State probe of NLV company leads to pesticide fines

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

A state investigation of a North Las Vegas company led to the imposition of a federal fine for improperly labeled pesticides, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.

The agency fined two Fresno, Calif., companies and a German company $17,248 for the sale of a misbranded pesticide in violation of federal regulations. The pesticide, discovered during a routine Nevada Department of Agriculture inspection, lacked proper application instructions.

The EPA said the companies have agreed to the settlement.

The EPA cited the two Fresno firms, Creative Marketing & Research Lawn and Garden Products, Inc., as well as the German owner and registrant of the pesticide product, W. Neudorff GMBH KG, for selling and distributing a pesticide product known as QUIK-RTU, a lawn herbicide, without all required information on its label.

"Federal law requires that pesticide labels carry all proper use and warning instructions ," said Enrique Manzanilla, director of the EPA's Communities and Ecosystems Division. "Consumers need the proper use information to ensure they are applying pesticide products safely and correctly." The three companies failed to provide the application rate for QUIK-RTU on the pesticide's label, thus failing to provide all directions necessary to protect health and the environment. As part of the settlement, the three companies have agreed to add the missing information to the labels for all future sales and distribution of the pesticide. The case was based on information obtained during an inspection at a North Las Vegas pesticide retailer by the Nevada Department of Agriculture in March 2004 and a follow-up inspection at Creative Marketing & Research by the Califor nia Department of Pesticide Regulation.

Glenda Dugan, a life scientist with the EPA's Region 9 offices in San Francisco, identified the North Las Vegas store as Western Organics, 3649 Losee Road. Dugan emphasized that the lawn and garden supply store was not culpable and was not cited in the fines issued Tuesday.

"Western Organics didn't do anything wrong for us to take action against," she said.

As part of the settlement, the companies that produced and distributed the pesticides will repackage the containers of lawn and garden pesticide with appropriate labels, Dugan said.

"There are so many things that can go wrong with a label," she said. "Most of it is unintentional. It's a matter of finding a problem and correcting it."

Dugan said the product would not be dangerous to humans even if improperly applied.

"We have no evidence that anyone was harmed through the use of this product," she said. "It is a low-risk product. ... Human risk is not a concern with this product."

The problem comes from the consumer's standpoint, she said. Without the proper labeling, people simply don't know how much to use to make it work.

"It left the consumer holding this product saying, 'How much do I use?"'

The herbicide is a clear liquid with ammonium salts and isopropyl alcohol. Product information lists it as a slight risk to health and the environment.

Ed Foster, a spokesman for the Nevada Department of Agriculture, said the state agency annually gets a grant that pays for inspections. The obligation to check pesticides is just one element in the inspection program, he said.

"We take it very seriously, both in Vegas and here," Foster said from Reno. "We register every single pesticide that is sold in the state of Nevada. Even the blue stuff you put on the comb at the barbershop, we regulate that."

Foster said his agency tries to make at least one inspection of every retail company selling pesticides yearly. Companies that have had problems in previous inspections can expect more inspections, he said.