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U.S. EPA acts to protect public from Unelko Corporations’s unregistered pesticides

Release Date: 09/24/2008
Contact Information: Margot Perez-Sullivan, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov, 415.947.4149

Scottsdale company facing over $50,000 penalty for selling antimicrobial products without registration

SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today filed a complaint against Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Unelko Corporation for the alleged sale and distribution of seven unregistered pesticides in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.

The EPA is seeking penalties of up to $53,950 from Unelko Corporation for offering for sale the following seven unregistered pesticides: Eliminate Stainless Shine 3-in-1 Surface Care, Eliminate 3-in-1 Sani-Shield Antimicrobial Surface Barrier, Eliminate Sani-Shield 3-in-1 Surface Care, 1 Step Clean & Shield Bath Scrub, 1 Step Clean & Shield Bathroom Care, 1 Step Clean & Shield Surface Care, and Eliminate Sani-Scrub 3-in-1 Surface Care. In addition, Unelko Corporation, located at 14641 N. 74th Street, twice failed to provide the state and EPA with access to documents relating to the shipment of these antimicrobial cleaning products.

“Companies must ensure that products that claim to act as antimicrobials are registered with the EPA,” said Katherine Taylor, Associate Director of the EPA’s Communities and Ecosystems Division for the Pacific Southwest region. “Without the required registrations, we have no information on the potential effects of these products, which could result in serious harm to public health and the environment. Moreover, without shipment information, we do not know where these unregistered products ended up.”

The nine violations were identified through an Arizona Department of Agriculture inspection conducted on behalf of the EPA in November 2007.

The sale or distribution of a pesticide that has not been registered with the EPA is a violation of federal pesticide law, which requires registration of pesticide products and pesticide-production facilities, as well as proper pesticide labeling. These requirements protect public health and the environment by minimizing the risks associated with the production, handling, and application of pesticides.

For more information on pesticide regulation and enforcement, please visit the EPA’s Web site at: https://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/fifra/ .