Pesticides

Strong Action from USEPA likely informed by NRDC Report

CHICAGO (October 7, 2009) - Less than six weeks after the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a far-reaching report on the hormone disrupting pesticide Atrazine, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it will take steps to re-evaluate the chemical.

A widely used pesticide known to impact wildlife development and, potentially, human health, NRDC's report pointed out that Atrazine has contaminated watersheds and drinking water throughout much of the United States. Today's announcement of a year-long review by the EPA may be the first step towards revising the chemical’s registration and availability in the United States, according to NRDC experts.    » read more »

April 13, 2009 -- WASHINGTON— Invista will pay a $1.7 million civil penalty and spend up to an estimated $500 million to correct self-reported environmental violations discovered at facilities in seven states, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The company disclosed more than 680 violations of water, air, hazardous waste, emergency planning and preparedness, and pesticide regulations to EPA after auditing 12 facilities it acquired from DuPont in 2004.    » read more »

8/12/2008 -- Raleigh - North Carolina Governor Mike Easley today signed into law Senate Bill 847, “An act to add agricultural workers to those protected against retaliation in the workplace and to direct the Pesticide Board to adopt rules requiring licensed pesticide applicators to record the specific time of day when each pesticide application is completed, as recommended by the Governor's Task Force on Preventing Agricultural Pesticide Exposure.” This new law, along with funding approved by the legislature in the governor’s budget, will help protect agricultural laborers, farmers and applicators who work with and around pesticides.    » read more »

03/05/2008 -- IOGEAR made unverified claims that coating on keyboard and mouse accessories would eliminate pathogens and kill bacteria

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has settled with ATEN Technology, Inc., of Irvine, Calif., acting for its subsidiary IOGEAR, for selling unregistered pesticides and making unproven claims about their effectiveness.    » read more »

Kansas City, Kan., Feb. 13, 2008 - EPA is notifying businesses that produce pesticides to file annual pesticide production reports as of March 1, 2008. This pesticide information will provide EPA a reliable source of production volume and location of pesticide products.

"The mission and goal of EPA Region 7's Toxics and Pesticides Branch is to ensure that the production, sales, distribution, or use of pesticides is in compliance with all applicable requirements and is protective of human health and the environment," said John B. Askew, Region 7 administrator.    » read more »

Unethical Testing Violates Federal and International Standards, Groups Claim

NEW YORK (January 16, 2008) – The second circuit federal appellate court on Thursday will hear a challenge to an EPA rule that allows people to be used as guinea pigs in tests of toxic pesticides. The lawsuit, NRDC V. EPA was brought before the court by a coalition of environmental, farmworker and health groups in 2006. The groups contend that the agency's human testing rule violates a law passed by Congress in 2005 mandating strict ethical and scientific protections for pesticide testing on humans.    » read more »

10/09/2007, LOS ANGELES – As part of a recent settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over the alleged sale of unregistered pesticides, Triunfo-Mex., Inc., of City of Industry, Calif., will pay $84,500.00.

Triunfo-Mex, Inc., located at 13886 Nelson Ave, City of Industry, sells and distributes various products from Mexico.    » read more »

August 30, 2007 -- AUGUSTA—Hundreds of Maine citizens live unaware of a quiet crisis lurking in or near their homes. In barns, basements, sheds, or garages throughout the state reside tons of banned and unusable pesticides: old chemicals with infamous names like DDT, lead arsenate, 2,4,5-T, and chlordane.

Often, new owners of older homes or farms discover they have inherited hazardous waste. When they do, citizens face a dilemma: hire an expensive hazardous waste disposal service or dump the chemicals illegally, inviting harm to the environment and public health.    » read more »

June 18, 2007 -- At a ceremony today at East Hartford High School, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell signed HB 5234, An Act Banning Pesticide Use on School Grounds.

The new law, effective October 1, extends the ban on the use of lawn care pesticides at public schools from elementary school to grades 6, 7 and 8.

The new law also expands a school superintendent's ability to authorize emergency applications of lawn care pesticides in health emergencies and makes the state Department of Environmental Protection responsible for administering and enforcing school pesticide applications.    » read more »

May 29, 2007 -- UC Davis is helping the California rice industry adopt more environmentally friendly pesticides for weed and insect control.

Before any pesticide can be used legally in California, there must be documented information about its fate after application, such as how soon it evaporates and how it is broken down by sunlight and microbes.    » read more »

May 9, 2007 -- AUGUSTA—Hundreds of Maine citizens live unaware of a quiet crisis lurking in or near their homes. In barns, basements, sheds, or garages throughout the state reside tons of banned and unusable pesticides: old chemicals with infamous names like DDT, lead arsenate, 2,4,5-T, and chlordane.

Often, new owners of older homes or farms discover they have inherited hazardous waste. When they do, citizens face a dilemma: hire an expensive hazardous waste disposal service or dump the chemicals illegally, inviting harm to the environment and public health.    » read more »