US EPA penalizes Illinois pesticide manufacturer, Nebraska retailer

The US EPA announced that an Illinois pesticide manufacturer and a Nebraska company that sold some misbranded pesticide products have agreed to pay civil penalties for their roles in distributing or selling the products.

The Agency said that Wellmark International Inc., of Schaumburg, Ill., agreed to pay nearly $45,000 to resolve 19 violations of federal regulations.

The EPA also noted that Vitalix Inc., of Alliance, Neb., agreed to pay nearly $40,000 to resolve 19 violations.

The EPA stated that two of Wellmark's fly control products were either misbranded with labels that did not include required cautionary language or were distributed in conjunction with claims that differed from the pesticide registration information supplied to the EPA.

Regulations stipulated that the pesticide's distributor and manufacturer are both responsible for ensuring that the product complies with regulations.