Colaizzi.jennifer@epa.gov (News media only)
202-564-5677
202-573-1259
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2014
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/
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