PORTLAND, Ore. - Mt. Hood Chemical Corporation has agreed to pay a penalty of $90,000 in order to settle claims for 31 alleged violations of the federal pesticide law (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act or FIFRA).
Mt. Hood has also agreed to conduct a full environmental audit of their Portland facility, including non-pesticide related areas and processes, and to provide specialized FIFRA training for employees involved in any aspect of pesticide production, sales, and distribution. The settlement was reached following an investigation by inspectors with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA’s inspection of the company’s Portland facility was prompted by its review of a report from a March 22, 2005 inspection conducted by the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA). Labels from 11 Mt. Hood disinfectant products collected during the ODA inspection did not contain proper caution or warning statements. It also appeared that Mt. Hood was producing and selling a disinfectant product that was not registered with EPA.
Subsequent to the ODA inspection, the EPA also learned that Mt. Hood was selling five gallon pails of its unregistered Crown Bleach product with a competitor’s registered bleach label glued to the container.