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TEXAS FIRM GUILTY OF ILLEGALLY SELLING PESTICIDE AS A SANITIZER
Release Date: 07/29/99
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1999
TEXAS FIRM GUILTY OF ILLEGALLY SELLING PESTICIDE AS A SANITIZER
Friendly Systems Inc. (Friendly) of Irving, Texas, was convicted by a federal jury on July 14, in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota in Aberdeen on three counts of violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Friendly illegally sold the pesticides Tisan and DDS-164 to an Indian tribe for sanitizing children’s toothbrushes, a use that is inconsistent with their EPA registration. The pesticides were actually registered and labeled for the purpose of sanitizing floors and silverware. Friendly sold the pesticides in November 1995 and October 1996 to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s Head Start program and in February and March 1997 to the Badlands Head Start program. Approximately 100 children developed medical problems including blisters and burns in their mouths after using their pesticide tainted toothbrushes. Friendly faces a maximum fine of $600,000 when sentenced. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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