Landscaping & Lawn Care Contractors Notice – Imprelis Herbicide

The following notice was obtained from the EPA website regarding a recent ban on the herbicide, Imprelis.
Gardeners and landscape professionals need to take note: Imprelis, an herbicide marketed to control weeds that has been reported to be harming a large number of trees has been banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA ordered E.I. DuPont de Nemours (DuPont) to immediately halt the sale, use or distribution of the herbicide. On August 4, 2011, DuPont voluntarily suspended sales of Imprelis and announced that it will soon conduct a product return and refund program.

This ban followed an EPA investigation into why a large number of evergreens such as Norway spruce and white pine and other trees have been harmed following the use of the herbicide. The EPA has looked at whether these incidents are the result of product misuse,inadequate warnings 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.

On June 17, 2011, DuPont issued a letter to professional applicators cautioning against the use of Imprelis where Norway spruce or white pine trees are present on, or in close proximity to, the property being treated. On July 27, 2011, DuPont acknowledged to the EPA that there has been damage to trees associated with Imprelis use and the company had developed an internet web page to provide information and updates concerning Imprelis use.
http://www2.dupont.com/Professional_Products/en_US/Products_and_Services/Imprelis/index.html

Lawn Care Services; Landscapers and golf courses are the classes of business that may be impacted by use of this herbicide. Please make your insured’s that fall into these business classes aware of this notice.

Rockford Mutual Insurance Company will not be imposing moratoriums on new business submissions that fall into these classifications. However; you should ask your clients to determine if they have used this herbicide in the past. If so, they should stop doing so immediately and disclose this information when submitting new applications.
　
Any questions on this matter should be directed towards your Rockford Mutual Insurance Company commercial lines underwriter.