EPA Fines Western Retailers for Selling Illegal Insecticides

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Oct 16, 2001

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined 15 stores in the Western United States a total of about $202,600 for selling illegal insecticides that present a special risk of harm to children.

The stores fined in California, Hawaii, Guam, and Nevada were all identified as selling, among other things, mothballs that look like gum balls and insecticidal chalks. The mothballs are problematic because they contain naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene, both of which have been linked to nasal cancer through recent studies. The mothballs are particularly attractive to children because they look like gum, especially some mothballs which are colored. Thus, children can mistake them for food, encouraging children to eat or play with the items.

The insecticidal chalk is dangerous because in some cases it contains deltamethrin or cypermethrin-both moderately toxin synthetic pyrethroids. Moreover, the chalk is indistinguishable from blackboard chalk and is not packaged in child-proof contains, such that children frequently mistake the pesticide for a toy. Between 1992 and 1995, the EPA reports that the poison control centers nationwide have collected 668 incident reports involving the toxic chalk.

Additionally, the products do not bear proper labels, while others were illegal imported from China and Taiwan. When compared with analogous, registered products, the EPA reports that many illegal products lack key safety information. The EPA also reports that the main concern with these illegal products is that, while they make the same claims as and appear similar to their legal counterparts, they may be distinct in their efficacy and toxicity.

The California companies that were fined include Hannam Chain U.S.A., Inc. for about $43,200; Vien Dong, Inc. for $29,700; Golden Globe Foods Center, Inc. and Duc Heung Group, Inc. for approximately $24,800 each; 88 Asian Market for $9,900; L & G Household and Helathcare America, Inc. and Price Power for about $4,000 each; Bega Trading Company for $3,000; and Big N Save for approximately $2,400. The Hawaii and Guam stores fined include Marukai Corporation for about $34,700; Hing Mau, Inc. for $9,900; and Han Sun Reep for approximately $2,400. The Nevada corporations include Western Supermarket for about $4,000; The international Supermarket, Inc. for approximately $3,200; and International Thai Market for $3,000.

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