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N.J. Manufacturer Of Boat Paint Exported Pesticides In Violation of Environmental Regs; Charged with Shipping Mis-labeled Products to Greece, Chile, Canada

Release Date: 02/25/1999
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(#99029) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has charged the Lakewood, New Jersey-based company Flexabar Corporation with violating export rules of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). According to EPA, Flexabar shipped pesticidal boat paints abroad without proper labeling, posing a threat to the purchaser and the environment.

FIFRA, the law under which pesticides are regulated, requires that pesticides shipped overseas bear labels in both English and the official languages of the receiving country. Although pesticides not registered in the United States may be exported under certain circumstances, FIFRA requires that those products bear a label, also in the language of the receiving country, stating that they are not registered by EPA. Two EPA inspections of Flexabar's Lakewood facility revealed violations of these FIFRA regulations in the export of four Flexabar boat paints, which were manufactured with pesticides that inhibit the growth of fungi and micro-organisms.

"Our pesticide labeling regulations were developed because many pesticides are toxic to humans and, when misused, to the environment," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator. "Without labels in their native language, foreign buyers may not fully understand the specific uses and environmental and human health hazards of certain pesticides. These situations are easily avoided when correct labels appear on the products, as the law requires."

EPA inspectors found that on four occasions, Flexabar shipped Flexgard X Copper Paint, a registered pesticide, to Chile with labels in English only, not Spanish. On four separate occasions, Flexabar shipped two unregistered pesticides, Aquatech Flexgard VI and VI-II, to Greece with English-only labels that failed to mention that the products were not registered in the United States. In addition, Flexgard XI Waterbased Copper Paint, a registered pesticide, was shipped to Canada without an EPA registration number on the label -- another violation of FIFRA.

Flexabar Corporation's facility is located at 1969 Rutgers University Boulevard in Lakewood, New Jersey. The company has annual sales of approximately $6.5 million.

EPA is seeking a penalty of $49,500 in the case.

For more information contact:
Nina Habib Spencer, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3670 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: habib.nina@epamail.epa.gov