EPA Conducts Compliance Assistance Outreach to Ethnic Marketplaces

Kansas City, Kan., March 10, 2008 -- EPA Region 7 has developed a flier in six languages to inform and educate ethnic marketplaces that sell imported products. Often, languages other than English are spoken at these businesses. The flier provides information about the risks involved in selling unregistered pesticide products, which might be hazardous to human health, and about the laws associated with knowingly selling such products.

Illegal pesticides are often much more toxic than registered pesticides for use in and around homes. Across the country, EPA has initiated an effort to protect consumers from these products and has increased efforts to raise public awareness of these product dangers.

Operators of ethnic marketplaces that offer a variety of imported products often don't realize the dangers unregistered pesticides can pose to their customers. Registration of pesticides is important to assure that the formulation, labeling, and packaging of the product have the appropriate protective measures for human health and the environment.

EPA is committed to providing compliance assistance to small businesses. The flier will be used to aid in conducting compliance assistance at ethnic marketplaces in Region 7 that sell unregistered pesticides. The targeted audience can include the manufacturer, distributor, marketplace and consumer. The goal is for unregistered pesticides to properly be removed from store shelves.

The flier is available in six languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Laotian.

The flier is available at: epa.gov/region07/pesticides/publications.htm

The fliers were developed as part of our Environmental Justice (EJ) outreach. EJ is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income in the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.

Learn more about Environmental Justice at: epa.gov/region07/ej/index.htm

Learn more about compliance assistance at: epa.gov/pesticides/enforcement/assistance.htm

Earth Day is April 22.
Learn about simple things you can do to protect the environment at:
epa.gov/earthday/

Source: EPA

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