Pacific Southwest, Region 9
Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations
Pesticides Enforcement Accomplishments, Fiscal Year 2004
| Enforcements Accomplishments 2004 Quick Finder | ||
|---|---|---|
| Enforcement Accomplishments 2004 Home Air | Criminal investigation Land Pesticides | Supplemental Actions Tribal Water |
EPA files complaint against vegetable farmer for failing to protect field workers from pesticides
EPA filed a complaint against a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based lettuce farmer for allegedly failing to protect workers from pesticide exposure in lettuce fields near Olathe, Colorado. The EPA is seeking penalties up to $9,460 from Cactus Produce, Inc. for failing to provide required decontamination supplies and pesticide safety information to its employees working in lettuce fields in 2002. The complaint also alleges that the company failed to ensure that its workers were adequately trained in pesticide safety, and failed to notify them about recent pesticide applications in the fields they worked in.
EPA cracks down on illegal pet pesticide products
EPA initiated a multi-state effort to protect consumers from illegal pesticide products, most recently fining companies in three western states a total of $748,000 for trafficking in counterfeit and/or unregistered pet products. EPA is seeking fines of $357,000 from Rizing Sun, LLC Peoria, Ariz., and $341,000 from Pang & Son Distribution LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii. The third company, Tidalwave Distribution Inc., Torrance, Calif., recently agreed to settle with EPA for $50,000. The counterfeit pesticides, packaged to look like legitimately registered pesticides sold in the United States, appeared to have been unlawfully imported. These actions follow a series of earlier enforcement actions taken by EPA this year against illegal pesticide traffickers. EPA issued “Stop Sale” orders to 56 companies in seven states, ordering them to stop selling unregistered pesticide pet products. Further information, including photos of legitimate products, is available at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/petproduct.htm.
EPA ensures level playing field for pesticide manufacturers and distributors
EPA fined Dollar Tree Stores in Las Vegas, Nev., $4,400 for selling a pesticide product cancelled in 2002, “Tiny Tiger” cat flea and tick collars. The collars are cancelled because the pesticide in them, chlorpyrifos, poses a health threat to children. EPA also cited Salt Lake City-based Steve Regan Co. for allegedly distributing and selling Diazinon 4F/AG500 to Whipple Pest Control, a non-certified applicator in Mesquite, Nev. Diazinon 4F/AG500, a restricted use pesticide, can only be applied by a certified applicator, or someone supervised by a certified applicator. Both violations were discovered by the Nevada Department of Agriculture during inspections in March 2003. EPA has classified certain pesticides posing significant human health or environmental hazards as restricted use pesticides. For more information on pesticides go to: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/
EPA seeks $154,000 from California companies for selling misbranded pesticides
EPA is seeking $154,000
in penalties from two Northern California companies
for allegedly distributing unregistered and misbranded
pesticides. Chemical Compounding Co. of Oakland,
and PolyChem of Novato, Calif., allegedly distributed
two canceled and misbranded industrial biocides.
Businesses are responsible for ensuring that each
pesticide it sells or distributes is properly registered
with EPA. Before registering a new pesticide or
approving a new use for a registered one, EPA must
first ensure that the pesticide, when used according
to label directions, can be used without posing
unreasonable risks to people or the environment.
For registration information on approximately 90,000
products, go to
http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/label/labelque.htm#regprods
EPA cites stores for unauthorized mothball sales
EPA fined Bally’s Brother Company, Inc in Yorba Linda, Calif., $3,168 for the alleged sale and distribution of an unregistered mothballs. EPA cited the company for allegedly selling and distributing naphthalene–in the form of mothballs–without registering it with the EPA. The company sold and distributed the mothballs to Lion Food Center, an Asian supermarket in Fremont, Calif. For more information on unregistered pesticides, go to: www.epa.gov/pesticides
EPA develops compliance brochure to help businesses avoid selling illegal pesticides
EPA has produced a brochure
to help businesses comply with federal pesticide
regulations: “Protect
Your Business: Avoid Selling Illegal Pesticides”
The brochure was also
translated into Chinese and used in areas known
to have a compliance problem. EPA and the San Francisco
Agriculture Commissioner’s Office staff visited
more than 30 stores in San Francisco’s Chinatown
district to distribute the brochure. Illegal pesticides
were found in 12 of the stores. Store owners and
managers were also shown both legal and illegal
products in order to clarify the differences between
them.
A revisit to measure
the success of the visits found all but one of
the stores were in compliance. Based on a tip from
a concerned citizen, EPA conducted the same exercise
in Oakland’s Chinatown. EPA mailed approximately
660 copies of the brochure were mailed to discount
stores throughout the Pacific Southwest Region.
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