(AGENPARL) – mer 27 settembre 2023 Issued: Sep 27, 2023 (2:33pm EDT)
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EPA and Justice Department File Complaint Alleging Environmental Violations by
eBay
Lawsuit Alleges that eBay Unlawfully Sold Pesticides, Banned Chemical Products
and Devices that Defeat Pollution Controls on Motor Vehicles
WASHINGTON (September 27, 2023) – Today, in federal court in Brooklyn, the
U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of EPA, filed a complaint against eBay
Inc. (“eBay”) for unlawfully selling, offering for sale, causing the sale
of, and distributing hundreds of thousands of products in violation of the
Clean Air Act (“CAA”); the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act (“FIFRA”); and the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”).
“Our nation’s environmental laws protect public health and the environment
by prohibiting the unlawful sale of defeat devices; unregistered, misbranded
and restricted use pesticides; and unsafe products containing toxic chemicals
such as methylene chloride,” said Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann
for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The complaint
filed today demonstrates that EPA will hold online retailers responsible for
the unlawful sale of products on their websites that can harm consumers and
the environment.”
“Laws that prohibit selling products that can severely harm human health and
the environment apply to e-commerce retailers like eBay just as they do to
brick-and-mortar stores,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the
Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD).
“We are committed to preventing the unlawful sale and distribution of
emissions defeating devices and dangerous chemicals that, if used improperly,
can lead to dire consequences for individuals and communities.”
“eBay’s sale of emission control defeat devices, pesticides and other
unsafe products poses unacceptable risks to our communities disproportionately
impacted by environmental and health hazards,” said U.S. Attorney Breon
Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “Together with our partners,
this Office will vigorously enforce federal law against those whose conduct
endangers public health and the environment.”
The Clean Air Act prohibits selling, offering for sale, or causing the sale or
offer of aftermarket parts that defeat motor vehicle emission controls
(commonly known as “aftermarket defeat devices”).  Today’s complaint
alleges that eBay sold, offered for sale, or caused the sale of more than
343,000 such parts.  Aftermarket defeat devices can cause motor vehicles to
emit hundreds to thousands of times more pollution than a motor vehicle with
properly functioning emission controls, including nitrogen oxides (“NOx”),
carbon monoxide (“CO”), non-methane hydrocarbons (“NMHCs”), and
particulate matter (“PM”), and impede efforts by the EPA, states, tribes,
and local agencies to plan for and attain air quality standards. Exposure to
these pollutants is linked to respiratory and cardiovascular health effects as
well as premature death, among other things.
FIFRA prohibits the unlawful distribution or sale of unregistered, misbranded,
and restricted use pesticides, and authorizes EPA to issue Stop Sale, Use, or
Removal Orders to anyone with ownership, custody or control of such pesticides
being unlawfully sold or distributed. Today’s complaint also alleges that
eBay has unlawfully distributed or sold at least 23,000 such products, and
that some of those sales were in direct violation of a stop sale order issued
to eBay in 2020 and amended in 2021. Examples of these pesticides include a
high toxicity insecticide banned in the U.S., restricted use pesticides that
only certified applicators may apply, and products fraudulently claiming to
protect users against SARS-CoV-2.
TSCA’s Methylene Chloride Rule prohibits retailers from distributing in
commerce products containing methylene chloride for paint and coating removal
to prevent unreasonable risks, including death, presented by these types of
products. The complaint alleges that eBay has distributed over 5,600 items in
violation of TSCA’s Methylene Chloride Rule, including illicit paint and
coating removal products.
The complaint seeks a ruling that eBay’s business practices as an e-commerce
retailer violated the CAA, FIFRA, and TSCA and injunctive relief to enjoin
eBay from further violations of these laws, as well as civil penalties for
violations of the CAA.
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