SPRINGFIELD, Fla. (AP) - Officials say they still don't know what's causing mysterious brown spots that appeared on vehicles and other surfaces in several rural cities in Florida's Panhandle.
The spots appeared on April 12 and Springfield Mayor Ralph Hammond tells the News Herald (http://bit.ly/2pws81F ) they still don't know what caused them.
Initial tests by the state Department of Environmental Protection were inconclusive. Agency spokeswoman Brandy Smith says the samples were turned over to a lab in Tallahassee, but answers are still elusive.
She says testing uncovered a trace amount of permethrin, which is a pesticide used for mosquito control, in two or three samples. The analysis didn't detect petroleum or other pesticides. The agency has tested for 122 chemicals and compounds, including organic pollutants.
So far, no new spots have appeared.
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