The Guam Environmental Protection Agency announced today that inspectors have discovered two illegal insecticides for sale on Guam.
The Guam Environmental Protection Agency (Guam EPA) announced today that inspectors have discovered two illegal insecticides for sale on Guam. The Agency's Pesticide Enforcement Program has issued "stop sale" and "removal from sale" orders to five small stores during marketplace inspections in the past week.
"These products do not have registration numbers or establishment numbers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, therefore they are illegal," said Guam EPA Administrator Lorilee T. Crisostomo. "Registration and establishment numbers certify a pesticide has been made in a permitted facility and guarantees the safety of a product when used appropriately. We are very concerned with the use of illegal pesticides due to the potential they have to harm our air, land and water."
One of the products is a light-blue box labeled "Camping essentials Mosquito Sticks." The other product is a foot-wide brown coil labeled "Citronilla Incense."
When a product is made in a facility that has not been registered with U.S. EPA there is no guarantee regarding the ingredients or method of production. These unregistered pesticides are potentially dangerous because of the level of uncertainty regarding their production. Guam EPA will continue to pull these products from the shelves if they are found during the ongoing investigation.
Many unregistered pesticide-producing establishments are outside of the United States. Guam EPA investigators have linked this product from China routed through Canada, the U.S. mainland and finally to Guam.
Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the production of pesticides and pesticidial devices must be conducted in a registered Pesticide-Producing Establishment. Production of a pesticide in an unregistered establishment is a violation of the law. All facilities that produce pesticides, including foreign establishments that import pesticides to the U.S., must have Pesticide-Producing Establishment numbers.
Because this pesticide is a hazardous material, it should not be thrown away with regular trash. Anyone who has purchased one of these pesticides should return the product to the point of purchase or call Karl Olson or Betwin Alokoa with the Guam EPA Pesticide Enforcement Program.
For more information, residents can contact the Guam EPA Pesticide Enforcement Program at 475-1658, 475-1607 or visit the Pesticide Enforcement Program page.
