Pesticides News Release (Region 9): EPA fines New Mexico pesticide company maximum allowable penalty for illegal pesticide application

  For Immediate Release: July 30, 2009

Contact: Margot Perez-Sullivan, 415.947.4149, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov

EPA fines New Mexico pesticide company maximum allowable penalty for illegal pesticide application

     (San Francisco, Calif -- 07/30/2009) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined PDI Pest Control Co., $650 -- the maximum penalty for first-time offenders applying registered "general use" pesticides -- for allegedly using pesticides contrary to label requirements at a daycare center on Navajo Nation lands.

   An employee of PDI Pest Control Co., a pesticide applicator, applied Tempo SC Ultra in an occupied classroom where contact by people could occur contrary to explicit label instructions. The pesticides were improperly applied at the Ganado Child Care facility in Ganado, Ariz.

    "This company’s failure to apply the pesticide correctly may have put children at risk," said Katherine Taylor, associate director of the Communities and Ecosystems Division in the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. "Companies must ensure employees applying pesticides protect people from exposure by following all label requirements."

    The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency discovered the violation during a routine inspection in October 2008. Navajo Nation inspectors are authorized to inspect for violations of both Navajo and federal pesticide laws.

     Before selling or distributing any pesticide in the United States, companies must register the pesticide with the EPA and include labeling directions for use and other information necessary to protect human health and the environment. Federal law requires that pesticide applicators comply with these labeling directions during pesticide applications to protect their workers and the public.

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

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