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Ariz. company pays $24K for pesticide violations

Release Date: 07/11/2006
Contact Information: Wendy Chavez, 415/947-4248, chavez.wendy@epa.gov

(San Francisco, Calif. – 07/11/06) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined a Mesa, Ariz. company $24,400 for violating federal pesticide law.

Water & Energy Systems Technology, Inc. allegedly sold its pesticide, C124, with a composition that differed from the composition described in the registration for this pesticide. The company also allegedly continued to sell or distribute pesticide C1204 after its registration had been canceled. Both products are used to control algae in recirculating cooling water.

“Pesticide producers have a responsibility to ensure that pesticides are EPA registered and to use correct ingredients when repackaging for their own labels,” said Enrique Manzanilla, the Community and Ecosystems director for the Pacific Southwest region. "Manufacturing facilities selling or distributing pesticides must ensure that those products are legal.”

The EPA noticed irregularities in the company’s annual production report, and at the request of the EPA, the Arizona Department of Agriculture conducted a special inspection in January 2005.

The sale or distribution of a pesticide whose registration has been cancelled, or a pesticide whose composition differs from that of the registered product, is a violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. This federal law requires registration of pesticide products and pesticide-production facilities, and proper pesticide labeling. These requirements protect public health and the environment by ensuring safe production, handling, and application of pesticides, and by preventing false, misleading, or unverifiable product claims. The law also prohibits marketing of misbranded, improperly labeled, or adulterated pesticides.

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