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EPA SETTLES WITH THE JOHN GIRVAN COMPANY, INC., FOR SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF UNREGISTERED, MISBRANDED SWIMMING POOL PRODUCTS

Release Date: 10/26/2000
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the settlement of an administrative enforcement action against The John Girvan Company, Inc., (Girvan) for alleged violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Under the settlement, Girvan has agreed to pay a $8,250 penalty and register the algicide "Proteam Mustard and Black Magic." The violations were discovered during an inspection conducted by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and EPA in April 1999 at Pool City in Louisville, Kentucky. The inspectors also found the label on the registered antimicrobial pesticide "Proteam Power Magic" was misbranded in that it failed to bear the EPA Registration Number, the EPA Establishment Number where the product was produced, and bore an insufficient child hazard statement. "Proteam Power Magic" is used to shock treat swimming pools. EPA requires submission of efficacy data on pesticides, including swimming pool products, which contain antimicrobial public health claims since the public cannot readily ascertain with the naked eye the effectiveness of this type of pesticide. EPA has emphasized enforcement actions against noncomplying antimicrobial pesticides with public health claims, due to human health implications if the pesticides are not effective.