EPA v. LANXESS CORPORATION

Case summary

On March 19, 2020, EPA Region 3 issued a Notice of Refusal of Admission (NORA) to the U.S. Customs and Protection to refuse admission of a misbranded pesticide intended for research and development purposes. The product, Relyon Virkon, is a disinfectant that Lanxess stated was brought into the country to test for efficacy against MERS virus, a strain of Coronavirus. The product in the shipment did not contain adequate warnings to alert the user that this product is only for testing purposes and is not to be sold or distributed within the United States, and thus the product was considered MISBRANDED. Sale and distribution of a misbranded pesticide is a violation under FIFRA, as pesticide labels need to contain adequate information to ensure the product is effective and will not cause unreasonable harm to human health or the environment. Region 3 has been working with the importer to ensure future imports of this product have compliant label language.

Defendants (1)

• LANXESS CORPORATIONNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• LANXESS CORPORATION

  111 PARK WEST DRIVE, PITTSBURGH, PA, 15275-1112

  Registry ID: 110044232238

Statutes cited

• FIFRA 12A1E — Adulterated/Misbranded

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• LANXESS CORPORATIONentered 2020-03-19

  Primary law: FIFRA

Timeline (2 milestones)

• 2020-03-19Final Order Issued
• 2020-05-08Enforcement Action Data Entered