He calls for a halt to spraying of the pesticide malathion against Mediterranean fruit flies, but defends the state's spraying program in court.

A Brooklyn elementary school was evacuated yesterday after a small bottle containing the pesticide malathion shattered inside a janitor's closet in a second-grade classroom, the authorities said.

Researchers reported that as little at 33 parts per billion of the pesticide malathion in water would kill 50 percent of adult lobsters, with juveniles and larvae deemed even more susceptible.

Florida has ordered aerial spraying of the pesticide malathion to protect its $1.4 billion citrus industry from an infestation of Mediterranean fruit flies.

Thiomalic acid forms the backbone of the pesticide malathion.

Meanwhile yesterday, city workers continued spraying the pesticide malathion to wipe out mosquitoes.

The trigger, they believe, was the pesticide malathion, which was sprayed to control mosquitoes on the Air Force base in Texas.

The next step was the spraying of protein bait laced with the pesticide malathion.

The latest infestation caused a public outcry when the state repeatedly sent helicopters to spray the pesticide malathion in a 500-square-mile area encompassing dozens of communities.

They say that the widespread spraying of the pesticide malathion in 1999 on Long Island to combat West Nile virus destroyed much of the lobster population.