EPA Settles with DuPont over Violations of Federal Pesticide
Laws that Led to Widespread Tree Deaths and Damage
DuPont to pay $1,853,000 penalty to resolve alleged
violations of pesticide reporting and distribution laws
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with the E.I. du Pont de
Nemours and Company (DuPont) for alleged violations of the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). DuPont will pay a
$1,853,000 penalty to resolve allegations that the company failed to
submit reports to EPA about potential adverse effects of an herbicide
product called Imprelis, and sold it with labeling that did not ensure
its safe use. When customers applied the misbranded Imprelis product, it
led to widespread death and damage to trees.
"EPA's ability to protect the public from
dangerous pesticides depends on companies complying with the legal
obligation to disclose information on the harmful effects of chemicals,"
said Cynthia Giles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance. “This case sends the message that illegally
withholding required information will be treated as a very serious
violation."
As part of the registration process for a pesticide or herbicide, FIFRA
requires companies to submit to EPA reports on a product’s potential
adverse impacts on plants or animals that it is not intended to control.
During the registration process and after registration was approved for
Imprelis, an herbicide product intended to control weeds like
dandelions, clover, thistle, plantains and ground ivy, DuPont failed to
submit 18 reports.
As a result, Imprelis – as it was registered and
labeled – did not adequately protect against damage to certain tree
species. DuPont made 320 shipments of Imprelis to distributors in 2010
and 2011. This failure to submit reports and the sale or distribution of
a misbranded pesticide or herbicide are violations of FIFRA.
DuPont has submitted over 7,000 reports to EPA of damage or death of
trees – primarily Norway spruce and white pine – related to the
application of Imprelis. Test data from DuPont confirmed certain
coniferous trees, including Norway spruce and balsam fir, as susceptible
to being damaged or killed by the application of Imprelis. There is also
evidence that non-coniferous trees such as maple, honey locusts, lilacs,
sycamores, and alders are susceptible to damage from Imprelis.
Starting in June 2011, EPA began receiving complaints from state
pesticide agencies regarding damage to trees related to the use of
Imprelis when it was applied to control weeds. Cases of tree damage and
death from Imprelis were widespread in the Midwest, especially Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Indiana investigated
more than 400 cases of tree damage related to Imprelis in 2011.
In August 2011, EPA ordered DuPont to stop selling and distributing
Imprelis without prior approval from EPA. In September 2011, the
registration for Imprelis was amended to prohibit the sale, distribution
or marketing of Imprelis. The product registration for Imprelis expired
on September 8th, 2014, and DuPont is no longer selling the
product.
Imprelis was distributed and sold in 1 gallon, 2.5 gallon and 4.5 ounce
containers, primarily to pest control professionals servicing the lawn,
golf, turf and weed control sectors.
Imprelis was registered with EPA in 2010, and was marketed by DuPont for
lawn and turf applications on residential and commercial lawns, golf
courses, sod farms, schools, parks, and athletic fields.
The settlement, a consent agreement and final order, will be filed at
EPA’s regional office in Philadelphia, and DuPont must submit payment of
the penalty to the U.S. Department of Treasury within 30 days.
For more information about this settlement, click
here:
http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/ei-du-pont-de-nemours-and-company-settlement
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