News Releases from Region 09

U.S. EPA settles with Arizona’s Decon7 Systems for selling unregistered and misbranded pesticides

Scottsdale, Ariz. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with Decon7 Systems LLC (Decon7) related to two pesticides produced by the Scottsdale company that were not registered with the EPA and were labeled with false and misleading claims about their safety and efficacy. The company also exported the unregistered pesticides without the necessary notifications and failed to comply with reporting obligations following a Stop Sale, Use or Removal Order (SSURO) issued to the company in 2018. Decon7 has agreed to pay a $200,000 civil penalty and has corrected all identified compliance issues.

“The EPA is committed to ensuring products making public health claims meet stringent effectiveness and safety standards,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker.

Based on information collected during inspections by EPA, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Arizona Department of Agriculture, EPA asserted that Decon7 Systems had violated several sections of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which regulates the storage, labeling, distribution, sale and use of pesticides in the United States.

Decon7 sold “D7 Part 1” and “D7 Part 2,” pesticides that are combined to disinfect hard nonporous surfaces, with misleading efficacy claims to kill all bacteria, viruses and fungi. The products also had false and misleading safety claims, which created the incorrect impression that the products were noncorrosive and nontoxic. The products’ formulations in fact could have caused skin burns and irreversible eye damage. The products’ labeling also claimed the products were used by various federal government agencies to clean up buildings following anthrax attacks, implying that the federal government recommends or endorses their use.

The products were produced in Ohio, offered for sale on the Internet, and widely distributed to customers in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Ohio, Minnesota and Texas. In addition to the illegal domestic sales, Decon7 exported these unregistered pesticides to customers outside of the United States without filing the required information about the foreign purchasers.

Under federal pesticide law, products sold for the purpose of killing or repelling bacteria or germs are considered pesticides and, except for narrow exceptions, must be registered with the EPA prior to distribution or sale. The Decon7 products are now registered with EPA and the misbranded products were relabeled following the SSURO.

FIFRA helps safeguard the public by ensuring that pesticides are used, stored and disposed of safely. Pesticide registration and labeling requirements protect public health and the environment by minimizing risks associated with the production, handling and application of pesticides. Pesticide registrants and re-packagers must comply with the regulations, while consumers are required to follow the label instructions for proper personal protection, use and disposal.

For more information on pesticides, please visit: www.epa.gov/pesticides.

For more information on the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, please visit: www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act.

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