May 10, 2012
Syngenta Crop Protection to pay US$102,000 fine
Syngenta Crop Protection LLC, of Greensboro, North Carolina, has agreed to pay a US$102,000 civil penalty to the US to settle a series of environmental violations.
The penalty is related to the sale or distribution of misbranded pesticides through its facility in Omaha, Nebraska, and through a farm supply retailer in Savannah, Missouri.
According to an administrative consent agreement filed by EPA Region 7 in Kansas City, Kansas, inspections of Syngenta''s Omaha facility and a business in Chesapeake, Va., in March and April 2011 found that between March 4 and April 5, 2011, Syngentahad received 16 imported shipments of Azoxystrobin Technical, a fungicide, whose bags were not labelled with an accepted EPA label.
During a separate inspection in August 2011 at Duncan Agri-Service, Inc., in Savannah, Missouri, EPA found a bulk tank of Lumax Selective Herbicide, owned by Syngenta, whose label was missing a required warning statement about the required use of personal protective equipment by persons using the pesticide.
The labelling deficiencies related to the two pesticides were in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), according to the settlement.
The sale or distribution of misbranded or mislabelled pesticides can pose serious risks to human health, plant and animal life, and the environment. Without proper labelling or safety instructions on packaging, users can unintentionally misapply pesticides and may not have adequate information to address needs for first aid in the event of emergency.
As a result of EPA''s enforcement action, Syngenta was required to relabel all of the shipments in question. The company has also instituted changes in its practices to prevent similar violations.