News Releases from Region 05
EPA Orders PureLine Treatment Systems in Bensenville, Illinois, to Stop Selling Certain Pesticides
EPA Orders PureLine Treatment Systems in Bensenville, Illinois, to Stop Selling Certain Pesticides
CHICAGO (June 4, 2020) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a “Stop Sale” order to PureLine Treatment Systems, LLC in Bensenville, Illinois, to immediately halt the sale or distribution of certain pesticide products. The company has made claims about these pesticides that are not allowed under the products’ registrations and could mislead the public regarding the products’ safety and effectiveness against the virus that causes COVID-19.
“EPA is committed to ensuring that consumers have access to safe and effective disinfectant products,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Kurt Thiede. “By taking this action, EPA emphasizes how critical it is for companies to comply with federal pesticide laws designed to protect human health.”
The “Stop Sale” order requires the company to stop selling or distributing pesticides which EPA has determined to be misbranded, until those false or misleading claims regarding their effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 are removed from their labels and sales materials. Three of the products identified in the order are identified on PureLine’s website as “PureVista,” “Pure 3000” and “Purecide E/Technical Sodium Chlorite.”
EPA issued the order to PureLine because the company offers products for sale through its website while making public health claims that the products will protect against viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The claims made by PureLine substantially differ from the claims that legally can be made under the federal pesticide-registrations for those products. In order for PureLine to make any public health claims referencing effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, the company must apply for and obtain approval to do so from EPA under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). PureLine markets its products to schools, residences, athletic facilities, healthcare and biomedical facilities, and other entities.
In addition, the “Stop Sale” order alleges that Pureline has made false or misleading claims on its website in connection with the offer to sell or distribute the products. The company made statements claiming or suggesting that the products can be used to “sterilize” a facility, when the product labeling approved as part of the products’ registrations do not indicate that they can or should be used for sterilization. Pureline’s website also states that the products are “safe” and “not poisonous,” despite the fact that the labeling required by federal law for each of the products includes cautionary language such as “poison,” “harmful if swallowed, absorbed through the skin, or inhaled,” or “causes irreversible eye damage and skin burns.”
The “Stop Sale” order also alleges that PureLine is offering for sale and distribution a product identified as ‘N95 Mask Decon System,’ for use in conjunction with an EPA-registered product called “Pure Vista.” PureLine is offering this product for distribution or sale claiming that it can be used with “Pure Vista” to sterilize N95 masks, and that such a process has been approved by the EPA, among other federal agencies. In fact, “Pure Vista” is not registered for use as a sterilant or to sterilize N95 masks.
Under FIFRA, products that claim to kill, destroy, prevent, or repel bacteria or viruses, among other things on surfaces, are considered pesticides and must go through EPA’s registration process to ensure that the products perform as intended prior to their distribution or sale in commerce. Public health claims can only be made for products that have been properly tested and are registered with EPA. The agency will not register a pesticide until it has been determined that it will not pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment, when used in accordance with the label directions. Products not registered by EPA may be harmful to human health, cause adverse health effects, and may not be effective against the spread of viruses or other pathogens.
For additional information about pesticides, visit: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/.