t&) Enforcement Volume 6, Number 4 Office of Regulatory Enforcement November 2003 Pesticides Sold on the Internet Must Be Registered with U.S. EPA All pesticides sold in the US must be registered Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act About Enforcement Alert Enforcement Alert is published periodically by the EPA's Office of Regulatory Enforcement, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance to inform and educate the public and regulated community of important environmental enforcement issues, recent trends and significant enforcement actions. This information should help the regulated community anticipate and prevent violations of federal environmental law that could otherwise lead to enforcement action. Reproduction and wide dissemination of this publication are encouraged. To receive this newsletter electronically, see http://www.epa.gov/compliance/ resources/newsletters/civil/ enfalert/index.html. Director, Office of Regulatory Enforcement: Walker B. Smith Editor: Samantha Diesenhouse diesenhouse.samantha @ epa.gov Address changes: Send email message to: ncepiwo@one.net Document Number: EPA 325-N-03-003 (FTFRA) products claiming to pre- vent, destroy, or repel pests, includ- ing bacteria and viruses, are con- sidered pesticides. This includes household and commercial products found in nearly every home and busi- ness ranging from weed killers and insect repel lants to home and hos- pital disinfectants to agricultural and industrial-use chemicals. Congress enacted FIFRA to prohibit the sale, distribution, or use of a pesticide un- less it is registered by the U.S. Envi- ronmental Protection Agency (EPA). Registration includes EPA review of the product toxicity and its potential exposure; key factors for determin- ing whether the pesticide can be reg- istered and under what safeguards. EPA also approves the pesticide's label, which must give detailed in- structions for its safe use. All EPA registered pesticide products must have an EPA regis- tration number on the label, along with directions for use and any safety precautions. EPA regulates pesti- cides sold in traditional retail, whole- sale, or other businesses, as well as businesses that conduct their solici- tations, transactions, or other activi- ties through media including mail or- der, telephone order, and the Internet. Pesticide labels may not bear false and misleading claims. The law also prohibits distributors or sellers of pesticides from making false and misleading claims about their products. Among the requirements, all pesticide labels must bear ingredi- ent statements for users and others to know exactly what is in a product - important information in cases of ac- cidental contact or ingestion. Labels must also bear adequate precautions to advise people of potential hazards, ~ ~~ EPA Stop Sale Orders EPA ordered the following companies to stop selling products making illegal claims and directed them to recall the products from the marketplace: Homeland Security Plus - EnviroFoam Spray Testing Kits Inc. - Modec MDF Northstar Cooperative, Inc. - Effersen Northstar Select Sires, - Effersen Continued on p.2 http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/newsletters/civil/enfalert/index.html ------- Enforcement Alert 4<< and directions for use to ensure the safe handling, application, and dis- posal of the product. E-Commerce Enforcement The rapid growth of the Internet includes hundreds of Websites that market pesticides. Its wide reach enables unscrupulous or unknowing vendors to sell and distribute to con- sumers unlawful pesticides that may be unsafe. EPA has been monitoring the Internet and commencing en- forcement actions against companies for the unlawful sale of pesticides of public health concern. In the past year, EPA has taken several enforce- ment actions involving the sale of un- registered pesticides over the Internet. Recent enforcement actions have included orders to stop the sale of certain products sold by 12 com- panies. See box beginning on page 1. EPA also issued civil administra- tive complaints to Enviro Holdings, Inc. proposing a penalty of $66,000 for the sale and distribution of unreg- istered pesticides. The company's Internet site offered for sale two un- registered pesticides for use in pools and spas to control algae, bacteria, and viruses. EPA issued an administrative complaint against Albemarle Corpo- ration, proposing a penalty of $77,000 for the sale and distribution of a registered pesticide with claims that differed from those accepted at the time of registration. Albemarle's Internet site claimed Stabrom 909 Biocide was approved by EPA for the control of the Legionella bacte- ria. All of these actions involved Internet sites offering for sale unreg- istered or misbranded antimicrobial pesticide products. Useful Compliance Assis- tance Resources Each state has its own laws regu- lating the sale, distribution, and use MDF Decon Solution sold by Aerotech Laboratories in a product called the Bioterrorism Response Kit. of pesticides within that state. You should check on the state laws regu- lating the use and sale of pesticides in each state where you sell pesticides. Some states regulate restricted use pesticides more strictly than the fed- eral government. State officials re- sponsible for administration of state pesticide laws are listed for each of the 50 states at the following web site: http://aapco.ceris.purdue.edu. ^ Want the latest on enforcemaB of pesticides: Toxics and Pesticides Enforcement Division http:// www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/tped. Continued from p. 1 Aerotech Laboratories, Inc. - Modec MDF (see picture) American Security and Control, Inc. - EnviroFoam Spray American Biotech Labs-ASAP Solution Greener Pastures Development Corp. - Tiger by the Tail, Nature's Weed Control for Ponds, Clarify, Nature's Weed & Feed 7-0-7 Nutribiotics, Inc. - Traveler's Friend SARS Research Labs (6) - Mask Set, Travel Kit, Silver Mask, Phillips Silver Mask, Electrostatic Mask and Silver Spray Phillips Technologies, LLC (6) - Mask Set, Travel Kit, Silver Mask, Phillips Silver Mask, Electrostatic Mask and Silver Spray ParPac, Inc. - Dry Pac Wall System Bug Source, Inc. - Bio Stop November 2003 ^^^2 ------- Enforcement Alert Useful Compliance Assistance Resources To be sure you are purchasing a pesticide product that is in full compliance with FIFRS, you should contact the manufacturer of the product. In addition, you can contact the appropriate EPA official at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ contacts/index.htm#office You may also review a pesticide product's labeling at the following website: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/epa/ epamenu.hUn To find out how to register a pesticide product, go to: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ regulating/registering/index.htm For small businesses, the Small Business Gateway may be useful: http://www.epa.gov/smallbusiness For the latest on enforcement of pesticides go to the Toxice and Pesticides Enforcement Division at: http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/tped To be sure you are purchasing a pes- ticide product that is in full compli- ance with FIFRA, you should con- tact the manufacturer of the product. In addition, you can contact the ap- propriate EPA official at: http:// www.epa.gov/pesticides/contacts/ index.htm#office. You may also re- view a pesticide product's labeling at the following website: http:// www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/epa/ epamenu.htm. To find out how to register a pesticide product, go to: j3ttn://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regu- ^¦ting/registerintVindex.hun. For small businesses, the Small Business Gate- way may be useful: http://www/ epa.gov/smallbusiness. For one- stop compliance assistance, go to EPA's Agriculture Compliance Assis- tance Center at http://www.epa.gov/ agriculture. For more information, contact Yvette Perez Hellyer, Toxics and Pesticides Enforcement Division, Office of Regulatory Enforce- ment, U.S. EPA, (202)564-4033, hel 1 ver. vvette @epa. gov. November 2003 3 ------- Enforcement Alert Useful Compliance Assistance Resources To be sure you are purchasing a pesticide product that is in full compliance with FIFRS, you should contact the manufacturer of the product. In addition, you can contact the appropriate EPA official at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ contacts/index.htm#office You may also review a pesticide product's labeling at the following website: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/epa/ epamenu.hUn To find out how to register a pesticide product, go to: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ regulating/registering/index.htm For small businesses, the Small Business Gateway may be useful: http://www.epa.gov/smallbusiness For the latest on enforcement of pesticides go to the Toxice and Pesticides Enforcement Division at: http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/tped To be sure you are purchasing a pes- ticide product that is in full compli- ance with FIFRA, you should con- tact the manufacturer of the product. In addition, you can contact the ap- propriate EPA official at: http:// www.epa.gov/pesticides/contacts/ index.htm#office. You may also re- view a pesticide product's labeling at the following website: http:// www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/epa/ epamenu.htm. To find out how to register a pesticide product, go to: j3ttn://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regu- ^¦ting/registerintVindex.hun. For small businesses, the Small Business Gate- way may be useful: http://www/ epa.gov/smallbusiness. For one- stop compliance assistance, go to EPA's Agriculture Compliance Assis- tance Center at http://www.epa.gov/ agriculture. For more information, contact Yvette Perez Hellyer, Toxics and Pesticides Enforcement Division, Office of Regulatory Enforce- ment, U.S. EPA, (202)564-4033, hel 1 ver. vvette @epa. gov. November 2003 3 ------- |