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Mass. Cleaning Company Faces Fine for Pesticide Violations

Release Date: 05/16/2008
Contact Information: Paula Ballentine, (617) 918-1027

(Boston, Mass. – May 16, 2008) – A Brighton, Mass. soap and specialty cleaning company faces a penalty of up to $16,000 for allegedly violating pesticide production reporting requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

According to EPA, Spectrowax Corp. failed to file production reports by the March 1 deadline for the reporting years of 2005, 2006 and 2007. Spectrowax is being penalized as a second time offender for each of these alleged violations because of a prior penalty action against the company in 2003.

Pesticide producers must annually submit the following information to EPA for each pesticide product:
- Types and amounts produced in the past calendar year;
- Types and amounts sold/distributed in the past calendar year, regardless of when produced; and
- Estimated amounts expected to be produced in the current year.

Annual pesticide production reports are the only means available to EPA for obtaining information about pesticides produced in the U.S. (or produced for import). EPA uses the information to protect public health and the environment and to maintain the integrity of the pesticide program.

The primary federal pesticide law, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), regulates products that are intended (or claimed) to prevent or destroy pests, including algae, viruses and bacteria. Under FIFRA, regulated pesticides must undergo a rigorous scientific evaluation and be “registered” by EPA before they are sold or distributed, and claims made on the product labels must be consistent with the required claims made during the registration process.

More information: Pesticide regulation and enforcement in New England (epa.gov/region1/topics/pesticides)

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