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Pittsburgh Company Settles EPA Pesticide Complaint

Release Date: 2/26/2002
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, (215) 814-5543 - smith.bonnie@epa.gov

PHILADELPHIA – The U. S. Environmental Protection agency announced that Kop-Coat, Inc., protective coatings and wood treatments manufacturer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa. will pay a $85,085 penalty to settle allegedly violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

Under FIFRA, any product that is labeled or promoted as a pesticide product must be registered with EPA. The registration requirements are designed to avoid human health and environmental threats posed by false, misleading, or unverifiable claims about pesticides.

EPA’s complaint cited Kop-Coat for 34 violations of FIFRA’s prohibition on the sale or distribution of unregistered pesticide products. According to EPA, the company distributed an unregistered pesticide called “Woodlife/Timbertreat mixture.” The product is a blend of two registered products, but the mixture was not registered under FIFRA.

The settlement takes in account the company’s cooperation with EPA, and good faith action in ceasing sales of Woodlife/Timbertreat mixture until the product was registered. As a part of the settlement, Kop-Coat neither admitted or denied liability for the alleged violations, but certified that it is now in compliance with applicable FIFRA violations.