Antimicrobial pesticides are essential to controlling and preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality\u2019s Pesticides Branch, along with the Department of Lands and Natural Resources and Division of Customs, monitors and regulates the use and import of pesticides in the CNMI. Antimicrobials and pesticides that are not registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are illegal to import, sell, and use in the CNMI.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are three types of \u201cpublic health\u201d antimicrobial pesticides:<\/p>\n
1. Sterilizers:<\/strong> used to\u00a0destroy or\u00a0eliminate all forms of microbial life; strongest type used in medical and research settings.<\/p>\n 2. Disinfectants:<\/strong> used on hard, non-porous surfaces and objects to\u00a0destroy or inactivate\u00a0the growth of bacteria and fungi; some target specific viruses; used in medical and residential settings.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Sanitizers:<\/strong> used to\u00a0reduce\u00a0micro-organisms from inanimate surfaces to levels considered safe as determined by public health regulations; weakest type; some can be used for locations where food products are stored.<\/p>\n Although products like these are commonly used, many of them can cause severe injury. If product label \u201cDirections for Use\u201d are not followed, this may result in failure to effectively disinfect and kill disease-causing microorganisms. Protect yourself from health hazards that can result from improper use or over-exposure to antimicrobial pesticides are:<\/p>\n \u2022 Eye irritation and damage to vision<\/p>\n \u2022 Skin irritation or rash<\/p>\n \u2022 Respiratory problems and other internal problems<\/p>\n To ensure that these products are used safely and effectively,\u00a0anyone who uses antimicrobial pesticides is required by law to follow\u00a0all the\u00a0safety precautions and directions for use\u00a0on the product label. To ensure the public safety anyone who applies pesticides for a\u00a0commercial purpose must be certified\u00a0by BECQ Division of Environmental Quality.\u00a0For more information on pesticides in the CNMI visit the BECQ Pesticides webpage at\u00a0http:\/\/deq.gov.mp\/sec.asp?secID=34<\/p>\n The use of pesticide products that are not registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may be harmful to human health or have ineffective disinfection properties. <\/p>\n For more information on antimicrobial pesticides visit EPA\u2019s webpage at\u00a0https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/pesticides\/antimicrobial-pesticides. U.S. EPA had provided an online list of actively registered disinfectant products that are effective for eliminating the coronavirus. Find it at\u00a0https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/pesticide-registration\/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Pursuant to law, the DEQ director may issue a \u201cNotice Stop Sale, Use or Removal\u201d order to any person who owns, controls, or has custody of a misbranded pesticide. Immediately after receipt of such order no person shall sell, use, or remove the pesticide described in the order except in accordance with the provisions of the order.\u00a0<\/p>\n BECQ Division of Environmental Quality has issued a Notice of Stop Sale for the following pesticides that are not registered by USEPA and otherwise classified as misbranded pesticides:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2022 Zonrox Color Safe Bleach<\/p>\n \u2022 Lins Power Bleach<\/p>\n \u2022 Mr. Muscle Kitchen Cleaner<\/p>\n \u2022 Domix Thick<\/p>\n \u2022 V-Cider Disinfectant Spray<\/p>\n \u2022 Other misbranded pesticides.\u00a0<\/p>\n Should misbranded items be found or for more information, call or leave a message with the BECQ Pesticides Branch at 664-8500\/8512. (PR)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Antimicrobial pesticides are essential to controlling and preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The Bureau…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":324828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-324860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}