For Immediate Release: August 10, 2020
Media Contact: Alejandro Diaz, 808-541-2711, [email protected]  

MODESTO, Calif. –  Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with Mercer Foods, LLC, involving the production and distribution of an active ingredient, Pseudomonas chlororaphis, used in pesticides for organic farming. The production facility and the ingredient produced were both unregistered, in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The company has agreed to pay a $51,905 civil penalty.

“Companies must ensure that the pesticide active ingredients they distribute or sell are registered with the EPA,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “We will continue to use all of our tools to secure compliance with registration requirements that protect people from potentially harmful chemicals.”

The case was referred to EPA by California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) after California’s Stanislaus County responded to a pesticide incident in August 2019. In this incident, five workers reported being sent to urgent care after exhibiting symptoms of pesticide exposure after having worked with the active ingredient. Pseudomonas chlororaphis may be harmful if inhaled, absorbed through skin, or swallowed.   

“This investigation and subsequent enforcement action is an example of the cooperative effort of local, state and federal officials to protect the public and remove unregistered pesticide products from the marketplace,” said Stanislaus County Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer Milton O’Haire.

“DPR values its relationship with local Ag Commissioners and our federal colleagues at U.S. EPA,” said DPR Director Val Dolcini. “The incident in Stanislaus County underscores the importance of that partnership when it comes to enforcement matters like this one.”

Mercer Foods has signed a certification statement assuring EPA that the company is no longer producing any ingredients regulated by FIFRA.

Federal pesticide laws require registration of pesticide products and pesticide-production facilities, as well as proper pesticide labeling and packaging. These requirements protect public health and the environment by minimizing the risks associated with the production, use, storage and disposal of pesticides.

For more information on pesticides, please visit: www.epa.gov/pesticides.

For more information on the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, please visit: www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act.

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Gibbsboro, N.J. (August 10, 2020) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized its plan that includes a combination of technologies and methods to address contamination present at the former paint manufacturing plant and adjoining areas of the Sherwin-Williams/Hilliards Creek Superfund Site in Gibbsboro. EPA’s study of these areas shows that sediment is contaminated with arsenic and lead, and soil is contaminated with arsenic, lead and paint solvents.

“The former paint manufacturing plant area is a major source of contamination at this Superfund site and addressing it will be a major step forward in getting to the cleanup of Hilliards Creek, Bridgewood Lake, Silver Lake, and Kirkwood Lake, which have been long sought by this community,”  said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “EPA has been working closely with local officials and impacted communities as it continues to make progress at this and the other related Sherwin-Williams sites in the area.”

EPA’s Record of Decision addresses a nearly 20-acre area of the former manufacturing plant, several adjoining residential properties, and the headwaters of Hilliards Creek. The selected remedy at the former manufacturing plant area includes excavation and disposal of approximately 67,000 cubic yards of soil containing arsenic and lead, groundwater monitoring, and institutional controls in the form of deed notices.  Soil contaminated with paint solvents will be treated at the site by injecting non-hazardous additives to the subsurface soil to promote their natural breakdown. Soil gas collection systems will be installed to collect and treat vapors from the breakdown of paint solvents. The selected remedy also requires excavation and disposal of floodplain soil and sediment containing arsenic and lead within Upper Hilliards Creek. Surface water will be monitored during the implementation of the remedy and the wetland areas will be restored with vegetation and soil similar to what previously existed.

EPA held a public meeting in Gibbsboro on December 5, 2019, to explain its cleanup plan. EPA accepted public comments for 60 days and considered public input before finalizing the plan.

EPA’s final decision, outlined in a record of decision, can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/sherwin-williams

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2

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