Mansfield, Massachusetts Pesticide Company Pays Penalty for Reporting Failures

BOSTON - A company that manufactures and imports pet care products has taken responsibility for its error and agreed to pay $151,040 to settle claims that it imported goods to its Mansfield, Massachusetts facility in violation of federal pesticide laws.

The Rolf C. Hagen Corp., which imports products from its manufacturing facilities in China and Italy, failed to file reports with E.P.A. that are required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, according to EPA's New England office.

EPA's complaint alleged that the company imported regulated pesticidal devices without submitting the required forms ahead of time. Federal law requires an importer to report vital information to E.P.A. regarding the device and its major active ingredients, which allows E.P.A. to decide whether the importation will pose unreasonable risks to public health or the environment.

The claims against Hagen involve the import between 2010 and 2014 of 2 types of devices that destroy algae and filter waste in ponds and fish tanks.

"The information required lets E.P.A. decide before a product enters our country whether it poses a risk for the public or our environment," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "This reporting is important for E.P.A. to ensure that we are protecting the public and our communities."

The information required on the E.P.A. forms includes, for example, details concerning active ingredients, quantities, countries of origin, identity of producing establishments, carriers, ports of entry, and contact information.

More information on how E.P.A. protects people's health by regulating pesticides: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides

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