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EPA Bans Sale of Imprelis Herbicide
August 12, 2011
On August 11, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") banned the sale of DuPont's herbicide Imprelis. The ban has been issued under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, a federal law that requires registration and proper labeling of pesticides. The EPA states it is investigating whether the widespread tree damage following application of Imprelis is:
the result of product misuse, inadequate warning and use directions on the product's label, persistence in soil and plant material, uptake of the product through the root systems and absorbed into the plant tissue, environmental factors, potential runoff issues or other possible causes.
DuPont marketed Imprelis as an environmentally friendly alternative to the commonly used 2,4-D herbicide. Just weeks after Imprelis' application this spring, however, complaints of tree damage began to surface. Lawn and Landscape reports that applicators and researchers have reported "curling needles, severe browning and dieback in trees near turf that had been treated with Imprelis." Affected trees include the evergreens Norway Spruce, White Pine and Balsam Fir.
As reported in The New York Times, "A spokesman for the E.P.A., Larry Jackson, said the agency acted because data provided by DuPont showed that at least three types of evergreens.were susceptible to damage or death from Imprelis."