Center for Urban Agriculture, cited a study conducted by Penn State University that showed 21 percent of injuries to high school football players could be definitely or possibly related to field conditions, underscoring the importance of keeping weeds on sports fields controlled.

Mayor Steve Brown, who attended the meeting, wonders if there isn’t a link between the small number of players with symptoms. All the cases he’s heard about occurred at the south 74 baseball soccer complex, causing him to wonder if it’s possible the kids may be reacting to an allergy from something in the area.