- Department:Hazard Control Division
In order to protect consumers and ensure them to buy legal, safe and effective environmental agents, the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau (TCSB) of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) makes the "Environmental Agent Inspection Plan" every year and officially requests Environmental Protection Bureaus of local governments to implement it. In 2019, environmental protection agencies have inspected the advertisements, labels, counterfeit agents, and randomly inspected contents of active ingredients in environmental agents, for a total of 37,247 cases, with a pass rate of 99%. Among them, there were 9,409 cases of advertisements for environmental agents and 152 cases of illegal online advertisements (Annex 1), with a total fine of NT$4.69 million. Most of the violation typologies are people’s selling of hanging mosquito repellent devices imported from Japan on e-commerce platforms without permits. There were 27,379 cases of label inspections, and 290 cases of non-conformity. There were 137 cases of random inspection on the content of active ingredients of environmental agents, and all of which were qualified. There were 32 cases of counterfeit environmental agents with no inspection registrations, and ten of which were tested to contain the persistent organic pollutant chemical substance "Mirex" (Annex 2), which is prohibited by the EPA and controlled by the Stockholm Convention. The aforementioned unqualified products have been punished in accordance with the Environmental Agents Control Act and requested to be removed from the shelves within a limited time for improvement.
The TCSB, EPA appeals that advertisements of environmental agents could only be published by vendors with the permit, and only legal environmental agent vendors can advertise legal environmental agents. People who sell imported hanging mosquito repellent devices on e-commerce platforms without permits will be fined between NT$60,000 and 300,000. In order to prevent the public from being punished for violation due to not familiar with the regulations, the TCSB, EPA will continue to cooperate with e-commerce platforms, strengthen regulatory advocacy and website inspections, and jointly safeguard the use of agents for consumers.
The TCSB, EPA has established the "Search System for Environmental Agent Permits and Vector Control Operator Services" (https://mdc.moenv.gov.tw/PublicInfo/). By entering the product name or permit number, whether the environmental agent purchased is legally registered and its source can be inquired, as well as the legal vector control operators and environmental agent vendors. To better understand the safe use of environmental agents or to inquire unqualified environmental agents, please visit the website of "Safe Use of Environmental Agents" (https://topic.moenv.gov.tw/evsu/mp-8.html).
The TCSB, EPA urges that the use of environmental agents can be reduced if environmental cleanliness is done well and environmental pests have nowhere to hide.
