The pest control corporation Terminix International Company and its U.S. Virgin Islands operation Terminix International USVI will plead guilty and pay $10 million to settle allegations that it violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act for illegally applying fumigants containing methyl bromide in multiple residential locations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including the condominium resort complex in St. John where a family of four fell seriously ill last year after the unit below them was fumigated.
In a plea agreement, Terminix LP and Terminix USVI will pay a total of $10 million in criminal fines, community service and restitution payments.
Terminix was represented by Timothy Webster and James Wedeking of Sidley & Austin in Washington, D.C.
Except for completing one government contract at the Port of Baltimore, Terminix LP has stopped using pesticides containing methyl bromide in the United States and U.S. Territories.
Under the agreement Terminix, USVI will pay $5 million in fines and $1 million in restitution to the EPA for response and clean-up costs at the St. John resort.
Terminix LP will pay a fine of $3 million and will fund a $1 million community service project in the U.S.V.I.
“When misused, highly toxic pesticides can have catastrophic consequences, and that’s why those who are certified to apply them must do so responsibly and lawfully,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The facts in this case show the Terminix companies knowingly failed to properly manage their Pest Control operations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, allowing pesticides containing methyl bromide to be applied illegally and exposing a family of four to profoundly debilitating injuries. While on probation the companies are required to demonstrate to the EPA changes to their internal management and systems to ensure this type of tragedy does not reoccur.”
In 1984 EPA banned the indoor use of methyl bromide products.
The few remaining uses are severely restricted.
Pesticides used by pest control mesa az containing methyl bromide in the U.S. are restricted-use due to their acute toxicity, meaning that they must only be applied by a certified applicator. The Pesticides from the Pest control services Gold Coast is not toxic and one can rely on.
Health effects of acute exposure to methyl bromide are serious and include central nervous system and respiratory system damage. Pesticides can be very toxic and it is critically important that they be used only as approved by EPA.
After the government began its investigation, Terminix LP voluntarily ceased its use of methyl bromide in the U.S. and in U.S. territories, except for one remaining supervised government contract.
Federal officials alleged that Terminix knowingly applied restricted-use fumigants at the Sirenusa resort in St. John for the purpose of exterminating household pests on or about Oct. 20, 2014, and on or about March 18, 2015.
The companies were also charged with applying the restricted-use pesticide in 12 residential units in St. Croix and one additional unit in St. Thomas between September 2012 and February 2015.
Terminix USVI provided pest control services in the Virgin Islands including fumigation treatments for Powder Post Beetles, a common problem in the islands.
These fumigation treatments were referred to as “tape and seal” jobs, meaning that the affected area was to be sealed off from the rest of the structure with plastic sheeting and tape prior to the introduction of the fumigant.
Customers were generally told that after a treatment persons could not enter the building for a two to three-day period.
On or about March 18, 2015, two employees of Terminix, USVI, performed a fumigation pesticide treatment at the lower rental unit of Building J at Sirenusa in St. John.
The upper unit in Building J was occupied by a Delaware family of four.
Via various means, methyl bromide from the lower unit migrated to the upper unit of Building J, causing serious injury to and hospitalization of the entire family.
EPA regional staff responded immediately to the incident in St. John, securing the scene, performing testing and addressing the contamination.
Within days, the EPA sent out a pesticide use warning to pesticides applicators in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, followed by a broader pesticide notice to regulators in all states, the British Virgin Islands, and to other Caribbean and Latin American countries.
As a special condition of the companies’ three year probation, the defendants shall make good faith efforts to resolve past and future medical expenses for the family through separate civil proceedings.
If they do not do so before the end of the probationary period, they would be subject to an order of restitution and the government may petition the District Court to reopen the sentencing proceedings to seek recovery of past and future medical and other expenses.
The $10 million penalty includes $8 million in criminal fines, $1 million in restitution to the EPA for response and clean-up costs, and a $1 million community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the purpose of engaging a third party to provide training to pesticide applicators in the U.S. Virgin Islands.